Vantage South helps sod farm owners realize the efficiencies gained by autonomy
Chip Bryars is no stranger to agriculture. His background growing up on a farm and interest in new technologies led him to a career in precision agriculture. Chip is the General Manager of Vantage South, a trusted Sabanto dealer that sells and services our Steward autonomous systems. Vantage South covers the southeastern United States, including Alabama, Mississippi, northwest Florida and central Tennessee.
Members of the Vantage South team in front of their tractor, Reba, equipped with the Steward™ autonomous system. Chip is pictured third from right.
With 12 years of experience in precision agriculture, Chip has watched trends in agriculture come and go, but he believes Sabanto’s retrofit approach to autonomy is here to stay. Many of the customers in the territory he serves face challenges with finding skilled labor, dealing with inflated equipment costs and farming on diverse types of terrain. “Growers that use Steward do not need to buy a new tractor to take advantage of autonomy,” explained Chip. Instead, Steward is a kit that is installed on a grower’s existing tractor, saving them from costs associated with new equipment purchases and allowing them to replace that tractor down the line without having to buy all new autonomy components. Tractors installed with a Steward system can still operate manually, making them suitable for all types of jobs – not just autonomy.
When asked how to help new customers get the most out of their Steward purchase, Chip said, “It involves some time to understand their operation and normal workflow.” This includes determining how their fields are located, their cadence for mowing or other operations they want Steward to perform, finding the best time of day or night for Steward to work and creating multiple coverage plans for fields. Chip takes the time to meet with his customers one-on-one to develop plans before Steward ever enters their fields, making the process seamless and ensuring his customers feel equipped to fully utilize their Steward system.
Vantage South has over 20 years of combined experience as a precision agriculture company, making them a well respected dealer for ag technology and autonomy. Chip noted,
“Sod growers are enthusiastic to see Steward working in fields, and the reviews have been great.”
The Vantage South team is passionate about precision agriculture technology and committed to helping their customers optimize their operations with autonomy.
In fact, they installed a system for Woerner Turf, which is the first company in Alabama to adopt Steward’s autonomous technology. With one tractor already running with Steward and plans for others, Chip has already seen that Woerner Turf understands the efficiency that autonomy can add to a sod operation.
An inside look at a Steward™ installation by Vantage South team members.
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