F3 Innovate

Agriculture needs more than farmers; it needs engineers, scientists, storytellers, data analysts, and problem solvers. This National Intern Day, we're celebrating the 33 students of TerraTech26 who spent their summer discovering just how many opportunities exist within agriculture. From computer science and engineering to horticulture, environmental science, mathematics, and agricultural business, each intern brought a unique perspective to the table. Over the summer, they've explored the people, technologies, and ideas driving the future of ag across the Central Valley. To our interns: thank you for your curiosity and willingness to dive into something innovative. The future of agriculture is brighter because of students like you. Happy National Intern Day, TerraTech26! Alexander Carrico • Andres Ramos • Ian Devere • Jaden Luna • Hari Brunda Gopireddy • Karina Hernandez • Christopher Calderon • Caroline Johnson • Kevin Gonzalez • Omar Agustin-Zarate • Meera Vyas • Rowan Elansary • Eduardo Hernandez • Gabriel Garduno • Henry Sanchez • Nellie Pina • Ethan Kelstrom • Ethan Workman • Daniel Becker • Dina Lua • Michelle Huynh • Marilynn Vegae • Samantha Cruz Cruz • Fernando Laguna • Rishil Patel • Sib Cante • Jeovany Gutierrez • Nicole Oliva • Kham Vang • Christine Wayte • Aryan Singh Virdi • Rahil Patel #NationalInternDay #CentralValley #TerraTech26 #F3Innovate #HereToGrow #FutureOfAg

Our AI Launchpad pilot program for high school students is complete! Over two weeks, 12 students from across the Central Valley explored the foundations of artificial intelligence, data science and advanced computing. Hosted at Fresno State, the program combined hands-on instruction with access to the F3i Supercomputing Center. Students learned how AI works, how data is used to train models and how these tools can help address real-world challenges in agriculture, food, and their communities. The course was led by F3 Innovate Director of Innovation Ryan Dinubilo, California State University, Fresno alumni, who helped students connect emerging technologies to the opportunities taking shape here in the Central Valley. The pilot gave students the opportunity to work with technologies that are shaping nearly every industry and to see themselves as the people who can build, guide and apply those technologies in their own region. Thank you to Linda N. and the team at Microsoft TechSpark for helping make this program possible and investing in the next generation of Central Valley innovators! Our next AI Launchpad program will bring together community college students from the region - stay tuned for those details!

This is a peach. But there is much more here than meets the eye. Recently, we had the opportunity to join Drew Ketelsen and the team at HMC Farms to see what it takes to bring a peach from the orchard to grocery stores across California and the country. Behind every piece of fruit are growers, harvest crews, packing-house teams, sales and logistics staff, specialized equipment, transportation networks, months of planning, hundreds of people, and generations of knowledge. That is why we are creating the “This Is A…” series. We want to look more closely at the things grown right here in California and make visible the innovation, complexity, skill, and human effort that's required. Right now, it is stone fruit season. Peaches, plums, nectarines, and other summer fruit are moving from Central Valley orchards into homes across the country. And while this is the story of one peach, the Central Valley produces a majority of the nation’s fruits, vegetables, and nuts, making the people, infrastructure, knowledge, and innovation behind this region essential to food security in our country. At F3 Innovate, agricultural security means protecting our ability to continue growing fresh and healthy food here for generations to come. As agriculture faces mounting pressures, maintaining that ability will take all of us working together to solve problems and keep innovating every day. Through this series, we want to show how a single piece of fruit carries the work of an entire system and why strengthening that system matters to everyone who depends on it. So, what should we feature next in the “This Is A…” series? Leave your suggestion in the comments!

What does it look like when Central Valley students have the opportunity to explore AI and apply it to real-world problems? Over the next two weeks at California State University, Fresno more than a dozen local high school students are participating in AI Launchpad, where they are learning how artificial intelligence works, how to use emerging tools responsibly, and how data and advanced computing can help address challenges right here in the Central Valley. The program also introduces students to the newly launched F3i Supercomputing Center, a regional resource expanding access to the computing power, technical support, and training needed to develop real-world solutions using the tools and technologies shaping today’s economy. AI Launchpad is helping students build the skills to use resources like the center while connecting what they are learning today to future education and career opportunities. Led by F3 Innovate with support from Microsoft TechSpark, AI Launchpad is helping ensure that Central Valley students gain the skills and experience to help shape the next era of agriculture, food, and life sciences. #F3i #CentralValleyAg #SupercomputingCenter #AiLaunchPad 

