Reservoir Farms is Expanding to Arizona

Pilot expansion into Yuma, AZ just in time for the fall and winter growing season

The pilot is being developed in collaboration with the University of Arizona's Yuma Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture (YCEDA), the Yuma Agricultural Center (YAC), Western Growers, and John Deere, extending Reservoir's on-farm innovation model into one of the most important specialty crop regions in the country.

"Expanding our model into Arizona is a signal that the Reservoir Farms model is working for both growers and startups," said Danny Bernstein, founder and CEO of Reservoir. "We help rugged physical AI move faster from concept to commercial impact by creating real-world environments for testing and iteration, and following crop production across the largest growing regions."

Built for Agriculture in Arid Environments

Yuma County generates close to $3B in annual agricultural production and grows an estimated 90% of the nation's leafy greens from November through March, and has long been considered Salinas's "sister city" — the place production moves to when the Salinas season ends.

That makes it the ideal proving ground for technology built to work in arid conditions.

Through the pilot, Reservoir startups will be able to run trials in commercial desert vegetable production during the winter growing season, from October 2026 through March 2027, using 500 accessible acres at the Yuma Agricultural Center to advance automation in specialty crops.

Desert agriculture brings its own distinct set of hard problems — heat, water, and the demands of large-scale winter vegetable production — and the technologies that prove themselves here will be stronger for it.

Year-Round R&D for Our Startups

For the 20+ startups already working at Reservoir Farms - Salinas, Arizona extends the calendar. Until now, the growing season set natural limits on when and what companies could test.

With the Yuma pilot, startups operating in Salinas now have the option to extend their engagement into a year-round cycle — following the crops from one region to the next, and iterating without the seasonal pause.

More real-world reps, across more conditions, in less calendar time.

Grounded in Grower Relationships

Reservoir is advancing its Arizona site in collaboration with the University of Arizona's Yuma Agricultural Center, Western Growers, John Deere, and partners across Arizona.

"The Yuma Agricultural Center provides a living laboratory for evaluating emerging technologies under the real production conditions that define desert agriculture," said Tanya Hodges, executive director of the Yuma Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture. "This pilot collaboration with Reservoir gives innovators the chance to test and refine tools in specialty crops alongside the growers, researchers, and industry partners who know this region best."

"Reservoir Farms makes sure agtech is built for the real world, not the lab," said Walt Duflock, senior vice president of AgTech Innovation at Western Growers. "Our growers operate in some of the most demanding specialty crop environments in the country, and they need technologies they can rely on. The work we're doing together in Arizona and California keeps innovation grounded in those realities and focused on tools growers can trust."

Our First Foray Outside California — Not Our Last

When we opened Reservoir Farms - Salinas in March and Wine Country in April, we committed to growing this model across California, Arizona, and other key production regions. Arizona is the first step beyond the Golden State.

We're just getting started. Thank you to everyone who has helped bring this to life.

Article Written by Reservoir Farms
Contact: danny@reservoir.co