Agricultural technology developers: Heed the words of wisdom from the “Shifting Ground” Conference last week at Harris Ranch in Coalinga, the fourth-annual economic development convening from West Hills Community College District.
Contained herein are several tips for your products from your customers on their home ground.
“Consumers transitioned from frozen peas to a wide variety of fresh produce,” fourth-generation farmer and California Water Commissioner Joe Del Bosque, told the 150 assembled San Joaquin Valley leaders, and ag tech adoption by growers is accelerating.
“Agriculture 3.0” is what ag tech entrepreneur Lance Donny calls it – from historical agriculture of many centuries to modern agriculture in the 1940s to tech-driven ag currently. “Ag tech,” he added, “is evolutionary, not revolutionary.”
“Stop doing the Sand Hill Shuffle!” Robert Casamento of Deloitte’s global analytics practice told agtech developers, and move your business to the San Joaquin Valley “to create a worldwide hub for ag tech – expand the knowledge, organize the assets, build skills and knowledge, and find local capital.” Noting Donny’s comments, Casamento explained local capital is “patient” capital.
Data deluges farmers daily, Donny said, and Moore’s Law now applies. The typical farmer today receives 6,000 data points, which will increase to 27,000 by 2020 and 120,000 five years later.
Given the data deluge, Donny said, ag tech analytical tools must parse increasing volume and velocity. This calculus must now be not only predictive, he said, but prescriptive – providing detailed recommendations and actions.
Venture capital is ramping up, Donny said, from $816 million in 2013 to an estimated $4 billion this calendar year.
The farmer on the dais, Del Bosque, said he is managing “more inputs with more production.” He’s now using drone scans to find stressed trees needing water, fight pest infestations and track fertilizer application.
But wait, ag tech developers, there’s more: “The public wants to know how you grow food.” And, as we’ve told you, compliance with state regulators. Del Bosque said he works with six state agencies and three nonprofit certification organizations.
And still more, on the topic of climate change. Robert Tse, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s California economic development officer, explained “the drought and weather are driving innovation and the future. There are more invasives (bugs and weeds, both voracious) and it is becoming too hot for many crops.”
If you are developing ag tech for the wine grape and cherry subsectors, in other words, much of your business is migrating to Oregon.
One last niche that I bet you’ve missed. Agritourism. Farmers increasingly market their farms. It began in wine country, of course, but you’ve noticed the sharp rise in pumpkin patches, regional festivals, and grower groups, et al?
“Geographical food marketing clusters” is what Glenda Humiston, vice president of the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources operation, calls it. She recommended that agri-businesses work within their regions to attract visitors.
(Disclosure to Readers: “Shifting Ground” is co-produced by The Gualco Group Inc., where I am senior adviser. West Hills College and Deloitte are clients. The purpose of the nonprofit conference is to create jobs in disadvantaged rural areas, especially the Valley.)
