Automation in agriculture is moving forward at increasing speed as technologies finally catch up to the industry’s needs. However, many farm robotics and automation startups lack a key resource – a real farm to prove their technology. “The Reservoir” is a unique new incubator for these startups, where they’re not only developing early-stage agtech innovations but a workforce to operate these high-tech machines.
Danny Bernstein, CEO and managing parter of The Reservoir, says the nonprofit is rethinking how agricultural technology reaches the field. Bernstein describes The Reservoir as the “Olympic Village” of AgTech. “We’re an early-stage venture capital investor (Reservoir Ventures), robotics studio (Reservoir Engineering), and startup incubator network (Reservoir Farms) that bridges the gap between deep tech R&D and commercial deployment.”
Reservoir Farms provides the real-world testing environments for startups, where they have the opportunity to refine their technologies alongside growers. The idea for Reservoir Farms emerged from research and consultations with stakeholders in the specialty crop sector that unveiled critical gaps in startups’ access to real-world testing environments, shop space, and direct relationships with growers.
“That idea of bringing the development of robotics adjacent to the farm is something we have not been able to find in a cooperative sense – an incubator with 10 or 12 companies working together,” said Bernstein, who is also managing partner of venture capital firm HawkTower. “Western Growers got very excited about this idea because they’re seeing a lack of new and upcoming robotics companies addressing challenges in agriculture.”
The Reservoir is partnered with the Western Growers Association, which provides financial and operational support. They’ve also added anchor educational partners like UC ANR, Harnell College, and Merced College.
Reservoir Farms currently has campuses in Salinas and Merced, California. Salinas is in Monterey County at the southern end of the Salinas Valley, one of the most productive agricultural regions in California. Merced is located in the San Joaquin Valley, often referred to as California’s “breadbasket.”
Companies who join The Reservoir have access to testing fields and shop space without the burden of multi-year leases. The incubators offer participants their own secure storage sheds, along with a fully equipped maker space that includes things like machine tools and 3D printers.
Pre-planted specialty crops local to each incubator are available for testing. In Salinas, these crops include primarily produce like leafy greens, strawberries, carrots, and squash, while the Merced facility grows various nuts, stone fruit, citrus, and more.
In addition, the Western Growers Association’s validation process will provide startups with a quantitative “scorecard” that offers crucial metrics on scalability, efficacy, and financial viability. The group says this validation, combined with UC ANR’s field testing, will help startups refine their products and receive a critical stamp of approval that builds trust with growers and ensures a smoother path to commercialization.
The Reservoirs educational partners, meanwhile, will work to build the ag tech workforce. Bernstein says that automation should augment the workforce, not replace it. “We work on strategies that integrate robotics into farm operations in ways that create new job opportunities and training programs rather than simply displacing workers,” Bernstein told AgFunder.
The Reservoir and its partners hope to ultimately create a statewide network of testing and demonstration acres, said Walt Duflock, Western Growers’ senior vice president of innovation. The group is also open to expanding its concept and invites interested parties to contact them about bringing Reservoir Farms to their region. Learn more at the website HERE. (Sources: Western Growers, The Robot Report, AgFunder)
