By eliminating operator error and downtime, we are helping growers increase efficiency, use fewer resources and reduce costs.
GUSS’s roots can be traced back to 1982, when Dave Crinklaw and his father Bob started an agriculture spray business called Crinklaw Farm Services (CFS). Armed with two tractors, a commitment to exceptional service, and a willingness to work, Dave and Bob got their start spraying an average of 40 acres a day. They quickly earned a reputation with farmers in the central San Joaquin Valley, and CFS began to grow.
Bob’s retirement a few years later gave Dave full control of the future of the company. With dreams of turning the company into an industry leader, Dave began to add key people to the CFS team, including Orlando Mora, Richard Vaccari, and Ryan Johnson. Under this group’s direction, CFS excelled. CFS now sprays up to 5,000 acres a day during peak season.
As CFS became more established, Dave began to dream up innovative solutions to common agricultural problems and inefficiencies. Under Dave’s guidance, CFS developed the industry’s first 3 and 4-row vineyard sprayers, mechanical vineyard pruners, and the Tree-See orchard sprayer.
GUSS is the latest in a long line of such innovations. It was developed in-house to address common pain points associated with CFS’s orchard spraying business. We first examined the feasibility of an unmanned sprayer in late-2007. By 2014, vehicle guidance technologies had evolved enough for us to start building and testing prototypes.
After several years of refinement, we delivered our first units to customers in late 2019. GUSS Automation, LLC was launched as an individual business entity so that any ag business could experience the benefits that GUSS offers.
Our planet has a finite number of resources — yet the world’s population is growing exponentially. In order to feed more people using fixed resources, farmers must be able to work more quickly, efficiently, and consistently than ever before. GUSS makes it possible for farmers to grow more food using fewer resources.
GUSS allows ag businesses to “reskill” workers — training them to use sophisticated technology that will open up future opportunities and positioning them for success in the economy of tomorrow.
GUSS’s team is made up of ag industry veterans, innovators, and fabricators with a desire to increase efficiency, precision, and safety of orchard sprayers by implementing innovative new technologies.
Dave Crinklaw
Chase Schapansky
