A Whitepaper for the Campaign Steering Committee

SmartFarm A Whitepaper for the Campaign Steering Committee

THE VISION Societies around the world are facing unprecedented challenges in the endeavor to provide food security to all people. Two billion people—nearly a third of global population—are currently food insecure, a number that will increase by 30% in the next four decades. Climatic variability is projected to decrease the yields of California’s crops by approximately 15% over the same time period. The potential for prolonged drought adds further uncertainty. At the same time, sustainable crop production and humane food-animal production are areas of growing concern for many consumers.

Since the university’s founding, UC Davis has played a key role in providing expertise, guidance and solutions for California’s agricultural industry. Now, we want to take cropping systems and animal agriculture to the next level of productivity, sustainability and responsible resource use. By marrying research, extension and teaching across the agricultural, biological, environmental and engineering fields to advance California’s signature food products we will create a leading model for transforming agricultural systems for lasting food security in the face of future uncertainties.

SmartFarm will take an integrated systems approach to develop superior plants, smart machines, more efficient farming methods for crops and animals alike, and a highly trained workforce that together will provide a path toward food security in the year 2050 and beyond. To achieve progress that is meaningful to farmers, ranchers and the public at large, plant and animal science research must be conducted at a sufficient scale and under actual farming conditions in addition to the laboratory. SmartFarm will work to develop technological, knowledge-based solutions that allow an intimate understanding of plants and animals at the individual level in order to create novel highly intensive food production systems for urban environments and optimize on-farm management and resource utilization, and maximize productivity in harmony with our diverse, natural environment.

By developing smart machines that integrate adaptive and precision technologies, on-farm wireless data networks, new smart sensors and control systems, drones, robotics and big data analytics, SmartFarm will facilitate a new paradigm for agriculture to optimize resource utilization for plant and animal production, minimize agriculture’s environmental footprint and increase the competitiveness of California agriculture while helping to build more sustainable agriculture around the world. Technological advances in agriculture will create a growing demand for worker training in the operation, service and knowledge of these technologies, which SmartFarm will be well positioned to provide.

Serving as a showcase for UC Davis innovators and industrial collaborators alike, SmartFarm will contribute broader economic benefits through UC Davis spin-off companies and start-ups in our region. Vibrant educational programming and outreach activities will engage visitors in our research, provide career education opportunities for K-12 students and foster new ties between the public, UC Davis and agribusiness partners.

SmartFarm will cement UC Davis’ reputation as a premier agricultural university by translating molecular science breakthroughs into cutting-edge technology at scale and providing actionable insights into best practices for increasing productivity while using resources wisely and adapting to the climate of the future. Such a facility will attract the top students and researchers in the world to come to UC Davis for their educational and research needs. Providing exemplary leadership in innovative research, training and solutions, SmartFarm will help solve complex problems related to food security, animal welfare and environmental stewardship.

THE RIGHT TIME AND THE RIGHT PLACE

1 Global food security and environmental sustainability of food production systems by the year 2050 will require transformational change across all disciplines involved and cannot be solved without collaboration among multiple colleges, schools and units. To be successful, agricultural production requires expert knowledge across a range of life, physical, environmental and social sciences. As the world’s leading academic institution for agricultural, engineering, veterinary and environmental research, UC Davis is one of the few institutions that has the multidisciplinary expertise needed to meet this challenge.

UC Davis is located in one of the most agriculturally productive regions in the world, with local access to over 400 agricultural commodities. For example, California leads the nation in the production of many important food commodities such as milk, fruits, vegetables and nuts. The UC Davis faculty have a proven track record over the past century of developing innovative solutions for agriculture. As such, we have a unique opportunity to bridge emerging technology with our deep interdisciplinary knowledge and trusted relationship with the agricultural and food industries to deliver practical solutions at scale for food production systems worldwide. Collectively, the University of California has the largest land base of universities in the Western United States, and UC Davis has the largest land base in the UC system dedicated to agricultural instruction and research.

Early adoption of new technological advances in agriculture are more likely to occur in the high-value crops that are produced in California or in aspects of animal agriculture that have high labor requirements than in the broad-acre crops of the Midwest . UC Davis is strategically situated to benefit from philanthropic collaborations with progressive innovators who will be at the forefront of the transformation of agriculture. SmartFarm will allow UC Davis faculty to remain highly competitive when applying for federal research funding by being one of the few institutions worldwide that is equipped to conduct at- scale field research and to integrate continuing advances in cyberphysical systems with direct link to technology companies in California.

