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Food production is a significant driver of human and environmental health. University of California (UC) Merced’s new interdisciplinary Experimental Smart Farm (ESF), a new center for interdisciplinary research and education in sustainable agriculture, will provide world class facilities and infrastructure to support research on sustainable land management, regenerative agriculture, precision agriculture, automation/robotics, machine learning/AI, and explore the future of farm work. This session explores how the initiative reaches even further to amplify campus goals to increase equity, agricultural technology (AgTech) research, and external industry and community partnerships within California’s Central Valley. The integrated research program and its net-zero energy facility demonstrate how institutions can effectively bridge academic vision with broader external partnerships.

Join Mithun partner Brendan Connolly for “Experimental Smart Farm: Advancing Equity Through AgTech Research at UC Merced” to learn about this innovative model for place-based research that challenges stakeholders to integrate initiatives focused on equity, technology, and sustainable campus planning with minimal facilities and infrastructure.

Brendan’s co-presenters include University of California-Merced professor and director of the Sierra Nevada Research Institute (SNRI) Tom Harmon, Experimental Smart Farm coordinator Daniel Royer, and professor of Watershed Science Resource Management Joshua Viers.

Date Posted: 03.28.2023