"California agriculture has always been driven by innovation. The F3i Supercomputing Center is a perfect example of partnerships that will help our farmers, researchers and entrepreneurs access resources to solve challenges, strengthen our food system, and create opportunity in rural and local communities." — Karen Ross Full recap of the launch in this week's newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gW485gJd Read Secretary Ross's post on the CDFA Planting Seeds blog: https://lnkd.in/gDr3v-7g

Yesterday, we celebrated the launch of the F3i Supercomputing Center. The Central Valley grows much of the nation’s food, yet too often the technologies shaping agriculture are developed somewhere else. This new resource begins to change that by making advanced computing more accessible to the growers, startups, researchers, students, and industry partners working to solve agriculture’s biggest challenges. Thank you to our incredible speakers and partners, including California State University, Fresno, the San Diego Supercomputer Center, Microsoft, the Central Valley Community Foundation, California Fresh Fruit Association, HMC Farms, and our elected leaders for helping make this vision a reality. This center is an investment in ensuring innovation happens right where food production happens - led by growers, researchers, students, and startups right here in the valley. The platform is live and ready for you! Access the portal here: portal.f3i.org #F3i #CentralValleyAg #SupercomputingCenter #Ai #Research

On July 9, F3 Innovate, in collaboration with Fresno State and the UC San Diego Supercomputer Center, will officially launch the F3i Supercomputing Center at Fresno State.    The center will provide growers, researchers, startups, educators, and students with access to advanced computing power, AI tools, and technical expertise—resources that can help tackle real-world agricultural challenges, from analyzing large and complex datasets to developing innovative solutions that improve productivity, sustainability, and resilience.    Learn more about the launch: https://lnkd.in/gjtezvGK #F3i #CentralValleyAg #FresnoState #AgTech 

We've selected the second cohort of F3i Innovation Grant recipients! These seven companies are working on the problems that define agriculture in the Central Valley: water, soil health, methane, labor, and crop disease. Grants were awarded from $20,000 to $50,000, sized to fund what moves each technology forward — field validation, customer testing, and real deployment with growers. "Great ideas alone don't change agriculture. What moves innovation forward is giving entrepreneurs the resources, field environments, and industry partners they need to prove their technology works at scale." — Priscilla K. AcreLink: Buried soil-moisture sensor networks that replace manual field probing with continuous irrigation intelligence and water-use records. MyLand Agriculture, A Soil Health Company: On-farm microalgae systems that amplify native soil biology through existing irrigation to improve soil function, nutrient cycling, and water-use efficiency. Gilly: Low-cost microbial feed additive for dairy cattle that improves fiber digestibility to convert lower-quality feed into higher-value milk production. Quanturi Oy: Wireless hay probes and predictive analytics that convert stored forage conditions into feed-quality data for more precise dairy ration decisions. Hyperspectral Crop Intelligence: Aerial hyperspectral imaging that converts non-visible plant stress into actionable field maps for earlier disease, water, and nutrient management. Evolve Genomix: Portable DNA-based diagnostics that convert unknown crop disease risk into sub-hour pathogen identification and faster field decisions. Neuralzome Cybernetics: Autonomous field robots for critical farm operations across steep, rugged, and GPS-constrained terrain. Jacob Watson | Dane Hague | Matthew Johnson | Bo Xu, Ph.D. | Vincent Wu | Nadine Pesonen | Luca Brillante | Prasanna Thwar, PhD | Prasanna Venkatesan #InnovationGrants #AutonomousAgriculture #CentralValley 

Congratulations to our First Place Winner, Alireza Sanaeifar, for developing an outstanding solution in F3i's Orchard Stress Data Challenge. F3i Data Challenges are designed to connect technical talent with real-world agricultural challenges. Participants like Alireza work with regional datasets, applied constraints, and clearly defined evaluation criteria to develop practical solutions with the potential for field impact. Each challenge helps generate new models, methods, and insights that can support future pilots, accelerate technology validation, and advance the adoption of innovative tools across agriculture. Congrats Alireza Sanaeifar and all those who participated!

Join leaders from across the region to celebrate the launch of the Central Valley's first-ever supercomputing center. San Diego Supercomputer Center California State University, Fresno