"Know More, Use Less" New Precision Imaging Vineyard Software Enables Smarter Use of Inputs | Grape and Wine Magazine

Napa Valley, CA — October 9, 2025 — Scout, the vineyard intelligence platform built by and for growers, announced today that its Scout Gen5 technology has been named to TIME’s list of the Best Inventions of 2025, which features 300 innovations transforming the way we live, work, and connect with the world. 

Each year, TIME’s editors evaluate thousands of submissions across industries, considering originality, efficacy, ambition, and impact. The 2025 list highlights breakthroughs in healthcare, sustainability, AI, and agriculture, recognizing inventions that are shaping a better future. 

The Modern Farmer’s Eye: Grower-Centric Innovation 

Scout was founded on a simple idea—the farmer’s eye is the best sensor in the field. Our mission is to scale that intuition and experience for the decades ahead. Scout delivers clarity and confidence through AI that sees and analyzes what humans can’t, and empowers what they can, so every vineyard and every vintage can reach its full potential. 

Created by UC Davis researchers, growers, and technologists, Scout drives innovation that improves efficiency, enhances quality, and protects the heritage of the world’s great vineyard sites. Scout helps growers see, measure, and act with precision, boosting vineyard performance and operational efficiency. 

Over the past three years, Scout has been deployed across some of California’s most celebrated vineyards. 

“Scout Gen5 was built side-by-side with some of the best vinegrowers who are stewards of the finest vineyards in the world,” said Kia Behnia, CEO of Scout. “Our customers didn’t just adopt the Scout platform—they helped shape it. This recognition from TIME honors not only the Scout team’s innovation, but also the growers and partners who pushed us to make it better, season after season.” 

Helping Vineyards Thrive in an Era of Change 

Scout Gen5 delivers vine-by-vine intelligence, helping growers see beyond the surface. With AI-powered insights into yield forecasting, vine health, and resource efficiency, Scout enables vineyard managers to make smarter, more sustainable, and more profitable decisions. 

By blending technology with tradition, Scout helps vineyards meet the challenges of climate uncertainty, labor shortages, and evolving market demands, while safeguarding the craft and legacy of vinegrowing for generations to come. By merging human insight with AI and computer vision, Scout transforms how growers see, measure, and act—preserving the wisdom of the farmer while amplifying it through technology built for the future of agriculture.

About Scout 

Scout is an AI-supported vineyard management platform designed in partnership with leading growers and winemakers. Founded on the belief that innovation should always serve those who work the land, Scout helps vineyard teams transform data into action, reduce risks, and unlock greater efficiency across their operations. Scout is headquartered in Napa Valley, CA, where the team continues to collaborate closely with the community that inspired its creation.

Better Together: Scout + Monarch Partner to Power a New Era of Sustainable Vineyard Management

Scout, the leader in AI-supported precision viticulture data platform, and Monarch Tractor, the pioneer of the fully electric, driver-optional tractor, and smart MK-V tractor, have announced a strategic partnership to provide vine-level mapping and analysis during standard MK-V operations; maximizing the value of each tractor pass and further reducing a vineyard’s carbon footprint. The collaboration pairs Scout’s AI-supported actionable plant insights with Monarch’s zero-emissions operations, enabling more regenerative, biodynamic, and organic practices in modern viticulture that also unlocks significant savings for a farm.

A Shared Vision for the Future of Farming

“Practices like organic, biodynamic, and regenerative farming demand greater surveillance and precision at the vine level– that’s why Scout exists,” says Kia Behnia, CEO of Scout. “These approaches require more from growers: more precision to make timely decisions, more performance from every vineyard block, more productivity with fewer inputs, and more profitability through automation and reducing fuel costs. By collecting agronomic data during routine operations, we empower our customers to meet these demands – capturing vital plant-level insights without additional tractor passes, labor expenses, fuel consumption, or emissions.”

By combining Scout’s AI-powered plant-level analytics with Monarch’s advanced electric and smart tractors, growers can seamlessly conduct routine tasks like mowing while simultaneously gathering high-resolution vine-level data. With capabilities like virus detection, canopy and fruit performance analysis, and yield forecasting, Scout transforms every tractor pass into a powerful, data-collection operation.. Routine passes become opportunities for crop performance optimization – without increasing emissions or operational complexity.

“Our mission at Monarch is to deliver powerful, open solutions that drive farm profitability and planet sustainability– innovations that reduce emissions, automate operations, and empower growers to become more efficient,” says Praveen Penmetsa, co-founder and CEO of Monarch Tractor. “We’re excited to partner with Scout as our ‘digital partner.’ Together, we’re equipping vineyards with the visibility, precision, and sustainability they need to thrive in the next generation of agriculture.

Meet Scout + Monarch at Napa RISE

Discover how electrification, automation, and AI-powered insights are reshaping the future of vineyard management. Scout and Monarch will be showcasing their partnership– combining real-time, vine-level intelligence with sustainable tractor operations – during three sessions of the upcoming Napa RISE Six Event Series, the wine industry’s premier forum for climate-smart, regenerative farming:

• April 30 – Energy Efficiency & Savings
• May 1 – Proactive Farming, Soil Health & Biodiversity
• May 8 – Climate Action & Regenerative Agriculture

To learn more about the event series, visit risegreen.org.

About Scout
Scout is an AI-powered analytics platform built for precision viticulture. Developed with growers, researchers, and vineyard operators, Scout delivers vine-by-vine insights into health, performance, and productivity. Using computer vision, AI, and location services, it transforms routine fieldwork into actionable intelligence.

These insights help extend vineyard lifespan and drive sustainability across three critical areas: vine health, operational efficiency, and long-term financial performance.

From detecting virus symptoms to measuring canopy and fruit performance to forecasting yields, Scout equips vineyard teams with the actionable insights they need to make smarter, faster decisions—both in the field and in the office.

Scout delivers precision, performance, productivity, and profitability—vine by vine.Learn more at agscout.ai.

About Monarch Tractor
Founded in 2018, Monarch Tractor’s MK-V is the world’s first fully electric, driver-optional, software-enabled tractor that combines electrification, automation, machine learning, and data analysis to enhance a farm’s existing operations, cut overhead costs, reduce emissions, increase labor productivity, and improve safety. With over 500 tractors sold across 20 states in the USA and units deployed across four continents, Monarch has a leading, electric, driver-optional, smart device footprint across agriculture and land management, globally. Over 75,000 customer usage hours in vineyards, dairies, solar farms, equestrian, produce, and other environments marks Monarch’s successful deployment across multiple verticals. Monarch is enabling clean, efficient, and economically viable solutions to farming and land management.