The Reservoir, and its nonprofit on-farm robotics incubator, Reservoir Farms, is working hard to become this missing R&D layer that growers trust. In building the partnership with Western Growers, the Reservoir wants to show members that it exists to serve their needs and bring them closer to the tools that matter. Growers will have the opportunity to engage with and provide feedback to startups working hard to solve real problems facing California specialty crop producers. The Reservoir will facilitate interactions between startups and growers through field visits, showcases and introductions. Western Growers’ Palone envisions a “well-driven track around Reservoir Farms as growers visit and see what’s happening.” Beginning with the Salinas location, there will be a rhythm of quarterly showcases that tie into natural crop and testing cycles, supplemented with monthly engagement opportunities, including small group site visits, in-field demos and roundtable discussions. The best way to follow what’s happening at the Reservoir is on LinkedIn, and there are plans to develop a member portal where growers can opt in, state an area of interest or pain point, and be matched with startups working on relevant technologies. Although Western Growers members can expect a warm welcome from the Reservoir’s General Manager and staff, driving onto the well-driven path is not necessary. The Reservoir will maintain a dedicated online presence which will include startup profiles, field trial reports and video walkthroughs that give growers a sense of what’s working, what is still being figured out and what’s coming next. Growers well-versed in the agtech startup ecosystem will enjoy the regular community, programming and updates, and members who have not stepped into the universe will now find easy entry. WG members will learn not just what each company does, but how they learn, iterate and engage with the field. In a nutshell, growers can trade the 8 a.m. meetings with startups at their company office for front-row seats to the show—
with many acts and performers, and an extended residency in their backyard. The need to explore and commit to a single partnership is replaced by the opportunity to engage with a handful of companies working on various problems facing California farming, especially concerning labor-offsetting technologies, all in a low-pressure environment that will allow for an organic development of partnerships as trust builds. In Bernstein’s words: “We want Western Growers members to feel like Reservoir is a living, breathing space they can drop into— not just an annual conference booth.” In selecting their inaugural cohort, the Reservoir is evaluating companies based on technical due diligence, crop relevance (including the region’s core crops: lettuce, berries, broccoli and other specialty produce) and founder mindset. Priority areas include robotic harvesters adept at handling delicate produce; rugged mobility solutions for uneven terrain and open fields; machine vision tailored specifically to specialty crops; lightweight end effectors designed for produce handling; and more. Additionally, there is support for startups working on modular robotics components for flexible field use, edge AI facilitating real- time decisions without cloud reliance, and precision soil analytics. Companies and participants must share a commitment to wanting to learn from growers and build with them—not just sell to them. A selection committee comprising growers, original equipment manufacturer (OEM) advisors and technical experts, helps balance these dimensions. Bernstein notes the distinctiveness of this approach: “These startups operate in the real world, not a simulated one. That “We want Western Growers members to feel like Reservoir is a living, breathing space they can drop into—not just an annual conference booth.”
18 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com July | August 2025
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