Key Takeaways:
- Reservoir officially opened Reservoir Farms – Salinas, featuring multiple innovation barns and 24 acres of dedicated commercial test fields
- More than 300 growers, ag leaders, officials, and investors attended the grand opening
- Ten resident startups are demonstrating technologies ranging from in-field sensing to autonomous harvest
- Reservoir and Western Growers announced a new multi-year partnership to expand the innovation model across more crops and regions
- Reservoir plans to break ground on a Central Valley hub in Merced this June and is approaching the first close of its venture capital fund
Reservoir Officially Opens On-Farm Innovation Center in Salinas
Reservoir has officially opened Reservoir Farms – Salinas, its flagship on-farm agtech innovation hub focused on specialty crops. The new site features multiple innovation barns and 24 acres of dedicated commercial test fields in California's Salinas Valley.
More than 300 growers, agricultural leaders, federal and state officials, community partners, investors, and media attended the grand opening event, where nearly a dozen resident startups and scaleups showcased prototype- and early-stage technologies.
A Concentrated Ecosystem for Specialty Crop Innovation
The hub brings together technology companies, growers, and startups under one roof to develop and test solutions for specialty crop production. Reservoir Farms – Salinas is built on farmland leased from Tanimura & Antle, with collaboration spaces and prototyping studios housed across multiple barns.
“From our early days, Reservoir listened intently to partners to understand where innovation in agriculture was stuck,” said Danny Bernstein, founder and CEO. “With the doors open, the focus turns to execution and impact – in the form of real-world solutions for growers, upskilled jobs for rural communities, and a more secure food supply for American consumers.”
Partners and Resident Startups
Reservoir's partner network — including John Deere, Western Growers, the State of California, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Netafim, Tanimura & Antle, Naturipe Berry Growers, and Hartnell College — is contributing equipment, agronomic expertise, workforce programming, and R&D support.
“Our partnership with Reservoir ensures our front‑row seat with growers and startups to advance next generation technology,” said Jason Brantley, vice president of production systems, small ag & turf at John Deere. “We are building upon our long-standing commitment to our customers and investing in practical, scalable solutions that fit day‑to‑day farm operations.”
The inaugural cohort includes Agtom, Beagle Technology, BHF Robotics, Bonsai Robotics, Cropr, Farmblox, Lumo, Neuralzome, Numanac, and TRIC Robotics, with technologies spanning in-field sensing, AI-driven insight platforms, autonomous harvest, and novel crop protection methods.
Reservoir and Western Growers Formalize Multi-Year Partnership
At the event, Reservoir announced the continuation of its strategic partnership with Western Growers, formalizing the organization's role in connecting the hub's work with specialty crop producers across the West.
“Growers have been at the heart of Reservoir from day one,” said Walt Duflock, senior vice president of agtech innovation at Western Growers. “Our new multi-year partnership with Reservoir is designed to take this model from Salinas into more crops and regions, and to turn promising technologies into rugged tools growers can trust.”
Expansion Plans and Venture Fund Progress
Reservoir also announced it will break ground on Reservoir Farms – Central Valley in Merced this June. Over the past winter, Reservoir startups ran pilots at the University of Arizona's Yuma Agricultural Center, testing technologies in commercial desert vegetable production.
Additionally, Reservoir is moving toward the first close of its venture capital fund, Reservoir VC, designed to support agtech startups from early R&D through on-farm validation and commercial scaling.
“We're building a network of places where growers, innovators, and investors can work side by side to bring solutions to market faster,” said Bernstein. “And we are just getting started.”
