Farming tech is on display at CES as companies showcase their green innovations and initiatives

LAS VEGAS (AP) — When Russell Maichel started growing almonds, walnuts and pistachios in the 1980s, he didn't own a cellphone. Now, a fully autonomous tractor drives through his expansive orchard, spraying pesticides and fertilizer to protect the trees that have for decades filled him with an immense sense of pride.

“The sustainability of doing things perfectly the first time makes a lot of sense,” the first-generation farmer told The Associated Press at CES 2025, where John Deere unveiled a fleet of fully autonomous heavy equipment, including the tractor Maichel has been testing on his northern California farm.

Sustainability is a key theme this year at the annual tech trade show in Las Vegas. From Volvo CEO Martin Lundstedt announcing their commitment to net-zero emissions by 2040 to Wisconsin-based OshKosh Corporation showing off its electric fire engines and garbage trucks, companies big and small are showcasing their green innovations and initiatives.

“We absolutely need more climate-smart technologies,” said Jacqueline Heard, CEO and co-founder of Enko Chem, which researches climate tech solutions in agriculture — an industry Heard says is “under a lot of pressure right now.”

That much is clear on the CES show floor, where farming is on full display and company leaders are highlighting the impacts of climate change and labor shortages on farmers.

Not far from John Deere's booth where autonomous tractors and dump trucks are towering over conference attendees, Kubota, another equipment manufacturing company, is showcasing its AI technology that detects diseases in crops and sprays where pests have been identified.

Todd Stucke, president of Kubota Tractor Corporation, said AI is the future of farming, especially with “summers getting longer and storms getting stronger.”

Stucke himself grew up on a potato farm in Ohio. Each night after dinner, his father would scour the field for bugs and then send Stucke out to spray the crops with insecticides.

“We sprayed the whole field, but we might've only needed to spray a part of the field or a plant,” he said. “Take that analogy into vineyards, orchards and so forth, you don’t have to spray everything.”

This is known as “precision agriculture,” Heard said. “It allows farmers to really optimize their land."

The idea, Heard said, is that farmers can expand the lifespan and improve the quality of their crops while using fewer chemicals, like pesticides and fertilizer.

“It's good for the environment. It's good for farmers," she said.

Heard said she wouldn't be surprised if AI can one day help farmers map out their land, showing them the different soil types and what kinds of crops would grow best there.

“It could be that with climate change, they should move to a crop that's much more adapted to this new world," she said.

Back at the John Deere booth, Maichel, a tree nut farmer, said he's hopeful that advancements in AI will help him better manage the unpredictability of farming. Each year on his orchard is different from the last.

“There’s no sliding scale, per se, that we have to deal with as far as climate change goes,” he said. “We really bend to the climate that we’re dealt with. It’s not something I can predict. It’s really something we have to adapt to every growing season.”

If someone had told him just 10 years ago that a tractor would one day be driving itself through his orchard, he said he wouldn't have believed it. But now, he says, he sees how this evolving technology can help him adapt to the changing industry and climate.

"We all need to eat, right?" Maichel said. “A farmer’s job is one that we all need.”

Associated Press video journalist Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos contributed to this report.

Igino Cafiero, director of high value crop autonomy at John Deere, speaks during a John Deere news conference ahead of the CES tech show Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

People view an autonomous lawn mower at the John Deere booth during the CES tech show Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

The Articulated Dump Truck is on display at the John Deere booth during the CES tech show Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

People visit the John Deere booth during the CES tech show Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

The KATR robot with Smart Plant Imager designed to work in agriculture and construction is on display at the Kubota booth during the CES tech show Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

People view a demonstration of the KATR robot designed to work in agriculture and construction at the Kubota booth during the CES tech show Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

People view a demonstration of the KATR robot designed to work in agriculture and construction at the Kubota booth during the CES tech show Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A convention goer exits a John Deere 9RX Tractor at the John Deere booth during the CES tech show Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

The Articulated Dump Truck is on display at the John Deere booth during the CES tech show Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

ROME (AP) — Italy’s Premier Giorgia Meloni said Thursday that her government is in talks with several private companies, including Elon Musk’s SpaceX, over the country’s telecoms security system, but denied having discussed the issue privately with Musk.

“I never talked about this with Musk. It’s not my habit to use my public role to do favors to friends,” Meloni said, responding to reporters’ questions during her start-of-the-year press conference on a possible deal with Musk’s group over Italian telecoms security.

Meloni stressed that national interest was “the only lens” through which she judged such potential contracts with SpaceX, the owner of satellite system Starlink.

Reportedly worth 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) and spread over five years, the project sparked an outcry by Italy's opposition parties, questioning that the handling of such communications could be handed to a Musk company.

If the deal is sealed, SpaceX would provide encryption services for the Italian government and communications infrastructure for the military and emergency services.

Earlier this week, Meloni denied forging such a deal with Musk – who has developed a friendly relationship with the Italian premier. A government statement went even further, “categorically” denying that a SpaceX deal was discussed during Meloni’s recent meeting with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in Mar-a-Lago.

“SpaceX allows very delicate information to be communicated securely on a diplomatic and military level,” Meloni told Thursday’s press conference. “Regarding the method, I can say that these are discussions that the government has with many private companies.”

Meloni reiterated that the government is still in an “investigative” phase and no contracts have been signed. “The issue is that there are no public alternatives for these technologies, obviously it’s a question of placing data protection in the hands of a private entity. But the alternative is not having these data protected,” she said.

“Both scenarios are not ideal … If one day communications of sensitive data end up in the wrong hands, the government is responsible,” she added.

SpaceX has been approached by email for comment.

Meloni also noted that Musk’s political ideas could have been the real reason behind the controversy.

“Is the problem related to private investments or to the political ideas of the investors?” she asked the press conference’s audience.

Musk, who’s a close ally of Trump, has openly expressed his enthusiasm for a possible collaboration with Rome, writing on X that his company is “ready to provide Italy the most secure and advanced connectivity.”

Already active in Italy since 2021, Starlink could expand its services to include emergencies, such as disasters or terrorist attacks. Musk’s group is also developing another project for defence and sensitive operations called Starshield.

Experts in the security field have stressed the increasing sensitivity of European countries sealing partnerships with SpaceX, whose success has put increasing pressure on Europe’s satellite and telecoms industry.

Meloni also defended Musk's freedom to express his political ideas, saying that in her opinion he didn't pose a risk for democracy.

“The problem is when these people use resources to finance parties and associations halfway around the world to influence policies, which I don’t see Musk doing, unlike (American investor and philanthropist George) Soros,” the Italian premier said.

“I consider this a dangerous interference,” she added. "But when it happened, we talked about philanthropists: is the problem that (Musk) is rich and influential or that he is not left-wing?” she asked.

In December, the leader of the right-wing populist Reform party in the U.K., Nigel Farage, said the party was in “open negotiations” with Musk over a donation, although he played down speculation that it could be as much as $100 million.

However, Farage later distanced himself from Musk after the billionaire called for the release from prison of a far-right activist who goes by the name of Tommy Robinson.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni holds the 2024 year-end press conference, in Rome, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni holds the 2024 year-end press conference, in Rome, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni holds the 2024 year-end press conference, in Rome, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni holds the 2024 year-end press conference, in Rome, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni holds the 2024 year-end press conference, in Rome, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni holds the 2024 year-end press conference, in Rome, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni holds the 2024 year-end press conference, in Rome, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni holds the 2024 year-end press conference, in Rome, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni holds the 2024 year-end press conference, in Rome, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni holds the 2024 year-end press conference, in Rome, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)