John Deere backs first robotics testing farm for agtech startups in Salinas, California

The Reservoir broke ground Wednesday as the first on-farm robotics hub dedicated to specialty crops in Salinas, California, providing agtech startups with a dedicated testing space for automation tools. The innovation farm aims to support California’s agricultural sector by giving emerging technology companies a place to develop and refine solutions without disrupting working farms, with industry giant John Deere serving as a key partner.

What you should know: The Reservoir will grow celery, lettuce, and strawberries while serving as a testing ground for agricultural technology startups.

• Danny Bernstein, CEO of The Reservoir, said their goal is to “support the startups, to support the little tech companies that will develop the innovations that will help make it more economical to farm in California.”
• The farm eliminates the need for startups to convince individual farmers to test unproven technology on their productive land.

Key partner spotlight: John Deere’s involvement brings significant credibility and resources to the venture.

• Sean Sundberg, John Deere’s High Crop Value Business Integration Manager, explained they want to “make it easy for them, so it all starts with John Deere Operations Center, which is our digital platform to help our growers manage their businesses better and integrate that technology.”
• Bernstein compared John Deere’s partnership to “launching a new incubator for apps. And Apple is your big partner. So having John Deere here is really special.”

Startup success story: FarmBlocks exemplifies how The Reservoir addresses real market challenges for agtech companies.

• The startup develops remote monitoring and automation tools that allow farmers to manage irrigation and field operations without physical presence.
• CEO Nathan Rosenberg noted that “a farmer no longer has to go out to the field to go check on things, to go, you know, turn on the valve.”
• Two years ago, FarmBlocks “had to beg farmers to test their products,” but now has a dedicated space where they “can make mistakes” without disrupting commercial operations.

Looking ahead: The Reservoir announced plans to expand its model beyond California to Arizona and other growing regions, suggesting a scalable approach to agricultural innovation testing.