Le 30/07/2024
The City of Woodland Showcases its Food and Agriculture Resources
One of the country’s most productive farming regions welcomes new partnerships and opportunities to collaborate at FIRA USA.
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Even in California, a state known for its robust farming sector, the City of Woodland stands out. With more than 190 food and ag businesses, a nonprofit wet-lab incubator, a forthcoming research and technology park, and proximity to Yolo County farmland, the University of California, Davis, and the State Capitol, Woodland has a little bit of everything. This makes the city an ideal place to foster new partnerships and fruitful collaboration.
“Woodland has long been known for its dynamic food and agriculture cluster,” says Spencer Bowen, communication and strategic policy manager for the City of Woodland. “It’s the backbone of a lot of civic pride and history, but it’s also an economic distinguisher and driver. We believe that for events such as FIRA, our city is in a fortunate position to be able to support the businesses that come here. We like to show off all that Woodland has to offer and make sure people know what resources are available to them and their companies.”
One such resource is The Lab@AgStart. The largest wet-lab incubator for startups in the Central Valley region, the facility boasts an event center, a commercial-grade kitchen, coworking spaces, laboratory equipment, and more. The Lab@AgStart is also unique in that it operates as a nonprofit. This business model makes it accessible for startups who have big ideas but lack the corresponding cashflow.
“This is an innovative model that not many people know about,” Bowen says. “AgStart cobbled together public and private investors and scored grants, all with the goal of simply helping ideas succeed. AgStart does not take equity or profit off the success of these local companies. We’re proud of that. We’re showing that this is a model that works. It’s a little bare bones, but that’s not the point. The point is to help these innovators who are developing solutions to big problems.”
And many have. Since the incubator opened in downtown Woodland in May 2021, the 20 startup companies who have taken up residency at the Lab have created 24 new jobs and attracted more than $60 million in private capital. They had some help. Part of the Lab’s genius is in the connections it fosters, giving innovators access to potential revenue streams, grant application assistance, and monthly talks from local leaders who have insights into the industries these startups want to break into.
Three years later, the incubator has already more than doubled in size. Bowen says the project is considered a huge success. None of this would have been possible, however, without the support of the city, the county, federal agencies, local sovereign tribes, and local businesses who had the foresight to see the value of this project.
The Lab@AgStart isn’t the only way the City of Woodland is investing in its future. The proposed Woodland Research and Technology Park has received government approval to proceed with 2 million square feet of research lab and commercial space catered toward research and technology companies that would like to benefit from close proximity to UC Davis—the nation’s top school for agriculture, plant sciences, animal science, forestry, and agricultural economics—and other tech institutions in the greater Sacramento region.
While this is a long-term project that might not be fully developed for another 10-15 years, the City of Woodland believes the Woodland Research and Technology Park is yet another asset to food and agriculture companies that want to benefit from the city’s investment in sustainability, business partnerships, and economic development. This is merely one example of what’s available. Innovators who choose to plant roots in the area also find themselves in good company among a diverse and seasoned crop of industry leaders.
“Woodland is a place that’s built on food and ag innovation and a tradition of forward-thinking solutions,” says Woodland Mayor Tania Garcia-Cadena. “This has always been our distinguishing factor, and we’re only strengthening it with these projects. Our concentration of food and agriculture businesses is also incredibly varied—everything from seed research to ranchers to value-added food processing. That’s important to highlight because I think it is a huge value proposition to businesses around the world who’d like to have an anchor in this region, including those that will be attending FIRA USA.”