Forbes AgTech Summit opens in Salinas

Nearly 700 leaders and investors in the agricultural industry arrived at the second annual Forbes AgTech Summit, taking over parts of Main Street this week in downtown Salinas.

“I want to be at the intersection of where our food is coming from and where it’s going,” said Brendan Doherty, cofounder/president of Inward Point.

“What we’re trying to do is merge our needs in the farming and the processing community, with the technology from Silicon Valley and around the world,” said Taylor Farms CEO Bruce Taylor.

Through tours, live demos, discussions and new ag startups, they’re exploring problems and innovative solutions for everything from food scarcity to biological revolutions.

“We’re not here to just go over the same old issues again and again,” said Fobes AgTec Summit executive producer Paul Noglows. “What we’re really interested in is solutions. What it leads to is partnerships and it leads to people trying out things.”

Event coordinators said they decided to have the summit in Salinas because the city has become the epicenter for agricultural technology.

“They have the thrive accelerator, you have Taylor Farms Corporate Headquarters right here,” said Noglows. “You’ve got Driscoll’s, you’ve got Tamren Mill and Antle, you’ve got all kinds of supportive parties based right here.”

Plus, Salinas Valley is not only the hub for the Fobes AgTec Summit, but agricultural innovation as well.

“The companies here run the row crop industry throughout California, Arizona, Colorado, Florida and even Mexico to a certain extent,” said Taylor.

All the more reason to develop and find more sustainable farming methods.

“The hub here controls most of the leafy greens you eat around the country,” said Taylor. “So we can take what we learned here and apply that to other industries in other crops in geological locations.

Thursday’s topics will include food security and the farm of the future.

ORIGINAL STORY: For the second year in a row, the Forbes AgTech Summit is taking place in Salinas.

Tonight at 5 and 6 p.m., KION’s Maya Holmes talks with organizers and participants to see what kind of innovations are being showcased, and why Salinas is such an appropriate site for the event.