Overview

This event convenes three key stakeholders – farmers, technologists, and investors – in a format built around the grower and rancher point of view.

The goal is to clarify the real problem landscape on the farm, give technologists and investors clear visibility into what is working now, and help direct capital toward well-defined problem/solution pairs with proven on-farm value.

Rapid, joint spotlights will showcase examples of immediate needs being met today, followed by an afternoon of transparent, direct dialogue on the frameworks and attributes that separate successful AgTech deployments from the ones that stall.

The intent is to set a clear baseline for the constructive conversations that continue throughout the week at the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit.

Date: Monday, March 16
Time: 2-5pm
Location: San Francisco Marriott Marquis

Presented by:
Grower Event presented by

Supported by:

Grower Event supporter BASF Corteva Agriscience

RSVP

What's on the Program

State of the 2026 Season

California Farm Bureau President, Shannon Douglas, will set the stage with a candid look at the challenges, nuances, and realities growers face this season. Representing more than 26,000 California farmers and ranchers, Douglas has a distilled and powerful understanding of the issues faced in regulatory, operational, agronomic, and other domains.

Solution Showcase: Not Just Problems. Proof.

Rapid-fire, joint presentations from pairs of technology providers and the agricultural representatives they serve. 3 sessions, each highlighting a current, urgent problem and a deployed technology solution that’s already creating value on farms today. Each presentation is followed by live Q&A to dig into what made it work, why it worked, and where investment can help scale the impact.

California Growers React to AgTech

Farm Bureau representatives share direct, on-the-ground insights from growers across the state, drawn from deployments and candid feedback gathered at the California Farm Bureau 2025 Annual Meeting. Expect what worked, what didn’t, and the watch-outs that determine whether a tool actually sticks on-farm.

Investor × Grower Fireside Chat

Hear from a variety of viewpoints in this honest conversation between early-adopter growers and ag-tech investors. Topics include what’s succeeded, what’s failed, and what opportunities exist to improve adoption, ROI, and long-term impact of technology on farms.

Grower Connections Through Farm Bureau

Learn how Farm Bureau helps technologists and investors engage meaningfully with thousands of growers and ranchers on the front lines of food production. Farm Bureau membership and the trusted channels it creates provide durable visibility and two-way information flow between growers and technology teams, improving fit, adoption, and outcomes for all.

Open Discussion Cocktail Hour

Unfiltered conversations with growers, technologists, and investors over light refreshments. No panels. No scripts. Just honest dialogue and connections that move ideas forward. An open mixing session to percolate learnings and spark constructive conversations with the broader World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit delegation.