October 13, 2026
An annual statewide gathering with farmer perspectives, project showcases and working conversations about the future of agricultural technology in California.
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Connecting agricultural expertise across California.
The California AgTech Alliance brings people, programs, and resources together to advance agricultural innovation and expand opportunities for workers and businesses.
About the Alliance
Start here
Find your place in the Alliance
California’s agricultural strengths span farms, research institutions, businesses, classrooms, and communities. Whether you’re an entrepreneur looking for testing partners, a worker exploring training, or an educator connecting with employers, the Alliance connects you to the programs, partners, and opportunities that fit your work.
Find support for
Entrepreneurs & Startups
Move your agricultural technology forward with a clearer understanding of the people who will use it. The Alliance connects you with partner programs, regional expertise, and commercialization pathways that can help you develop an early idea, prepare for demonstrations, or explore your next business challenge.
See all 86 programs for Entrepreneurs & StartupsInvestors & Funders
Understand the people, programs, and agricultural needs shaping innovation across California. Whether you invest in companies, fund community initiatives, or lead economic development at home or abroad, the Alliance offers a starting point for exploring the ecosystem and finding where your interests intersect with partner work.
See all 6 partners for Investors & FundersWorkers & Learners
Build on your experience, explore new skills, and find a path into California’s changing agricultural workforce. The California AgTech Alliance helps you identify relevant training partners and career connections, whether you are a student, work in agriculture today, or are considering a move into the field.
See all 92 programs for Workers & LearnersFarmers & Agricultural Operations
Find expertise for technology and workforce decisions on your operation. The Alliance connects growers and agricultural businesses with innovators, educators, and program partners across California. Explore demonstrations, share the challenges a technology needs to address, and connect your team's skills needs with relevant workforce partnerships.
See all 73 programs for Farmers & Agricultural OperationsIndustry & Policy Leaders
Help keep agricultural innovation grounded in the needs of California’s farms, businesses, and workforce. The Alliance connects industry experience and public-sector perspectives with research, education, and commercialization partners, creating opportunities to share evidence, identify challenges, and inform collaboration across regions.
See all 15 partners for Industry & Policy Leaders
Featured story
What We Learned from Australia
What the Alliance learned from an August delegation to Australia led by CDFA Secretary Karen Ross, and how a new California–Queensland partnership strengthens agricultural innovation at home.
Events & Open Calls
Coming up
Webinar
Grapevine Crop Insurance webinar(opens in a new tab)
An online session for winegrape growers on crop insurance for grapevines.
Mixer
All Chambers Mixer(opens in a new tab)
An evening mixer at Robert Mondavi Winery bringing together members of the region’s chambers of commerce, local businesses and community partners.
Conference
GrowTECH FEST(opens in a new tab)
A two-day festival of agricultural technology and entrepreneurship in downtown Chico, connecting founders, investors and regional business partners.
Grant
Innovation Fellowship and AIC Awards(opens in a new tab)
Up to $200,000 over two years for UC Berkeley, Davis, Merced and Santa Cruz researchers, and participating national-lab investigators, turning advanced research outside the life sciences into products.
Briefing
Post-Harvest Press Conference(opens in a new tab)
A media and industry briefing on the season’s winegrape harvest.
Grant
Space Vandenberg Innovation Fund(opens in a new tab)
Non-dilutive grants of $7,500, $50,000 or $100,000 for students, researchers, startups and companies advancing aerospace, space and dual-use innovation that benefits San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties.
Conference
CAPCA Annual Conference(opens in a new tab)
The annual conference of California’s pest control advisers, with education, an industry expo and networking for the pest-management field.
Course
Communication in the Workplace(opens in a new tab)
A free, self-paced online course on professional communication, listening, teamwork, customer service, conflict resolution and email etiquette.
Webinar
CNIP information webinar(opens in a new tab)
An information session for organizations considering the California Nutrition Incentive Program’s CalFresh funding round, which supports nutrition incentives for CalFresh shoppers.
Summit
Global Impact Summit(opens in a new tab)
A summit bringing agrifood founders, growers, investors, corporate innovators and policy partners together to advance food and agriculture innovation.
Training
Train-the-Trainer, Spanish (October session)(opens in a new tab)
Spanish-language training that prepares agricultural supervisors, growers and safety trainers to lead pesticide safety training, with five continuing-education credits in laws and regulations.
Course
AgTech I-Corps enrollment(opens in a new tab)
A free customer-discovery course for agtech startup teams of two to four, built around customer interviews and hands-on workshops, with a path to the national I-Corps program.
Mixer
Business After Hours(opens in a new tab)
An after-work networking mixer for Napa businesses and community partners, hosted this month by Feast It Forward.
Demo
Irrigation and Fertigation Automation in Practice(opens in a new tab)
A live demonstration of irrigation and fertigation automation, followed by a conversation with growers about putting it to work in vineyards.
Convening
45th Annual Event Luncheon(opens in a new tab)
An annual luncheon bringing together the region’s economic development leaders and partners.
Conference
FIRA USA 2026(opens in a new tab)
A three-day agricultural robotics showcase with live field demonstrations, grower and technology matchmaking, innovation sessions and workforce programming.
Briefing
FIRA press conference / 2027 preview(opens in a new tab)
A press briefing at FIRA USA previewing the regions and crops in focus for the coming season.
