Ag tech startups will now have the opportunity to test, develop and validate their machines and products in the Winter Lettuce Capital of the world. Reservoir Farms has announced they will have a new location in Yuma, Ariz.
“We’re excited to be in our first work site outside of California,” says Danny Bernstein, founder and CEO of Reservoir Farms. “I really hope more is to come because there’s so much opportunity to engage beyond California and beyond specialties.”
The research farms will include fab shops and office spaces so companies can meet with customers, test their product and modify their machines.
Yuma Welcomes New Ag Innovation Center in 2026
According to the University of Arizona, Yuma County’s agriculture and agribusiness contributed $4.4 billion in economic activity to the state and $3.9 billion to Yuma County in 2022. Meanwhile, leafy greens farming generates $3 billion to $4 billion annually, according to fillyourplate.org. Yuma also contributes 25% of U.S. lettuce production annually.
Reservoir Farms has been working to bring one of their facilities to Yuma for over a year. The company is partnering with the University of Arizona’s Yuma Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture (YCEDA), the Yuma Agricultural Center, John Deere and Western Growers. Reservoir will have access to 500 acres at the Yuma Agricultural Center.
“I think it’s a good thing, we need to be able to bridge the gap between what we do in production agriculture with all the expanding technologies that are coming,” says Mike Pasquinelli, president of the Yuma Fresh Vegetable Association and local Yuma farmer.
Yuma is an ideal place for companies to develop and test their ag tech because of the temperatures and climates during the winter months. The county is also developing a broadband network that will bring better internet and allow farmers to implement the latest technology.
The Yuma Agricultural Center describes this as a “pilot project.” They view it as the beginning of establishing the Yuma Agricultural Center as a smart farm innovation hub. The center hopes this will help attract more ag tech companies to Yuma moving forward.
YCEDA sees this partnership as mutually beneficial. While companies can test their newest technology, they might also consider making Yuma their permanent home. Startups could potentially begin their business in Yuma and even consider manufacturing in Yuma for their product.
“We have a community that welcomes you here and we’re excited to see what new startups can bring into ag tech,” says Tanya Hodges, executive director of YCEDA.
While the Yuma Agricultural Center already had startups coming in, Bernstein explains Reservoir will give them a more structured program. They are planning to open Oct. 1, 2026, where companies will be able to meet growers, hear feedback and have access to Reservoir’s testing fields.
“This will allow startups to land in Yuma County, and really hit the ground running, developing relevant solutions that improve agricultural resilience and production,” Bernstein shares.
Expanding Beyond Specialty Crops to Broadacre Innovation
Reservoir’s technology testing does not stop in Yuma, or specialty crops. Bernstein says helping startups incubate does translate and travel. He believes that startups benefit from being close to other startups. They can form partnerships or collaborations while also being in one spot for investors to meet several companies at once.
“Every ag county in the country deserves agricultural innovation, and that’s something that we’re really interested in supporting in both specialty and broadacre,” says Bernstein.
Reservoir’s facilities transcend technology that only focuses on specialty crops as well. They are already seeing some companies begin to explore broadacre opportunities. They also have partners like John Deere, Nutrien and Netafim who cross over among crops. Meanwhile, Reservoir recently had Beck’s Hybrids on a visit, as they are interested in bridging crop technology gaps.
Specialty crops can be a more forgiving environment for some of the machines as they can go slower and cover less acreage. Reservoir’s farms allow the startups an opportunity to scale up their equipment and improve its capabilities. Companies can originate in specialty and then transition into broadacre as they continue to grow.
“Then maybe after one, two, or three years when they have gone through their paces, already begun to generate revenue, build their commercial model, and begun to develop relationships with dealers they can start to think about broadacre,” Bernstein shares.
Avoiding Million-Dollar Solutions to Small Problems
Building a startup also comes with bumps along the road. For this industry Bernstein shares it’s all about getting the minds building the technology to become immersed into the world of agriculture. He explains that Reservoir helps to accelerate learning and context gathering for roboticists and technologists. “City mouse to country mouse problems,” Bernstein describes. They help bridge the gap between the lab and urban environments to agricultural fields.
“We call it ag 101 for techies, getting them in place, in context, onto a farm, testing, absorbing the culture and realities on the ground,” Bernstein says.
Reservoir also shares that getting the technology from a prototype to a working and viable production environment is another major hurdle. Reservoir helps them understand the realities of precision manufacturing while connecting them with partners early on to develop reliable machines.
Developing this technology can be a long road with plenty of twists and turns. Bernstein advises these startup companies to get into a commercial environment as quickly as possible. He says to “learn it all versus know it all.”
Startups also need to understand the economics behind the product they are developing. They can sometimes fall into the “$1,000,000 solution to a $10,000 problem.”
“We really pride ourselves on helping them with this thinking and diving into the reality of farm economics and how that’s applied,” Bernstein shares.
Western Growers Selects Sami Robotics for Salinas Residency
On Tuesday the Western Growers for Innovation and Technology selected Sami Robotics to receive their first sponsored residency spot at Reservoir Farms in Salinas. Sami Robotics is a startup that is developing a multifunctional robotic platform with the ability to perform a variety of field tasks.
“Harvesting has long been the most challenging segment of mechanization for growers,” says Walt Duflock, senior vice president, innovation at Western Growers. “We are confident that Pascal and Éric and their team at Sami Robotics will provide solutions that work, and there is no better place for them to field test their technology than at Reservoir Farms.”
In May, Western Growers shared they will provide Reservoir Farms $1.5 million in partnership funding over the next three years.
Sami Robotics CPO and co-founder, Éric Lapalme, says they are eager to work in the environment Reservoir Farms provides. The ability to receive feedback from several industry professionals during their residency will be crucial while developing their technology.
“Building agricultural robots is one thing; proving they can deliver value in real field conditions is another,” Lapalme explains.
