VofV: When NASA and Farming Collide

Brian German Agri-Business, Podcasts, Technology

NASA

This episode of the Voices of the Valley podcast is brought to you today by the Western Growers Association. Supporting producers that grow the best medicine in the world. Find out more at WGA.com.

Explore the intersection of space tech and agtech as Neill Callis—an aerospace engineer turned farmer—delves deep into the issues farmers are grappling with most (think, intense regulations and lack of water and labor) and what tech is on the horizon to solve those problems. Neill, who currently serves as general manager at Turlock Fruit Company, covers everything from solar-powered reverse osmosis systems to optical sorting and desalination. Using insight from his 17-year career at NASA, Neill also provides context to how agtech can be developed faster to help farmers face the headwinds of labor and regulation that batter the industry as well as the automation that ultimately offers a path to keep farms in the United States.