New incubator Reservoir Farms to cultivate agrobotics startups

The Reservoir, a nonprofit that builds tech incubators in California, is launching an on-farm robotics incubator called Reservoir Farms. Set to open in the Central and Salinas Valleys in Q1 2025, Reservoir Farms will provide a unique combination of resources to help agrobotics startups.

The concept for Reservoir Farms is simple: provide a place for agrobotics startups to quickly build and test their ideas. Companies who join the incubator will have access to their own secure storage sheds, along with a fully equipped maker space that will include machine tools, welders, CNC routers, and 3D printers to enable them to quickly prototype new ideas. Located on each campus will be test fields that will be cultivated year-round to provide in-field testing of the robots.

One of the struggles for any agtech startup is developing a partnership with a grower or farmer willing to test the new equipment. Some startups have a family connection to farming, and having access to system testing is key to early validation and input for design changes.

“The launch of Reservoir Farms is a critical step forward in ensuring the future resilience of California’s agriculture and across the Central Coast and Central Valley,” said Danny Bernstein, CEO of the Reservoir and managing partner of HawkTower. “By placing incubators directly on the farm, we enable innovators to test, iterate, and scale solutions in real-world conditions as a more immediate path to advance farming communities.”

Initial projects at the incubators will focus on early-stage agricultural innovations in automation and robotics, including rovers and drones, that accelerate the development of breakthrough solutions to the opportunities and imperatives faced by California farms producing high-value specialty crops, such as labor shortages, profitability, and adopting climate-smart technologies.

Key industry sponsorship

Western Growers Association, a key advocate for advancing agricultural innovation, will provide financial and operational support as an anchor partner. Educational partners like UC ANR, Hartnell College, and Merced College will play a role in workforce development, preparing the next generation of agricultural researchers and professionals to drive the future of farming in California. HawkTower, a venture capital firm investing in early-stage startups developing solutions for California’s environmental and industrial imperatives, is also an anchor partner.

“Our goal is to eliminate the friction points that have historically slowed down the development of new agtech solutions,” said Walt Duflock, Senior Vice President of Innovation at Western Growers Association. “Reservoir Farms offers a new model, where startups can work side-by-side with growers to test their technologies, iterate in a low-stakes environment, and build scalable solutions to improve agriculture’s operations.”

A new model to incubate agtech innovation

The idea for Reservoir Farms emerged from industry research and consultations with over 50 organizations in the specialty crop sector. Key insights uncovered critical gaps in startups’ access to real-world testing environments, shop space, and direct relationships with growers—factors that severely hindered capital efficiency and posed a formidable barrier to innovation.

“As robotics and automation become more integral to California agriculture, it’s essential to have facilities like Reservoir Farms embedded within the farming community,” said Gabriel Youtsey, chief innovation officer at UC ANR. “By bridging the gap between lab-based research and real-world application and accelerating tech transfer, Reservoir Farms can help build the workforce and technology needed to address the critical challenges on the farm, from labor shortages to climate change.”

Located in the heart of California specialty cropland

Reservoir Farms will open its first two locations in Salinas Valley and Merced in the first quarter of 2025. Participants can lease testing fields and shop space without the burden of multi-year leases, giving them the flexibility needed to scale. The incubators will offer fully equipped R&D workshops, secure storage for expensive equipment, and customized, pre-planted specialty crop fields for testing. These facilities will be complemented by Reservoir Farms’ co-working spaces, meeting rooms, and a robust demo day schedule designed to connect startups with growers, investors, and other key stakeholders.

In addition, the Western Growers Association’s validation process will provide startups with a quantitative “scorecard” that offers crucial metrics on scalability, efficacy, and financial viability. This validation, combined with UC ANR’s field testing, will help startups refine their products and receive a critical stamp of approval that builds trust with growers and ensures a smoother path to commercialization.