UC Davis is uniquely placed among all universities on the globe, both geographically and intellectually, to become the showcase of modern food production systems and environmental stewardship. SmartFarm will raise UC Davis’ visibility as a major leader in innovation for 21st century agriculture and expand our impact through the development of transformational solutions for California producers.

THE OPPORTUNITY Imagine new smart sensors, automated machines and technology-based methods that can rapidly interpret plant and animal response to environmental conditions and provide the information needed for critical decision making and management. For researchers, these advancements will also help to achieve the rapid development of new plant varieties and animal care systems that can better adapt to their environment, mitigate adverse impacts, and provide food security for anticipated population growth.

Imagine instrumented aerial vehicles that can fly over beef herds and detect changes in grazing and feeding patterns in individual animals that are important to managing their health and productivity. A change in eating pattern is often the first sign of illness, but it might take days for a farmer to observe these changes in an individual cow. Such drones could send a text alert to the farmer, allowing them to quickly separate the animal from the herd and provide appropriate care and treatment.

Imagine SmartFarm as a living laboratory where people can experience the educational fun of Picnic Day year-round. From data visualization displays to hands-on interactions, SmartFarm will be the place where the general public will learn about the future of farming, where their food comes from, and how they might become more involved with its production. Dynamic programming will focus on making UC Davis’ agricultural research accessible and engaging for all, cultivating dialogue between agricultural industry partners and consumers, and sparking excitement among K-12 students about STEM careers

2 related to food security. The showcase facility for SmartFarm—a 15-acre research, education and demonstration center adjacent to the UC Davis Western Center for Agricultural Equipment—will provide a robotically controlled in-field plant phenotyping sensing facility, agricultural droneport, vertical farming facility, and an animal care facility dedicated to the advanced study of animals, fresh market fruits, nuts, wine grapes, vegetables, and high-value crops of the future such as those developed for nutritional demands and pharmaceutical needs. Additionally, on-farm access to a high-speed network connection will link UC Davis experts in biology, engineering and environmental sciences with big data analytics and technology innovators in the Silicon Valley, across the United States, and globally.

SmartFarm will accelerate transformational change across the entire agricultural production system. Innovations will include new planting technologies that optimize productivity while facilitating management automation, the development of automated, high-throughput sensor suites that provide a better understanding of the soil/root/canopy, better facilitation of the mechanized harvest of crops, individualized healthcare for animals, and enhanced productivity in both plant and animal systems. This important work will advance the iconic products that are strategically important for California’s agriculture while providing actionable insights and tools for food security worldwide.

The wealth of knowledge and pace of technological development expected at SmartFarm will create a strong demand for outreach and technology transfer activities. In addition, demand will be high for workforce continuing education, retraining and certification in technologies, data visualization and farm management decision support. The development of a strong outreach program in the technologies and knowledge generated by SmartFarm will achieve our social sustainability goals for the future food production system. Toward this end, we will work in close partnership with the University of California's Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

SmartFarm will play a key role in creating a highly trained workforce, a better-informed and engaged public, and the development of new transformational technologies from robotics to real-time, networked on-farm sensor and control arrays to animal care technologies. In doing so, we will provide a path toward world food security and environmental, economic and social sustainability of the food production system, demonstrating UC Davis’ leadership in defining the farm of the future.

MOVING FORWARD Creating SmartFarm will require investment in infrastructure, equipment and human capital.

Human capital needs include endowed faculty positions in computational plant and animal science and biology, computer vision engineering, proximal sensor and control engineering, and robotics; staff scientists and educators; and Cooperative Extension Specialist engineers. Estimated subtotals for human resources include $20-25 million ($2.5 million per endowed faculty position plus $2 million for endowed graduate student fellowships and undergraduate research projects). An endowment will also support hosting industry scholars to promote integration of research, teaching, and the emerging technology industries essential to the commercialization of SmartFarm innovations.

Infrastructure investments include dedicated laboratory and modern field research facilities spanning high throughput plant phenotyping facilities, vertical farming capability and virtual reality IT capacity. A new research and educational UAV droneport facility ($7 million) will support training for agricultural drone pilot certification via a new course in ABT. Equipment needs include a fleet of field-based robots, autonomous tractors, drones and ground-based sensor platforms. We estimate needing $5 million for the SmartFarm expansion to the WCAE, $50 million for modernization to the Plant Sciences Farm Facilities buildings, and $40-60 million for infrastructure and equipment.

3 The total cost is estimated to be $145 million.