Training
Trainer refresher, English(opens in a new tab)
A refresher that keeps current agricultural safety trainers up to date, with three continuing-education credits.
Conference
MISTA food innovation event(opens in a new tab)
A food innovation gathering on biotechnology, digital tools, regenerative agriculture and product development, with UC Davis’s Innovation Institute for Food and Health taking part.
Course
The Business of AI(opens in a new tab)
A live online course on putting AI to work in business, covering practical use cases, governance and planning.
Summit
Creative Economy Summit(opens in a new tab)
A regional summit on the Monterey Bay creative economy for entrepreneurs, educators, funders and workforce and community partners.
Training
Trainer refresher, Spanish(opens in a new tab)
A Spanish-language refresher that keeps current agricultural safety trainers up to date, with three continuing-education credits.
Forum
UCLA Anderson San Francisco Economic Outlook(opens in a new tab)
UCLA Anderson economists present their outlook for San Francisco and the regional economy to business, economic development and investment leaders.
Competition
Ideas Competition(opens in a new tab)
A competition for current students with idea-stage businesses, products or services, with up to eight $250 awards.
Workshop
Introduction to ArcGIS StoryMaps(opens in a new tab)
An introductory online workshop on telling stories with maps using ArcGIS StoryMaps.
Office hours
CNIP office hour(opens in a new tab)
Drop-in help for organizations preparing applications to the California Nutrition Incentive Program’s CalFresh round.
Conference
NextTech Kern(opens in a new tab)
A technology conference with tracks on AI, workforce, talent and the regional economy, for employers, educators and technology leaders.
Training
Train-the-Trainer, English(opens in a new tab)
Training that prepares agricultural supervisors, growers and safety trainers to lead pesticide safety training, with five continuing-education credits in laws and regulations.
Competition
Fall Quick Pitch applications(opens in a new tab)
A cash-prize pitch competition for student entrepreneurs, with finalists pitching live to judges and an audience.
Field day
Weed Management Tools Field Day(opens in a new tab)
A vineyard field day comparing undervine weed-management equipment side by side.
Internship
U21 Sustainable AI micro-internship applications(opens in a new tab)
A free, remote micro-internship for UC Davis students on a sustainability project spanning industry, innovation, infrastructure and AI, about five hours a week.
Course
Associate Project Management Exam Preparation Bootcamp(opens in a new tab)
Online preparation for the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) exam, part of a specialized certificate in project management.
Training
Drone Pilot Training applications(opens in a new tab)
Drone pilot training for students, with agriculture and general tracks, practical flights, GIS and FAA Part 107 exam preparation, plus a completion award and exam-fee coverage.
Course
Leadership Essentials(opens in a new tab)
A free, self-paced online course on leadership, emotional intelligence, accountability, decision-making, teamwork and workplace ethics.
Course
Private Applicator Certification preparation(opens in a new tab)
A three-session guided-study course in Spanish that prepares vineyard workers for the private pesticide applicator certification exam.
Grant
California Nutrition Incentive Program, CalFresh round(opens in a new tab)
Funding from a $13.5 million pool for certified farmers markets, mobile markets, CSAs, farm stands and small retailers that offer CalFresh shoppers incentives to buy fresh produce.
Showcase
Innovation Showcase(opens in a new tab)
The fourth cohort of Faculty Innovation Fellows presents their research, followed by networking and Q&A.
Training
Produce Safety Grower Training (November early)(opens in a new tab)
Produce food-safety training for U.S. growers and handlers, at a reduced fee for Californians.
Summit
Silicon Valley November Summit(opens in a new tab)
A Silicon Valley summit with an agtech expo and a session on agricultural investment, for startups, investors and food and sustainability partners.
Grant
Center for Produce Safety 2027 research pre-proposals(opens in a new tab)
Research funding for produce safety, with up to $200,000 a year for two years, or up to $50,000 for one-year proof-of-concept projects that benefit U.S.-grown specialty crops.
Competition
Social Innovation Challenge applications(opens in a new tab)
A challenge inviting students in any field to design solutions to the harmful effects of rapid technology change on human flourishing, with prizes up to $1,000.
Training
Ag Technology and Mechatronics enrollment(opens in a new tab)
Technical training and credentials in agricultural technology and mechatronics, with support services, for young people ages 16 to 24 without a high school diploma.
Certificate
AgTEC certificates(opens in a new tab)
Free agricultural systems certificates in English or Spanish for farmworkers and learners, combining online coursework with in-person skills assessments; no prior education required.
Call for speakers
Agri AI Summit speaker proposals(opens in a new tab)
A call for speakers to present on farm AI, data collection, generative AI, automation, policy and case studies at the Agri AI Summit.
Partnership
California grower and drone-service partnerships(opens in a new tab)
Partnerships for California growers and drone-service providers using VegForecast, a crop-intelligence platform built on drone imagery and field scouting.
Nothing of this kind is coming up yet. To see what’s open now, browse all events and open calls.
Partner spotlight
Reservoir
Incubation, technical tools and investment for agricultural innovation.
Reservoir helps agricultural technology startups develop, test and scale innovations through working-farm incubators, technical tools and services, and venture investment.
What they do
- Working-farm incubators
- Grower collaboration
- Venture investment
- Research and workforce partnerships
Who they serve
- Entrepreneurs & Startups
- Investors & Funders
- Farmers & Agricultural Operations