Sacramento, CA - March 9, 2026 - As California agriculture faces both challenges and opportunities, a coalition of state, academic and agricultural industry partners is introducing the California Agricultural Research & Innovation Roadmap, a blueprint to guide and accelerate scientific discovery, and commercialization and real-world adoption of next-generation tools.

Guided by farmer and rancher input, the plan was developed collaboratively by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR), the California State University Agricultural Research Institute (ARI), California Community Colleges, Western Growers and the California AgTech Alliance.

The roadmap provides both a long-term focus via 10-year research priorities identified in collaboration with all partners, and near-term solutions through innovation priorities, spearheaded by the California AgTech Alliance and updated every two years.

“No single institution can carry the future of agricultural research and innovation alone, and the significance of this plan is the commitment from multiple parties to work together to turn the plan into action,” said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross. “This roadmap clearly shows the need for inter-disciplinary approaches to the many challenges we face now and into the foreseeable future. California’s world-class public academic institutions have long been partners in the innovation of California farming and ranching. With the support of agricultural leaders, they have the power to accelerate the discovery of solutions to drive the health of our rural communities, the environment, and all California citizens.”

Research priorities include: Climate Resilience and Environmental Sustainability; Water Management, Use Efficiency and Quality; Integrated Pest and Disease Management; Food Safety and Consumer Health; Technology, Automation and Data‑Driven Farming; and Economics, Policy and Adoption Pathways. Together, these areas represent the scientific foundation needed to maintain productivity, resilience and economic viability across California’s diverse agricultural systems.

In addition, roadmap partners — many of which hold important roles in educating and training for the ag workforce skills needed today and in the future — acknowledge that workforce development is also a critical element to securing California’s agricultural future.

In support of the roadmap, each partner has committed to aligning its resources to support the plan. Partner commitments include:

• CDFA will convene state agencies and partners, inform policymaking with the latest science and align grant opportunities with roadmap priorities.
• UC ANR will direct research funding toward these priorities, translate science for policymakers and help farmers adopt new practices through Cooperative Extension, while also introducing the roadmap to new researchers.
• ARI will prioritize research aligned with the roadmap in its funding decisions, launch a Collaborative Innovation Grant for teams across institutions and disciplines, modernize workforce training‑ curricula and support skills development for students.
• California Community Colleges will codevelop new agricultural curricula, align workforce training with the roadmap, promote ag careers through recruitment efforts, expand apprenticeships, provide reskilling and upskilling for current and future workers, and support climate focused‑ initiatives that advance sustainable agriculture.
• Western Growers will involve farmers in validating the roadmap’s priorities, align ag tech solutions with those priorities and help drive widespread industry adoption of research based‑ innovations.
• California AgTech Alliance will develop a list of farmer- and workforce-driven innovation priorities with commercialization potential to be updated every two years.

While the plan is being rolled out, it is constantly evolving. Stakeholders are encouraged to provide feedback on the roadmap, and those who fund agricultural research are encouraged to do so in alignment with the research priorities. To learn more about how you can support the roadmap or get involved, contact Josh Eddy at 916-654-0462 or josh.eddy@cdfa.ca.gov