John Deere has announced a three-year partnership with Reservoir that includes a $10 million investment to speed up the development of rugged artificial-intelligence technology for agriculture, tools meant to work in real farm conditions rather than only in the laboratory.

Reservoir, which opened facilities in California earlier in 2026 and has already attracted more than 20 startups, gives young companies access to farms, infrastructure and growers where they can test and validate products. The Deere money will help it widen that network of farmers, partners and technology developers. It follows a separate multi-year investment from Western Growers.

"John Deere is committed to helping high-value crop growers do more with less, and that requires strong innovation built in the field, not just in the lab," said Jason Brantley, Deere's vice president of production systems, small ag and turf, adding that automation addresses the immediate labour and efficiency needs of the industry.

"This multi-year commitment gives startups greater access to the infrastructure, field conditions and strategic relationships they need to prove the value of rugged AI for commercial agriculture faster," said Reservoir chief executive Danny Bernstein. The partnership was announced at Reservoir's first Ruggedize conference.

Photo: Brian Forbes / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

Source: Farms.com