Specialty crop growers are getting new AgTech for a more sustainable future! 🧑‍🌾 Two interdisciplinary teams from baskinengineering and ucscagroecology will develop practical, low-cost, farmer-centered innovations — with support from the usda 2025 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. 🚰 One project is building DIY, open-source irrigation hardware to help farmers monitor soil moisture and automate watering without the high cost and complexity of existing systems. The team will test the system locally and co-design it with growers to ensure it’s accessible, scalable, and multilingual. 🚜The second project advances smart, electric tractors by partnering directly with small, organic producers to co-develop AI-enabled tools for planting, weeding, and harvesting. The tractors will integrate safety-focused software, wireless controls, and open-source design. “Both of these projects represent what we are trying to achieve as the UC Santa Cruz AgTech Alliance: socially responsible solution...