Gary Thompson is the COO of GUSS Automation which developed the world’s first autonomous orchard and vineyard sprayers. After growing up on a dairy in Arizona, Gary attended Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo, CA where he majored in Agricultural Business and Dairy Science. While at Cal Poly, he developed a love for the diversity of crops and livestock in California’s San Joaquin Valley which eventually led him to relocate there in 2017. At that time, Gary began farming almonds and he joined the GUSS team while the project was still in its early stages of development. Upon completion of the prototype, more GUSS sprayers were built and added to the sister company’s commercial fleet where they performed applications in almond, pistachio, citrus, and fruit trees. After an abundance of interest from farmers wanting to purchase their own GUSS sprayers, the decision was made to start manufacturing and selling to outside growers. Gary oversees all operations at GUSS Automation and provides direction for this exciting new ag tech company. GUSS Automation’s sights are now set on scaling sales, expanding markets, and continuing to innovate new models and technologies.