{"id":50526,"date":"2025-04-18T15:13:43","date_gmt":"2025-04-18T19:13:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/?p=50526"},"modified":"2025-07-17T10:02:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T14:02:16","slug":"call-robot-farming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/call-robot-farming\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018R2-D2, Pick Me a Berry\u2019: Alum\u2019s Firm Grows Fruit with Robots"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

CALS grad Casey Call \u201912 co-founded Zordi, which is using AI and other tech to make greenhouse farming more efficient<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Melissa Newcomb<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inside the six large greenhouses where Casey Call \u201912 grows strawberries, there\u2019s plenty of work to be done. Luckily, he has a dedicated staff that\u2019s not only skilled in cultivating the delicate fruits, but works around the clock\u2014and what they lack in personality, they make up for in efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Call is the co-founder and head grower for Zordi<\/a>, a Boston-based firm that\u2019s pioneering technology to automate greenhouse farming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cAutomation is already infiltrating agriculture very deeply, because there are a lot of repetitive tasks that nobody wants to do; trust me, I\u2019ve been doing them,\u201d says Call, whose family includes many farmers (and numerous Cornellians). \u201cAnd those are the things we can use robots for.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Zordi\u2019s test farm, located in southern New Jersey, robots drive down rows of plants, carefully inspecting each one\u2014sparing growers the tedium of picking through the fruit to check its progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using an AI learning model, the robot checks for deviations from a standard, healthy plant. <\/p>\n<\/div>

\"Casey<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

If it finds any, it takes photos and alerts staff to a potential issue, such as disease or poor growth quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t replace human intervention,\u201d says Call, whose company has also tested its system for use in growing cherry tomatoes. \u201cBut it gives a huge boost in workflow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It doesn\u2019t replace human intervention, but it gives a huge boost in workflow.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Call\u2019s experience in agriculture stretches back to childhood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His father (Peter Call \u201979) and two uncles (Nathan Call \u201976 and Philip Call \u201981) operate a third-generation family farm in Western New York, growing potatoes, peas, beans, corn, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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