A new Agricultural Research Service initiative to test the effectiveness of AgTech products will begin with some pilots in 2026 and scale up in coming years, a USDA official told Agri-Pulse Tuesday.
Scott Hutchins, USDA undersecretary for Research, Education and Economics, said the new National Proving Grounds Network this year will make “intentional and concerted” decisions in choosing which ag tech products to evaluate for effectiveness, but hopes to expand into new subject areas, crops and land grant institutions.
Grand Farm, a North Dakota-based AgTech development hub, will serve as National Program Manager, though other U.S. land-grant universities will also serve as research and testing partners, according to a press release.
“We’re going to think big, and we’re going to think broadly about the potential, but the worst thing that we can do is stumble out of the gate trying to do so much and not do any of it well,” Hutchins said in an interview. “So I’m committed to make sure that we phase and stage this in a way that it has a long-term success proposition for U.S. agriculture."
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Hutchins said the network will not be making product recommendations, but can provide some “clear, consistent and objective data" about products. Participation will be voluntary, he added.
Hutchins also said companies with products in early development could also have their products tested through the network under secrecy agreements. They could then get paired up directly with universities who “can help them do research to get over the finish line,” he added.
“I describe it as the Wild West, and I mean that in a good way,” Hutchins said of the ag tech industry. “There are so many companies, there are so many concepts, and there are so many alternatives that are forming up out there that farmers and ranchers don’t really have a good sense as to which ones really apply, which ones are working, which ones have been proven, [and] which ones have not.”
“So USDA can play a very significant role here with its brand by having some coordinated, consistent, repeatable trials for particular concepts,” he added.
