As Dennis Donohue & I continue our 2023 Salinas Biological Summit grower tour, it’s great to spend some time in the Western Growers Innovation & Technology Center in Salinas. It’s Wharf42’s ‘soft AgriFoodTech landing pad’ in the US. And with long-time friend, Dennis being the Center’s Director, it’s a bit of a no-brainer!
Based in the Taylor Building at 150 Main Street, Salinas, the Center is also the preferred landing pad for many of the world’s most exciting early stage AgriFoodTech companies. You can view some of the awesome start-up tenants at Innovators | Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology (wginnovation.com).
18 months ago, the Center established a Global Advisory Board and I’m a proud member. Its purpose is to analyse grower challenges and then identify global solutions that might be able to address them. There is a of course a flip side to this purpose.; the Global Advisory Board is able to identify international challenges and apply a global lens to them. The 2023 Salinas Biological Summit is a great example of this. This is not just a California challenge. Or a California opportunity.
As we work our way across the State, it’s hard to under-estimate the size of this particular specialty crop market and the opportunity it offers early stage international AgriFoodTech start-ups to scale.
The price of failure however can be fatal. Opportunity v Risk.
To support its international tenants and assist de-risk ‘the risk’, the Center is developing a Grower Trial Network. This will provide access to WG grower properties to enable global Center tenants to test their AgriFoodTech solutions. What works in the Waikato, the Adelaide Hills or the UK Fens, doesn’t necessarily work in Central or Salinas Valley. Trial your tech first. Develop a case study. Your local grower will become your best friend and greatest reference source.
Over the coming weeks, the Center will be putting the plans in place to help launch the Network. We’ll share details across this site.
It’s great to be back at 150 Main Street. It’s been too long.