Agriculture students from three Santa Maria Joint Union High School District campuses recently won the Amiga Innovation Award and $1,000 after competing in the 2026 Farm Robotic Challenge.

Students worked on the Amiga robot during spring break to build a sprayer to allow for foliar applications of fertilizers to our crops we grow on the Mark Richardson Center Farm.

The team of FFA students integrated a custom autonomous sprayer with the Amiga platform, featuring a 10-gallon adjustable-height tank, dual-nozzle boom and path-planning routines along 38-inch beds, to reduce labor and improve precision for small vegetable growers. 

Students submitted their report and video for the competition.

More than 90 universities, colleges and high school from 13 counties entered the competition.
 
The loca group plans to compete again at the California Youth Agriculture Expo in Tulare toward the end of July.
 
“We still have some work to do to make it autonomous but should have it done during the summer and before our next competition,’’ said Steve Gambril, MRC ag teacher Steve Gambril.

Students who competed in the Farm Robotics Challenge high school division: Andrea Galvez, Juan Galvez, Aydee Gomez and Jaime Rubio of Santa Maria High; Miguel Hernandez of Pioneer Valley High; and Alexis Garcia-Roblero of Delta High.