Event Recap – Agriculture Technology for Small and Mid-Sized Farms
On April 16th, the USDA Southwest Regional Food Business Center hosted a webinar on “Agriculture Technology for Small and Mid-Sized Farms and Food Businesses”. The event included presentations from Center partners Gabe Youtsey, of University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources and BreAnn Brown of Larta Institute, alongside Maria Ridoutt-Orozco of Community Alliance with Family Farmers. Speakers discussed their organization’s role in bridging the innovation gap for small and mid-sized farmers and food business, and their role in equitable development of agriculture technologies. The webinar is part of the Center’s quarterly webinar series, where Center partners share best practices and innovative projects on essential topics related to business development and capacity assistance for local producers, farmers, and ranchers.
Each speaker provided key takeaways and programmatic examples of technology adoption, including UC ANR’s The VINE program that ensures research and technology are guided by needs from the field, and put into practical solutions. The power in uplifting innovations that are created by farmers, on farms was exemplified by CAFF’s discussion of their Small Farm Innovation Challenge. The impacts of a network based approach to technology adoption was demonstrated through Larta Institute, and their partnership with the Southwest Regional Food Business Center, through their Urban Agriculture Task Force that leverages technical assistance providers and technology solutions to solve post-harvest pain points felt by urban farmers.
Attendees, representing a wide variety of organizations, were actively engaged throughout the webinar, as many sought to learn of innovative technologies that could be implemented for farms, ranches, and food businesses, while ensuring these technologies are most appropriate for those in the field. The next webinar will take place on July 16th and will focus on Food Hubs. Register: https://bit.ly/SWRFBCwebinar
Register for the Southwest Center’s next Webinar
Join the USDA Southwest Regional Food Business Center on July 16th from 3-4PM PST for our fifth webinar focused on Food Hubs.
About Valley Vision and the Southwest Regional Food Business Center
Valley Vision leads coordination, communication, and network development efforts for the Southwest Regional Food Business Center. The quarterly webinar series is part of Valley Vision’s efforts to share best practices and to foster a collaborative network among Center partners and other participants.
The Southwest Regional Food Business Center, representing Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah, is one of twelve USDA Regional Food Business Centers nationwide developed in 2023 to provide coordination, technical assistance, and capacity building to help farmers, ranchers, and other food businesses access new markets and initiatives, as well as navigate federal, state and local funding and resources. With an extensive network of partners from academic, government, and community-based organizations, the Southwest RFBC is dedicated to prioritizing historically underrepresented communities and small to mid-tier businesses.
For more information about the USDA Southwest Regional Food Business Center and its initiatives, visit www.swfoodbiz.org. To stay updated on future webinars and events, be sure to subscribe to the Center’s newsletter: http://bit.ly/SWRFBC-Newsletter.
USDA disclosures and guidance can be found at https://bit.ly/USDAdisclosures.
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