Farming built California. Today, California farms provide over 50% of the US’s crop production, and 80% of all fruit and vegetables produced in the US.

Agriculture may have historic value, but Californians are asking if agriculture is worth what it costs their State. It only accounts for 4% of the State’s revenue, but uses 85% of its water and 8% of its energy.

As water supplies dwindle and population grows, farmers are under pressure to make dramatic changes.

On Monday, Artemis Principal Laura Shenkar spoke before the California Irrigation Institute on why water tech start-ups should be important to farmers in California.

Start-ups are critical when the future of ag must look so different than its past or its present.

Start-ups working in numbers, drive dramatic changes in a market. Start-ups must be smart– quickly understanding which customers will buy product from them and why. Start-ups must be agile to provide strong solutions to pull customers away from existing, proven solutions. The likes of Microsoft and Google have changed the face of information management and commerce in order to succeed, farmers need start-ups to stir things up for their future. See the presentation here: Artemis CII Keynote 02-04-2013