HOW DID APPS FOR AG COME TO BE? The Apps for Ag idea was born during a meeting of the AgTech Roundtable. The concept is simple: bring commercial agricultural producers (aka growers) together with software developers to collaboratively build solutions to real-world challenges. We have since expanded to include food innovation and entrepreneurship as well.Through events and our network, we hope to build long-term partnerships that develop into viable businesses that will tackle challenges and meet the needs of all those contributing and benefiting from our complex food system.We will be launching a series of Apps for Ag events in areas across California so checkin regularly for updates on locations and dates.

WHAT IS THE AGTECH ROUNDTABLE? The AgTech Roundtable is a broad-based mix of public, private and nonprofit leaders who organized in 2014. It convenes regularly to help enable the transition of applied agricultural technology from concept to daily use. The driving force is to increase resource management efficiency and reduce costs, while creating good jobs in disadvantaged rural areas. Roundtable members include the USDA, CDFA, California Department of Technology, California Farm Bureau Federation, California Association of Pest Control Advisers and many others.

WHAT IS A HACKATHON? If you’re joining us from the agriculture industry, this is a very good question. While hacking can definitely be a bad thing in this world, the term can also have a good connotation. Hacking also refers to the work of writing computer code. When we refer to a hackathon, we mean a large community of people coming together in an endurance challenge of writing code for a beneficial purpose. The hackathon is a long standing Silicon Valley tradition.

WHAT IS AGTECH? This is a newly coined term for an emerging industry. Our society is on the brink of massive technological breakthrough and computing power continues to increase exponentially. There are endless ways to apply all of this new technology to agriculture and the possible outcomes are exciting! AgTech refers to exactly that nexus – where the ag and tech industry meet. If you join us at an event, you’re definitely an active member of the AgTech community!

I DONT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT COMPUTERS, I'M JUST A GROWER !?! We need you. The development of real AgTech solutions will not happen in a vacuum, will not happen in a Silicon Valley Boardroom and will not happen without the direct input of knowledgeable practitioners. If you’re an aggie, we need your insight. You will not be expected to write code. We need you to be able explain the how, what, why, when and what-ifs of agricultural production as you know it. This is your chance to have software developed, on the spot, for your very own needs!

WHAT HAPPENS TO MY PROJECT AFTER THE EVENT? Apps for Ag is a pro bono endeavor. This means our purpose is to simply create the space where growers and software developers can collaborate. We do not take ownership of any concepts or intellectual property (IP). We also state very clearly that our hosts and sponsors do not have any claim to the IP developed during our event. The IP belongs to the team's participants. Our hope is that the event sparks some collaborations which lead to start-ups or custom development, outside of us. Select projects will be outlined on our website after the event.