Reservoir Turns Vision for Specialty Crop AgTech Innovation Center into Reality; Partners Create High-Density Hub of Innovators and Growers to Accelerate R&D and Field-Ready Technology for Food Production

 

Salinas, CA, March 17, 2026 – Reservoir officially opened Reservoir Farms - Salinas, its flagship on-farm innovation hub for specialty crops, turning its vision for an on-farm agtech innovation center into a working reality. The new site features multiple innovation barns and 24 acres of dedicated commercial test fields, creating the most concentrated ecosystem of technology leaders, growers, and startups anywhere in agriculture to rapidly scale solutions for global food production challenges.

“From our early days, Reservoir listened intently to partners to understand where innovation in agriculture was stuck,” said Danny Bernstein, founder and CEO of Reservoir. “Once our vision to create an on-farm innovation center was clear, we worked relentlessly with partners across the industry to bring the energy, focus and skills necessary to manifest the space and people necessary to make this a reality. 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.”

More than 300 growers, ag leaders, federal and state officials, community partners, investors and media attended the grand opening of Reservoir Farms - Salinas. Throughout the afternoon, guests met with partners and saw prototype- and early-stage innovations from nearly a dozen resident startups and scaleups focused on specialty crops.

“High‑value crops are some of the most dynamic systems in agriculture. Each crop requires its own unique production system, and their perishable nature makes precision not optional, but essential,” said Jason Brantley, vice president of production systems, small ag & turf at John Deere. “Our partnership with Reservoir ensures our front‑row seat with growers and startups to advance next generation technology. As part of the Reservoir community, we are building upon our long-standing commitment to our customers and investing in practical, scalable solutions that fit day‑to‑day farm operations.”

Visitors toured newly opened collaboration spaces and prototyping studios in multiple barns, along with test fields on farmland leased from Tanimura & Antle. Reservoir partners—including John Deere, Western Growers, the State of California, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Netafim, Tanimura & Antle, Naturipe Berry Growers, Hartnell College, and others—are contributing equipment, agronomic expertise, workforce programming, and R&D support to help turn promising ideas into tools that work on commercial farms today. The initial Reservoir Farms - Salinas, cohort includes Agtom, Beagle Technology, BHF Robotics, Bonsai Robotics, Cropr, Farmblox, Lumo, Neuralzome, Numanac, and TRIC Robotics, demonstrated technologies ranging from in-field sensing and AI-driven insight platforms to autonomous harvest and novel crop protection methods.

Reservoir and Western Growers Form Multi-Year Partnership

At the event, Reservoir discussed the continuation of its strategic partnership with Western Growers that formalizes WG’s continued role in connecting the hub’s work with the needs of 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. “Through Western Growers’ partnership, our members have had a seat at the table from the very beginning to make sure this isn’t innovation for innovation’s sake, but rather innovation focused on solving the labor, cost, and sustainability pressures they feel every season. 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.”

Multi-Region Expansion and Venture Fund Milestones

Last summer, Reservoir announced plans to expand its on-farm innovation center model across California, Arizona, and other major growing regions, with each hub anchored by leading academic and R&D institutions. As part of this multi-region strategy, Reservoir startups were invited to run pilots over the winter months at the University of Arizona’s Yuma Agricultural Center, testing technologies in commercial desert vegetable production.

Reservoir also announced that it will break ground on Reservoir Farms - Central Valley in Merced, this June and is moving toward the first close of its venture capital fund, Reservoir VC. These milestones mark the next phase of a platform designed to support agtech startups from early R&D through on-farm validation and commercial scaling.

“Through all our efforts, our mission remains ‘Technology as Resilience’ – to help derisk and accelerate R&D through on-farm testing in commercial operations across the country’s largest permanent, bedded, and other high-value specialty crops,” said Bernstein. “We’re building a network of places where growers, innovators, and investors can work side by side to bring solutions to market faster. And we are just getting started.”

ABOUT RESERVOIR:

Reservoir is an agricultural innovation center and venture capital fund focused on helping agtech startups succeed where agriculture happens—in the field. Reservoir Farms are the world’s first on-farm robotics innovation centers, starting in the Salinas Valley and expanding to other key regions across California and the American West. Reservoir VC backs startups solving real problems in high-value crops and the rugged physical AI stack. By combining R&D space, hands-on grower input, and early-stage capital, Reservoir helps turn promising ideas into tools for the growers who feed the world. Learn more at https://reservoir.co.