The 4th California Apps for Ag will be held July 15-17. The competitive hackathon to solve real problems in agriculture and food is being hosted by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources and the California State Fair.
Software developers, designers, entrepreneurs, farmers, farm consultants and others in the agricultural industry are encouraged to participate in the hackathon, which will be held at the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources building at 2801 Second Street in Davis, from 8 a.m. Friday, July 15 to 11 a.m. Sunday, July 17.
“We would really like to see participants come from all corners of the state,” said Gabe Youtsey, UC ANR's chief information officer, “Let's see what happens when we mix developers from Silicon Valley and Southern California with agricultural experts from the Central Valley, coast and desert regions.”
People who work in agriculture should bring ideas for problems that technology may help solve.
“Apps for Ag Hackathons have already resulted in multiple startups and we want to see this momentum continue to grow,” said Robert Tse, USDA California Rural Development chief strategy officer for agriculture technology and innovation. “There is no better place than the State Fair in the Capitol to showcase the ingenuity of Caifornia's ag tech community.”
One startup that has resulted from a previous ag hackathon is Ag for Hire, which connects farm workers who need jobs with farmers who need workers.
“Hackathons are a great way to spur innovation in industry verticals where technology has not been fully adopted,” said Rob Trice, one of the judges and the founder of the Mixing Bowl and Better Food Ventures.
“All roads already point to the State Fair's competitions for other agricultural commodities,” said Jay Carlson, ag programs manager at the State Fair, “This makes the fair a showcase for agricultural innovations as well.”
For more information and to register, visit http://www.apps-for-ag.com. If you have questions or suggestions, contact Gabe Youtsey at gdyoutsey@ucanr.edu.
ANR will host the Statewide Apps for Ag Hackathon at the UC ANR building in Davis July 15–17. The finals will be held at the California Exposition and State Fair in Sacramento on July 17 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Gabriel Youtsey, chief information officer, invites everyone to participate in the unique design-and-development competitive hackathon, which he hopes will lead to solutions to on-farm problems in agriculture and food.
“We would really like to see participants come from all corners of the state, including mixed teams of software developers, students, designers, entrepreneurs, and agricultural experts coming together to solve real problems for our farmers and communities with technology,” said Youtsey.
“We are open to a variety of ways for you to participate, including as panelists at the event, identifying a key challenge in some area of agriculture, a member of a team, an observer or perhaps even a judge,” said Youtsey. “We would very much appreciate if you can forward this to colleagues or students that might be interested in attending or sponsoring the event.”
More information can be found at http://www.apps-for-ag.com. The form for sponsors is at http://ucanr.edu/sites/anrstaff/files/240840.pdf. A flyer for the event can be downloaded at http://ucanr.edu/sites/anrstaff/files/240869.pdf.
If you have questions or would like to participate, contact Youtsey at (530) 750-1314 or gdyoutsey@ucanr.edu.