December 2022 - 11

California: well suited for robotics
By Chris Koger
Managing Editor
California Agriculture Secretary Karen
Ross told attendees at the inaugural FIRAUSA
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.
She 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, vice president of
AgTech Innovation for Western
Growers, and Dennis Donohue, the
executive director of the Western
Growers Center for Innovation,
appeared on FIRA-USA panels.
Duflock commended the recent
effort by the Fresno-Merced 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 economic
development grant, which means success
will be counted by how many jobs and
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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. " FGN
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
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December 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of December 2022
