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Steward · photo pending manufacturer approval
Autonomous tractor · Fully autonomous

Steward

Sabanto · United States

US aftermarket kit (proprietary control unit + dual-GNSS + cameras/obstacle sensors) that converts existing 80-150hp tractors — John Deere 5E/5M/6E, Kubota M5 and Fendt 700-series (Deutz-Fahr in development) — into autonomous units for mowing, seeding, tillage, rolling, hay cutting and (via a Verdant Robotics partnership) precision spray. Installed in roughly a day (press reports range from a few hours to two days) with a five-minute calibration; sold through Trimble's Vantage dealer network in the US and Canada, with roughly 300 systems operational as of mid-2026. A July 2026 oversubscribed Series B led by Leaps by Bayer, with Yara participating, is funding expansion.

Available in: United States · Canada

At a glance

Best for

US/Canadian row-crop, broad-acre and sod/turf operations with an existing fleet of compatible 80-150hp tractors who want autonomy without buying new large-horsepower machines — Sabanto pitches "gangs" of several sub-150hp tractors as a lower-capital alternative to one big autonomous unit.

Avoid if

You need a published all-in EU price, EU dealer/service coverage, or CE-marked equipment — no European sales presence was found (the company describes itself as merely "open to European exports"); or your tractor isn't on the compatibility list.

Not suitable for

Farms outside the US and Canada, where no dealer network was found; tractor brands/models not on Sabanto's compatibility list; orchards, vineyards, berries, vegetables, sugar beet, dairy and poultry operations — Sabanto's public case studies are row-crop, grain and turf/sod only.

Specifications

Power sourceRetrofit kit powered by the host tractor's own diesel powertrain — no dedicated power source of its own
Required tractor powerAftermarket retrofit centred on 80-150hp tractors; compatible models include John Deere 5E (5075E, 5085E, 5090E, 5100E), 5M (5090M, 5095M, 5100M, 5105M, 5115M, 5120M, 5130M) and 6E (6105E, 6120E, 6135E cab-only) series, Kubota M5 (M5-091, M5-111), and Fendt 700-series (model year 2022+); Deutz-Fahr support is in development. Requires an electronic shuttle (PowrReverser) and factory grill guard on the host tractor
DimensionsNot disclosed
WeightNot disclosed
Min farm sizeNot disclosed
ProductivityRoughly 300 systems operational across North America as of mid-2026 (Farmers Weekly); one large customer runs 25 units simultaneously (AgFunderNews); sod-farm customer Super-Sod runs 11 units across the southeastern US (Trimble customer story)
Max speedUp to 13 km/h in autonomous mode
SensorsTrimble BX992 dual-GNSS receiver for heading determination with Trimble CenterPoint RTX correction — sub-4cm guidance accuracy maintained under partial tree canopy; cameras and obstacle-detection sensors; onboard AI processing unit; cellular connection to the cloud
ConnectivityCloud-connected Vehicle Mission Control (vMC) mobile/desktop app for mission planning, remote monitoring and emergency stop; Vehicle Path Finding Module (vPFM) interfaces with the tractor's steering, power and hydraulic systems; Vehicle Operating System (vOS) executes the mission
Compatible toolsAutomates mowing (including batwing mowers), rolling, seeding, tillage, hay cutting, aerating, roto-tilling, rotary hoeing and tine weeding using the host tractor's existing implements; precision spray application via a Verdant Robotics integration
Configurations
Steward for John Deere 5E/5M/6E14 John Deere models supported (5E, 5M and 6E series, cab and open-station variants except 6E which is cab-only)
Steward for Kubota M5M5-091 and M5-111 (cab and open station)
Steward for Fendt 700-seriesModel year 2022 and newer; released via dealer partner Vanderloop Equipment
Steward for Deutz-FahrIn development — not yet released (Farmers Weekly, 2026)

Price & ROI

Price (EUR)≈€55,000 upfront, ≈€8,500/yr (indicative conversion — no direct EU pricing published)
Native priceUS$65,000 equipment + installation, plus a US$10,000 annual subscription (Farmers Weekly-reported dealer pricing, 2026)
Price verified2026-07-18
Business modelBuy the retrofit kit outright through Sabanto's dealer network (Trimble Vantage dealers in the US/Canada, e.g. Vanderloop Equipment for Fendt); requires a mandatory annual subscription for guidance/software
Ongoing costUS$10,000/year subscription covering guidance service and software updates (Farmers Weekly-reported dealer pricing); individual low-cost sensors can disable the system if damaged ("it only takes one US$20 sensor to put a tractor out of action" — Farmers Weekly)
MaintenanceServiced through the dealer network (e.g. Vanderloop Equipment); Sabanto also offers a "virtual Field Operator" managed service to remotely deploy and monitor customers' autonomous tractors
Payback modelSteward · Sabanto
No manufacturer payback figure is published for this machine. The model below uses only your inputs.
Your farm

Farm figures carry across machines; the per-machine rates reset when you open a different listing.

Your result · per year
Labour saved
Inputs saved
Total saved

Payback = machine price ÷ (labour + input savings per year). Every figure above is yours to change. FX is indicative.

Verified outcomes

Each result is a before-to-after figure with a time horizon and a cited source. Independently-verified results are marked separately from vendor-claimed ones.

Equipment capital investment (single-farm case study — Quint Pottinger, Kentucky)Costone-time capital outlay, one farm · AgFunderNews — "Leaps by Bayer backs Sabanto to bring 'practical autonomy to more farms'"
approximately 70% reduction in equipment capital investmentVendor-claimedConventional "bigger is better" fleet of higher-horsepower tractors and equipment → Single 135hp tractor and 20-foot planter fitted with Sabanto's autonomy kit, used to plant the entire corn crop autonomously in one season
Mowing operating cost vs conventional operation (Super-Sod sod-farm case study)Costper acre, ongoing · Trimble OEM GNSS customer story
≈US$10/acre cheaper than the human-operated mower with 10% overlap; ≈US$7.80/acre cheaper than the GNSS-guided human-operated mowerVendor-claimedHuman-operated mower with 10% pass overlap, and separately a GNSS-guided human-operated mower → Sabanto-automated mower holding a 23.75 ft swath with only 3 inches of pass overlap
Guidance accuracy under partial tree canopyPrecision & accuracyongoing · Farmers Weekly — "£50k Sabanto Steward kit gets Fendt 700s working autonomously"
Trimble BX992 dual-GNSS + CenterPoint RTX correction maintains sub-4cm guidance accuracy under partial tree canopyVendor-claimedwas: Standard GNSS guidance accuracy degrades under canopy interference

EU context

CE markingNot disclosed — no CE-marking evidence found; confirmed deployments are US/Canada only
EU Machinery RegulationNot applicable — no evidence Steward has been placed on the EU market
AI Act relevanceNot assessed for EU deployment — no EU sales/service presence found; the onboard camera/GNSS autonomous-navigation stack would likely require an AI Act risk review if placed on the EU market
CAP subsidyNot applicable — no EU/CAP-linked deployment found

Get it

Verified EU dealers
Trimble Vantage dealer network (retrofit kit sales/install)United States and Canada
Vanderloop Equipment (Fendt 700-series kit)Wisconsin, US
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Evidence

Sources

Specifications cross-checked against manufacturer documentation; listing last verified 2026-07-18.

Demo
No demo video yetWe link a demo only once one is confirmed current.
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