We’re back on July 28th for a full day focused on how artificial intelligence can support real work on real farms. If you spend your time exploring AI, using it, questioning it, or building it, you will want to be at the Grand Farm Innovation Campus during Elevate 2026.
Elevate is Grand Farm’s annual summit focused on how artificial intelligence is transforming agriculture across the Upper Midwest, from predictive analytics and automation to robotics, sensing, and real-time on-farm decision systems. Through expert keynotes, focused panels, hands-on demonstrations, and curated networking, