SALINAS — The Hartnell College Agriculture Business and Technology Institute in collaboration with the Monterey Bay Chapter of the California Association of Pest Control Advisers (CAPCA) will co-host the Fourth Annual Salinas Valley Ag Technology Summit on Wednesday, April 12, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Alisal Campus, 1752 E. Alisal St., in Salinas. Admission is free and includes a sponsored lunch.
The event will feature a dynamic presentation by Glenda Humiston, vice president, Agriculture and Natural Resources for the University of California. Throughout the day, there will be an Ag Tech Trade Show along with three educational tracks.
The first track is designed to provide continuing education information and credits for pest control advisers and certified crop advisers. The second and third tracks will focus on ag tech innovations, investing software, irrigation, emerging technology and education.
Advisory Committee chairman Dennis Donohue is enthusiastic about this event.
“We are achieving great synergies with the juxtaposition of the Salinas Valley and the Silicon Valley. This event, in particular, brings together the hands-on applications with defined needs and a regional talent pool,” Donohue said.
The Summit will showcase the state of the agriculture industry as it mobilizes agricultural technologies to create efficiencies throughout the entire supply chain. Tours will be provided of Hartnell College and the neighboring USDA and UC Cooperative Extension research facilities.
A “pitch room” will take place in the afternoon showcasing new ideas, services and products that benefit the agriculture industry. The event will close with a reception and awards ceremony from 4 to 5 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to reconvene after 5 p.m. in Old Town Salinas for a tour of the Innovation Center with Western Growers at the Taylor Farms building.
Growers, PCAs, CCAs, students and members of the ag tech and software industries are encouraged to attend. In addition, agriculture professionals with PCA, QAL or QAC certifications will be awarded ongoing education credits by the Department of Pesticide Regulation for attendance.
Registration for the event can be done online at https://svagtechsummit17.eventbrite.com. Exhibitor, sponsor and program information can be found at sv-ag-summit.com
The Salinas Valley Ag Technology Summit was founded in 2014 by Converted Organics and donated to the Hartnell College Foundation/Ag Institute in 2015. The mission of the summit is to develop a strong community of leading agricultural research, business and education in the Salinas Valley Region.
Hartnell College focuses on three flagship areas: agriculture, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and nursing and allied health. Ag Institute Director Dr. Susan Pheasant observes that the Ag Tech Summit brings together Ag and STEM as well as encourages linkages between the Salinas Valley and the Silicon Valley.
“This event has doubled in size each year as it showcases how our leading researchers, agribusinesses, trade organizations and educational institutions are applying technological solutions within a global agriculture marketplace,” said Dr. Pheasant.
Vendor spaces and sponsorship opportunities can be directed to Event Coordinator Aileen Rickert-Ehn at
ar**********@ha******.edu
. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Hartnell College Agriculture Business and Technology Institute.
