- Author: Hanif Houston
Validation of Innovation Program provides supportive ecosystem for startups
The VINE, an initiative by the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, is now accepting applications for its VINE Validation of Innovation Program. The program aims to support innovation in the agri-tech sector, particularly in climate-resilient solutions for California food systems.
Made possible with support from a UC Climate Action grant, the program is inviting startups to apply, with a focus on providing comprehensive support for field trials – a critical stage for any agri-tech venture.
"Field trials are vital for validating new innovations in the agri-tech sector,” said Gabe Youtsey, chief innovation officer with UC ANR and founder of The VINE. “The VINE VIP aims to provide a supportive environment for carrying out these essential tests, bridging the gap between innovative concepts and real-world application."
Elif Ceylan, co-founder of OpenGate Partners and head of the VINE VIP, also stressed the importance of field trials.
"Field trials serve as a crucial phase where promising ideas either succeed or require adjustment,” Ceylan said. “We are committed to prioritizing this stage to ensure the effectiveness and relevance of emerging agri-tech solutions."
The VINE VIP offers more than field trials. It provides a supportive ecosystem for startups, including industry connections, access to a broad network of farmers and experts, comprehensive validation results and market entry support. The program is a unique accelerator that pairs startups with project partners in the agri-tech industry, facilitating Proof of Concept projects and commercialization trials for industry-defined challenges in California agriculture.
By connecting startups with farmers, academics and industry experts, the program aims to validate, advance, adopt and amplify innovative technologies, reducing technological risks and accelerating sales through its extensive industry network.
Startups interested in joining the VINE VIP can apply until Sept. 16, 2023. Detailed information about the program and the application process is available on The VINE's website at thevine.io/vip.
The VINE is an initiative of the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, dedicated to fostering agriculture, food, and biotech innovation in California. Our mission is to support industries and entrepreneurs while promoting technology innovation and commercialization for sustainable and equitable food systems. We connect entrepreneurs with public and private sector resources, encourage collaborations to address industry challenges, and promote regional capacity for global innovation as an economic opportunity.
/h3>- Author: Wendy Powers
Not only is the sun shining a bit brighter now that some of the haze has lifted in my area, but there are a number of good news items to share! Congratulations to Gabe, Maggie and the broader UC team for their recent $20M award to establish an institute that uses artificial intelligence in developing food systems!
Our fire experts are in the headlines again. It is nice to see science part of the stories. I mentioned Yana in my last post. She and Susie, both, were sought out by Salon as subject matter experts.
Claudia Diaz was recognized by Senator Mike Morrell in regards to her work engaging diverse youth in environmental conservation. Well deserved! Congratulations, Claudia! I have needed to keep this new quiet for a few weeks now. It is difficult not to spill the news!
Two other CE Advisors have been selected to be recognized for their distinguished contributions. Unfortunately, I can't share the news until the awarding organizations release the information. While I eagerly await the time to share, I will continue to accrue names of awardees. So many across UC ANR are deserving of recognition. Most are incredibly humble.
There's more good news from Riverside! I am so pleased to see that the Riverside County Board of Supervisors recognized Jose Aguiar with a proclamation that recognized and thanked him for his 28 years in Cooperative Extension. No one is more deserving. Congratulations Jose! I believe Jose was planning to travel a bit during his retirement, including back to Colombia to visit family. I hope those plans are moving forward. Jose also has big plans to help the new CE Vegetable Advisor settle in to the new position, once hired. Jose has a great video that Supervisor Perez (Chair of the Board) took the time to put together where the Supervisor presents the proclamation to Jose (virtually) and outlines Jose's contributions to Riverside County. I wish I could figure out how to attach it to this post! Feel free to email me if you would like me to email the file to you.
I am excited to listen to the Town Hall meeting on Friday with our new UC President and learn a bit more about him and his goals for UC. Following, the UC ANR President's Advisory Commission (PAC) meets for two hours to plan our first meeting with President Drake which will occur in September. The newly formed PAC committees will report out on their efforts as well. Following the PAC meeting, I am hoping to wrap up budget decisions for the programmatic units so that letters can go out next week. I know everyone is awaiting that information as we await final numbers for the state and federal budget allocations that remain some weeks away.
Then on to the weekend yard work that has no end. I welcome the cooler weather and somewhat cleaner air!
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The Third Annual Open Farm comes to the UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Parlier Oct. 3. Open Farm is a gathering hosted each year by the farming community to connect technology vendors, academics and growers to accelerate the digital transformation of the food and agriculture sector.
The meeting runs from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Registration is free for growers and government employees; $20 for representatives of power and water utilities; and $40 for vendors. Register on the Eventbrite webpage. (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/3rd-annual-open-farm-tickets-48793567875) Continuing education credits will be offered.
The Kearney REC is at 9240 S. Riverbend Ave., Parlier, Calif.
