January 2023 - 22

AG TECH SERIES
California: well suited for robotics
BY CHRIS KOGER
MANAGING EDITOR
C
alifornia Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross told
attendees at the inaugural FIRA-USA conference
they are part of the important first steps to solving
problems of tomorrow.
" What are we doing today to invest in equipping the
talent of tomorrow? " Ross asked in her Oct. 18 speech,
kicking off the conference. She had just returned from New
Zealand for a meeting on climate-smart initiatives and had
tested positive for COVID-19, so she delivered her remarks
through a video presentation.
She gave credit to the organizations involved in
presenting the FIRA-USA event:
* The Fresno-Merced Future of Food (F3) Innovation
Initiative
* GOFAR (Global Organization for Agricultural
Robotics)
* Western Growers
* University of California-Merced
* California State University, Fresno
* University of California-Division of Agriculture and
Natural Resources
" We cannot do it alone, we cannot do it as one
organization, or one company, and what this coalition
of people have done with their organizational prowess,
what has brought us all together today, is to really think
collectively, " Ross said. " What are the agri-tech needs of
today and of the future?
" Where are the solutions that need to be immediately
adopted, and where are the solutions that are going to
require even more innovation and collaboration, " she said.
Ross credited Western Growers for advancing ag-tech
through the Western Growers Center for Innovation and
Technology, which
opened in Salinas,
Calif., in late 2015.
Every year,
"
Western Growers
supports startups
and other tech
companies
through the
AgSharks pitching
competition, which
happens during
the organization's
annual meeting
in November.
Walt Duflock,
22 | JANUARY 2023
California Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross, who
kicked off FIRA-USA, delivered her remarks by video
because she caught COVID-19 immediately before
the conference while at a climate change event in New
Zealand. Photo: Ben Solati
Western Growers Center for Innovation, appeared on
FIRA-USA panels.
Duflock commended the recent effort by the FresnoMerced
Future of Food (F3) Innovation Initiative, which
learned in September it had earned a $65.1 million federal
grant, through the Biden administration's " Build Back
Better Regional Challenge. " It was the only proposal from
California that made the grade.
The F3 coalition is led by the Central Valley Community
Foundation, with the City of Fresno, Merced Community
College, Fresno Metro Ministry and the Fresno Area
Hispanic Foundation.
Duflock said the grant is not an innovation grant, but an
WE CANNOT DO IT ALONE, WE CANNOT
DO IT AS ONE ORGANIZATION, OR ONE
COMPANY, AND WHAT THIS COALITION
OF PEOPLE HAVE DONE WITH THEIR
ORGANIZATIONAL PROWESS, WHAT HAS
BROUGHT US ALL TOGETHER TODAY, IS
TO REALLY THINK COLLECTIVELY.
- KAREN ROSS,
CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURE SECRETARY
vice president of AgTech Innovation for Western Growers,
and Dennis Donohue, the executive director of the
economic development grant, which means success will be
counted by how many jobs and how
much funding is generated in ag tech
through the grant.
" Those are great metrics to
have, " he said. " Every rural area
supports ag. "
Duflock said that California should
continue to see success in ag robotic
research and development.
" Because we have so many
specialty crops, we're in the
leadership position in a lot of ways, "
he said. " We have the acreage
that needs to get tested, and we're
working at being a better second
market for the international players
that are out there, because there are a lot of startups that
are not in the U.S. that are building cool solutions. "
"
January 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2023
