Agriculture becoming more reliant on technology

Times are changing in the farming industry, and the Central Coast is trying to lead the way.

“Agtech is going to be the future here, and it’s coming whether the City is ready or not. And so Salinas is trying to lead the way on this,” said City of Salinas Economic Development Manager Andrew Myrick.

Agtech is the application of technology to agriculture.

“In the past you would have items sorted by hand, now they are sorted by machine. And as more technology is brought in, it really changes the way agriculture is practiced and done,” said Myrick.

In Monterey County, the economic impact of farming is estimated at 8.1 billion dollars. The City wants to attract new agtech startups and create a culture where people can share innovative ideas.

“Essentially the idea behind the meetup is that we are trying to create an agtech cluster here. So one of the best ways to encourage innovation is to create collaboration,” said Myrick.

A meeting will be held at the National Steinbeck Center on 3/15 from 6:00-8:00 pm.

“People need to be able to talk to each other to understand how ideas will fit into the overall ecosystem, who are there customers, who are there suppliers,” said Myrick.

The ‘Grow in Salinas’ campaign just earned the top marketing award from the California Association for Local Development.

“We are working to develop a reputation and we just need the rest of the country to be aware of it,” said Myrick.