VINE Connect Field Day at UC Merced (Video & Photos)

On September 17, more than 150 farmers, researchers, and innovators came together at UC Merced’s Experimental Smart Farm for a VINE Connect Field Day dedicated to practical solutions for these realities. Demonstrations highlighted solar-powered robots managing weeds without chemicals, handheld diagnostics delivering real-time plant health insights, new almond drying methods to reduce harvest dust, early-warning systems for airborne disease, digital tools simplifying farm management, and on-farm biomass units turning waste into energy and soil amendments. Each was selected through the VINE Connect program for its readiness to meet grower needs and its grounding in farmer feedback.

• Aigen: Solar-powered autonomous robot that mechanically removes weeds and gathers crop insights, delivering chemical-free weed control and clean-energy operation.

• Almondry: On-site stockpile aeration dryers that rapidly dry almonds off the orchard floor, reducing harvest dust and improving nut quality and turnaround time.

  
  

• Bonsai Robotics Amiga: Electric, modular field robot that automates seeding, weeding, spraying, and data capture. Still the Amiga you know, now backed by Bonsai Robotics.

• Good Agriculture: AI-driven financial and compliance platform that streamlines bookkeeping, grants, loans, and insurance for farms.

• Senseen: Hand held plant scanner combining spectroscopy and AI for instant nutrient and stress diagnostics, enabling real-time, data-driven fertilizer and irrigation decisions.

• Spornado: Solar powered field sampler trapping airborne spores to warn of crop diseases before symptoms appear, enabling more precise data driven spraying.

• VGrid: Portable biomass gasifiers turning agricultural waste into renewable power, carbon-sequestering biochar, and natural smoke derived biostimulant products.

The day also featured a timely panel on California’s biomass challenge, moderated by UC ANR Innovate and Farmhand Ventures. With open burning banned and biomass energy infrastructure in decline, panelists from UC Merced, the San Joaquin Valley Air Board, the Western Tree Nut Association, Syngenta, Glanris, and The Hurd Co underscored the urgency of new approaches to orchard waste. Their discussion surfaced opportunities to transform a disposal crisis into economic value through on-farm biochar, new building materials, and other innovations.

A big thanks to F3 Local for sponsoring the event, UC Merced and the VISTA team for hosting, to event partners at Farmhand Ventures who co-lead the VINE Connect program, and to the VINE Connect team for months of coordination, farmer engagement, and program design.

Click here to learn more about VISTA / F3 at UC Merced and their ag programs and Experimental Smart Farm.

Click here to learn more about UCANR Innovate and their VINE Connect program.