Sacramento Region's AgStart Combines Technology & Agriculture

Reposted from California Economic Summit

Have you ever planted a seed, be it a plant, fruit or flower, and watched it grow? Patience is the key to seeing that seed sprout and reach its full potential.

In this case, the Sacramento Regional Technology Alliance (SARTA) has planted the seed with its newest industry-cluster focused program called AgStart, combining the strength of California's tech and agriculture sectors.

Thanks to an i6 Challenge grant from the US Economic Development Administration (EDA), SARTA and UC Davis are working together to support, identify, invigorate and accelerate agriculture technology companies and entrepreneurs. 

"Currently there is a huge, and growing, need for agriculture technology to increase productivity and yield, improve cost effectiveness, and enhance the efficient use of resources such as water, energy, and land,” said Meg Arnold, SARTA CEO. “Ag technologies can, among other things, turn farm waste into energy, improve the drought tolerance of crops, increase food safety, provide for integrated pest management, drive the efficient use of water, and so much more.”

AgStart covers an area of 11 counties around Sacramento from Kern to San Joaquin and Stanislaus Counties.

The plan for the first year will be to:

• Develop and maintain the first map of the region's ag tech companies. -- They’re already over halfway to their goal of identifying 120 tech companies by the end of the year.

• Host a PitchFest, a competition to highlight successful ag tech companies -- Finals are Thursday, September 19

• Represent the region at the prestigious Ag Innovation Showcase in Missouri, the largest ag tech showcase in the world.

• Bring the ag innovation sector to SARTA's long-standing CleanStart Showcase in October.

"We are working with ag tech companies in their research and development,” said Dough Kohl, Program Director, AgStart. “We are making leadership series available, we are seeing where we can help introduce them to investors, as well as others in the ag tech industry who they might partner with and guiding them along the way to bring them to that next level.”

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