The Open Farm event features:
- Keynote address by Glenda Humiston, vice president, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources
- Field demonstrations of 3D mapping of research fields using drones, automation of irrigation and fertigation, and comparison of water measurement methods to prepare for the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act
- Peer reviewed research presentations on agronomy, monitoring, robotics and data mining
- An industry panel with growers and food processors
Open Farm 2018 sponsors and partners are:
- UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR)
- The VINE, Verde Innovation Network for Entrepreneurship
- West Hills College, Coalinga
- California State University, Fresno
- BlueTechValley
- PowWow Energy
- WiseConn Engineering
- Pumpsight
- Blue River Technologies
- Bowles Farming Company
Open Farm started in 2016 at Terranova Ranch with the support of a research grant from the California Energy Commission (EPC-14-081). In 2017, the event grew to a wider gathering with peer-reviewed presentations organized by UC ANR and field demonstrations led by West Hills College. Both organizations are involved in the broadband initiative to bring better broadband services in the Central Valley.
“The future of ag tech innovation and implementation on the West Side depends on access to broadband internet in the fields,” said Terry Brase, ag science instructor at West Hills Community College. “West Hills is proud to partner with UC ANR to champion an initiative that would make this possible for local growers.”
PowWow Energy, Pumpsight and WiseConn Engineering are examples of companies that have worked with the farming community and established application programmable interfaces (API) that allow farmers to protect their data and get the different applications to talk to each other.
“It makes the lives of growers easier, not harder,” said Olivier Jerphagon, founder and CEO of PowWow Energy, Inc.
The three vendors went through the Water Energy Technology (WET) center at Fresno State, which is one of the incubators in California connected by the VINE.
“Agriculture needs standards to support the better integration of systems and data to make using technology easier and less expensive, while protecting the privacy of farms,” said Gabe Youtsey, UC ANR chief innovation officer. “We need to work together across industry, academia and government to share best practices and form partnerships to solve real problems and adapt the integration of software and data to the needs agriculture. This is why we started the VINE.”
The VINE – the Verde Innovation Network for Entrepreneurship – is a connected community of innovators and resources that sustainable agriculture and food innovators can leverage, including incubators, research labs, field testing facilities, mentors and industry experts.
“The food and agriculture industry is changing fast, and for an organization like ours to add value, we have to understand the diversity of innovation that is happening in the industry,” said Helle Petersen of Fresno State's WET Center. “The VINE community helps us navigate the field, and leverages the many assets of our region. The Open Farm is one of those opportunities, a unique event that brings together researchers, farmers, industry and others to share their knowledge, best practices and find opportunities for partnerships.”
- Author: Laura J. Van der Staay
Malcolm Media is providing three Ag expos this month: A tree and vine expo in Turlock was presented today; a grape expo will be in Sonoma on November 10, 2017, and a grape, nut and tree fruit expo will be at the Fresno fairgrounds on November 14, 2017. To pre-register, please use the above link.
This blog article is on the November 14th expo in Fresno. The Grape, Nut & Tree Fruit Expo is provided every year at the BIG Fresno Fair grounds. Held in the heart of grape, nut and tree fruit growing areas, the expo is sponsored by the Central Valley wine, table, and raisin grape, tree fruit and nut industries. UC ANR scientists involved with applied research and extension for these cropping systems will provide presentations to the attendees.
The expo is free, and has free seminars that provide continuing education units approved by CDPR for CE/CCA licenses (1 hour of laws and regulations, and 4 hours of other), a free breakfast, a free lunch, and industry exhibits. It starts at 7:00 am and finishes at 2:00 pm. UC ANR speakers include:
- George Zhuang, Fresno County UCCE farm advisor in viticulture will present “Cropload Management on Young Pinot Grigio Vines”
- Kent Daane, UCCE specialist at Kearney Ag Research & Extension Center (KARE), specializing in entomology, will present “Update on Black Widow Control in Table Grapes”
- Kurt Hembree, Fresno County UCCE farm advisor in weed management will present “Herbicide use for Vineyard Weed Control” and “What's New in Tree & Vine Weed Management”
- Ashraf El-Kereamy, Kern County UCCE farm advisor in viticulture will present “Improving Productivity & Quality of Grapes”
- Kris Tollerup, Cooperative extension advisor at KARE, specializing in IPM, will present “Effective Ant Management to Minimize Damage at Harvest”
- Themis Michailides, Plant Pathologist at KARE, will present “Band Canker of Almond Becoming a Threat to New Plantings”
- Kevin Day, Tulare County UCCE Director and farm advisor in pomology, will present “Lowering Labor Costs with Pedestrian Orchards”
- Author: Andreas Westphal
- Editor: Laura J. Van der Staay
Andreas Westphal, UC Assistant Cooperative Extension Specialist in the Department of Nematology at UC Riverside and UC ANR Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center started January 15, 2015. Westphal obtained his first two degrees from the University of Göttingen. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Riverside under the supervision of J. Ole Becker. After some postdoctoral experience at UC Davis, and some faculty experience with Texas A&M University and Purdue University, he moved back to Germany. He was recruited by UC after Mike McKenry retired.
Westphal's research program will focus on nematode problems of tree and vine crops. He will explore a multitude of cultural, biological and chemical strategies for managing nematodes in almond, grape, peach, walnut and other crops. Westphal moved here from the Julius Kühn-Institut, Braunschweig, Germany where he researched nematode management on field crops, and was responsible for determining plant resistance to plant-parasitic nematodes in the official cultivar release program.