The Counterintuitive Path to Scaling Agricultural Autonomy: Why This Founder is Betting on Smaller Tractors and Open Platforms

In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, Craig Rupp shared how Sabanto is taking an unconventional approach to agricultural autonomy by focusing on smaller tractors and adaptable systems – a strategy that challenges the industry’s “bigger is better” mindset.

The path to product-market fit began with direct customer engagement. Instead of building technology in isolation, Craig took an unusual first step: “I went and leased the JCB 42 20, which is 220 HP tractor, and I went and bought an 18 row 20 inch planter, spent the winter writing software, putting hardware together. Then I went and got a CDL, a license to operate a semi… and I went from state to state, lined up a bunch of farmers.”

This hands-on approach revealed crucial insights about the real challenges of autonomous farming operations. Rather than pursuing full autonomy at any cost, Craig discovered that a hybrid approach would better serve farmers’ needs.

Finding the Right Entry Point

While many AgTech companies focus on replacing entire farming systems, Craig identified a more practical entry point: organic farming operations. “One of the reasons why they do not switch to organic is just the labor requirements,” he explains. “The organic grower, they have to do tillage. Then they plant. Then they get a tineweed and they rotary hole, rotary hole. Then they cultivate, cultivate.”

This insight led to a key strategic decision: instead of building complete autonomous tractors, Sabanto developed a conversion kit that could be installed on existing equipment in about four hours. The system includes hydraulic valves, wheel angle sensors, actuators for three-point hitch and brakes, GPS receivers, cellular antennas, cameras, and a LiDAR system.

Challenging Industry Assumptions

Craig’s approach contradicts conventional wisdom about both automation and farming equipment. “You look at some of these large 500 plus horsepower tractors, they’re well over a half a million dollars, and they only get used maybe 300 hours per year,” he notes. Instead of following this trend, Sabanto is “focused more on smaller sub 200 HP tractors and having them work twenty four, seven.”

This strategy addresses both the labor shortage and the rising cost of equipment – two critical pain points in modern farming. But perhaps more importantly, it acknowledges a fundamental truth about agricultural operations: flexibility is crucial.

Building an Open Platform

Rather than creating a closed ecosystem, Craig is pursuing an open platform strategy. “I think one of the problems in agriculture today is it’s very proprietary, it’s very closed,” he explains. “What we want to do is we want to give others the ability to add or I guess contribute to agriculture. There’s a lot of implement companies out there that are really innovative, and what’s stopping them from instrumenting or creating technology on their implements is just the proprietary nature of agriculture today.”

This platform approach could prove transformative, especially given the sophisticated nature of modern farming operations. Contrary to popular belief, Craig notes, “There’s this misnomer out there that farmers and people have this picture of farmers in their mind, like they’re not very technically adept or they’re technically inept, but that is so far from the truth. They’re some of the more progressive technology adopting people you will ever meet.”

Looking Ahead

The future of farming faces significant demographic challenges. “3.4 million farmers in the United States, one third of them are over the age of 65,” Craig points out. This demographic reality is shaping Sabanto’s strategy – their technology needs to be accessible enough for current farmers while helping address the looming labor shortage.

For B2B founders, particularly those working to transform traditional industries, Craig’s journey offers valuable lessons: sometimes the path to scalability isn’t through building bigger systems, but through creating more accessible, flexible solutions that can be widely adopted and built upon by others in the ecosystem.