Key Takeaways
- Reservoir announced a pilot expansion into Arizona, with a new location set to go live and become operational October 1, 2026, in time for the fall and winter growing season.
- The Arizona site was developed with the University of Arizona's Yuma Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture (YCEDA) and the Yuma Agricultural Center (YAC).
- Startups will be able to run pilots in commercial desert vegetable production from October 2026 through March 2027, using 500 accessible acres at the Yuma Agricultural Center to advance automation in specialty crop production.
- The expansion builds on Reservoir's March 2026 launch of Reservoir Farms – Salinas, and startups at the Salinas site can now extend their engagement to a year-round cycle.
- Yuma, often called Salinas's “sister city,” grows an estimated 90% of the nation's leafy greens during the winter season, from November through March.
Reservoir announced a pilot expansion into Arizona, with a new location set to go live and become operational October 1, 2026, in time for the fall and winter growing season. The site was developed with the University of Arizona's Yuma Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture (YCEDA) and the Yuma Agricultural Center (YAC), extending Reservoir's on-farm innovation model into a key specialty crop region.
Reservoir Launches Arizona Pilot Site
“Expanding our model into Arizona is a signal that the Reservoir Farms model is working for both growers and startups,” said Danny Bernstein, founder and CEO of Reservoir. “We help rugged physical AI move faster from concept to commercial impact by creating real-world environments for testing and iteration and following crop production across the largest growing regions.”
Yuma Center Offers 500 Acres for AgTech Testing
Reservoir startups will have the opportunity to run pilots in commercial desert vegetable production during the winter growing season, from October 2026 through March 2027, using 500 accessible acres at the Yuma Agricultural Center to advance automation in specialty crop production. Startups already operating at Reservoir's Salinas facility now have the option to extend their engagement to a year-round cycle.
“The Yuma Agricultural Center provides a living laboratory for evaluating emerging technologies under the real production conditions that define desert agriculture,” said Tanya Hodges, executive director, Yuma Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture. “This pilot collaboration with Reservoir gives innovators the chance to test and refine tools in specialty crops alongside the growers, researchers and industry partners who know this region best.”
Reservoir Builds on Salinas-Yuma Ties
The Arizona pilot builds on Reservoir's multi-region strategy and its earlier collaboration with YCEDA. In March 2026, with the opening of Reservoir Farms – Salinas, the company committed to expanding its model across California, Arizona and other key production regions. The effort also draws on a longstanding relationship between the ag industries of Salinas and Yuma, often called Salinas's “sister city,” which grows an estimated 90% of the nation's leafy greens each winter. Reservoir is advancing the Arizona site alongside the Yuma Agricultural Center, Western Growers and other state partners.
“Reservoir Farms makes sure agtech is built for the real world, not the lab,” said Walt Duflock, senior vice president of AgTech Innovation, Western Growers. “Our growers operate in some of the most demanding specialty crop environments in the country, and they need technologies they can rely on. The work we're doing together in Arizona and California keeps innovation grounded in those realities and focused on tools growers can trust.”
