5 reasons to consider California Agricultural market part of your development strategy
"A market in full technological revolution”
AgTech Market will explore the California market starting in January 2023. The California Market Expedition will focus on the vienyard market and will cover 2 key events in this market, the UNIFIED WINE & GRAPE SYMPOSIUM and WORLD AG EXPO. This project is still open for collaboration and is a unique opportunity to experience the California market from the inside.
California farming Summary: Challenges and opportunities for AgTECH
Helping AgTech companies to build the agriculture of tomorrow
↓ More figures and details on crop types by category in this report ↓
Introduction
During my experience in the California vegetables growing market, I had the chance to work and discuss with hundreds of farmers, experts and researchers in the sector. These encounters allowed me to discover and better understand the specificity of the Californian market.
Back in France, I decided to study other California markets to have a transversal vision. This article follows several months of research, analysis and meetings with players in other farming sectors. The stakes of this market are high and the opportunities for improvement are numerous. Let’s have a look together on the 5 reasons that lead me to believe that the California market is preparing to revolutionize agriculture.
An immensely important market
With more than 1,800,00 ha of high value-added crops, California is unique in the world:
🥦+ 500,000 ha of vegetables growing
🍇+ 350,000 ha of wine growing
🍏+ 1,000,000 ha of orchards growing
🍓+ 20,000 ha of berries growing
What is the point between all these four markets? California generates at least 60% of the total value of the USA market.
While this market impresses by the numbers, it is when you visit the farms and talk with farmers that you really understand the immensity of the market. Everything is bigger, farms, plots, machines, investments, costs, challenges...
Photo by Mikhail Nilov
Californian Growing Challenges
Like the rest of the world, California agriculture is facing the challenges of the 21st century. Global warming, diminishing resources, labor shortage, capricious markets....
Californian agriculture has an important place in the functioning of the state and the United States. If it were to disappear, it would be an economic, social and political disaster. Faced with these problems, some State Organisations and farmers are desperately looking for solutions to their problems. They are always looking to find or develop technologies that will improve production methods, while optimazing production costs and reduce environmental impact. The goal ? To maintain a competitive and sustainable California agriculture.
Photo by Jill Wellington
High Production Costs
Whether it is because of the globalization of markets or the sanitary crisis, selling prices can be capricious in California. The quantity of production is no longer the only factor of success for farms, they must also ensure quality and profitability if they want to survive.
The organic market in the United States has come a long way. Virtually non-existent in the early 2000s, this market is undergoing considerable growth. And the health crisis has accelerated this phenomenon even more. The farms that are entering this market have much higher production costs than conventional. They are therefore always looking for solutions to help them reduce their production costs and increase their productivity.
If large farms can more easily amortize fixed costs and investments, on the other hand, they are more sensitive to rising expenses and fickle prices.
Strawberries field in Ventura, Photo from hortidaily.com
The culture of improvement
During my experience in California, I was impressed by the open-mindedness of California farmers. They were very welcoming of new things, as if innovation was ingrained in their culture.
California agriculture has come a long way since its inception. And the challenges California farmers face today require them to evolve faster than the rest of the world. And when they cannot find a solution to their problem on the market, farms do not hesitate to develop their own product.
Californian farmers have understood one thing, the only way to stay competitive is to evolve and improve.
Photo by Magda Ehlers
Large Investment Capacity
When we talk about California and technology, we think about Silicon Valley, Facebook, Google, Air Bnb ... What do these companies have in common? The colossal investments that help them to develop internationnaly. And the new agricultural technologies are no exception to the rule. In 2020, 6 billion US dollars were invested in new agricultural technologies, 60% more than in 2019.
Develop your product on the California market is also to get known by local investors, and open the doors to huge fundraising potential.
Photo by Tae Fuller
Conclusion
The California market represents a huge potential for the development of agricultural technologies. But before thinking about developing there, there are questions that need to be answered : Is my product adapted to this market ? Which market should I start with ? How different is the growing system ? Is the market mature enough for my product? Is my product cost effective ? …
With its customized offers, Agtech Market offers analysis and market expedition on site, the best way to accelerate your time to market and optimize your product development.
