SALINAS, CA - Coming off of a successful debut of showcasing innovations in technology to the ag community, the Forbes AgTech Summit is returning to Salinas.

Kicking off Wednesday, July 13th, with two days of networking and innovation, Forbes’ Paul Noglows, executive producer of the event, took the time to tell me about the exponential growth he is seeing from this year compared to last, and some of the new things that have been added to the agenda.

“I’m really excited about how this program has come together,” Paul says, explaining that he has attended and been on panels of many similar events and this is one worth attending. “I understand with a lot of technologies and innovations that you can get to the field and sometimes things don’t work. This one, however, is very well put together.”

Already, the event is seeing a 50% growth margin, with close to 600 participants anticipated, in comparison to last year’s 400.

“We’ve also expanded the program itself,” Paul explains. “Part of my goal with this year’s show was to build the best Innovation Showcase we could; last year we had 22 startups, this year we’ll have 40.”

Another addition is what attendees will be able to see–six different cutting-edge agricultural technologies from six different companies, covering just about every aspect of in-field innovation.

On that list is Tanimura & Antle for a second year in a row, bringing both its innovative Plant Tape and a tour of its Spreckels Crossing complex.

“Tanimura & Antle is glad to again be participating in the Forbes Ag Tech Summit,” Rick Antle, President and CEO of Tanimura & Antle, tells me. “This year, in addition to again demonstrating our revolutionary Plant Tape Automated Transplanters, we will be touring attendees through Spreckels Crossing, Tanimura & Antle's Agricultural Employee Housing Complex.”

Rick adds that Plant Tape is currently under beta test on the Tanimura & Antle Farms, with the plan to begin limited commercial sales in 2017 in the USA and Australia with full commercial availability in 2018. “The Plant Tape system is well suited for transplanting all leafy greens, brassica's, tomatoes, leeks, melons and sugar beets.”

Spreckels Crossing, as we have reported previously, was conceived and constructed to house a H2A labor force to ensure a long term supply of labor, which Rick explains is imperative to the continued success and existence of the agricultural industry in the Monterey County of California.

“As construction progressed, we identified that experienced agricultural workers were available from drought-impacted areas of California, and by being able to offer workers safe, clean, and affordable housing together with an aggressive wage and benefit package, we were able to recruit enough workers to meet our labor needs,” Rick says.

Companies and their respective technological offerings, which those in attendance will be able to see in the field, include:

• Tanimura & Antle’s Plant Tape
• Blue River Technology
• HeavyConnect
• SkyView HD
• Spensa Technologies
• UC Davis’ Robovator

And these are just a few of offerings the Forbes AgTech Summit will highlight over the two days. Also on the agenda are behind-the-scenes tours of innovators like Mann Packing and Taylor Farms, as well as a full roster of keynote speakers like Bruce Taylor of Taylor Farms, Kevin Murphy of Driscoll’s, Ben Chesler of Imperfect Produce, Tim York of Markon Cooperative, Tom Nassif of Western Growers, and many more.

For more details on the agenda itself, click here.

Check back as we bring you more details of the highly anticipated Forbes AgTech Summit.

Forbes AgTech Summit Tanimura & Antle