More than 100 growers, ranchers, researchers, students and investors gathered at UC ANR's Hopland Research and Extension Center on June 30 for the UC ANR Connect Field Day, delivered in partnership with Farmhand Ventures.
Eight agricultural technology companies demonstrated their tools in real vineyard conditions, giving attendees an opportunity to see the technologies at work, speak candidly with their developers and consider how they might address challenges on their own operations.
Several growers left with plans to conduct trials, an encouraging sign that hands-on evaluation can help turn promising ideas into adoptable solutions.
“I heard over and over again from growers how nice it was to see how the tools work in the vineyard, ask questions without the one-to-one pressure of a sale,” said Hannah Johnson, industry lead for UC ANR Innovate. “That’s the whole point of this program – we vet the tech ahead of time, so growers can see it working, ask real questions and decide if they want to try it. The best part is many of them left with plans for trials.”
This is why field-based programs like UC ANR Connect are so important. Agricultural innovation only creates value when it responds to real needs and earns the trust of the people expected to use it. By beginning with grower-identified challenges, UC ANR Connect helps vet technologies for relevance and readiness, and bring companies into a trusted, low-pressure setting,
UC ANR Connect creates a win-win on both sides. Growers gain credible information before investing their time and resources, while technology companies receive the honest feedback and real-world validation needed to improve their products.
Looking ahead, UC ANR Innovate will build on this momentum through eight additional field days over the next 18 months, each shaped by the needs of different agricultural regions and commodities.
The next field day will focus on coastal vegetable production in the Salinas Valley on Aug. 6. You can learn more and register at https://bit.ly/ucanr-fieldday-coastal-veg-26.
“We're really excited about the next one on Aug. 6 as well,” Johnson said. “We have two international farmer delegations joining – over 40 farmers from Brazil and 14 from Hungary all looking for vetted (the key component of our program) precision agricultural tools. We expect 200 attendees.” California AgTech Alliance is helping to coordinate the international visitors.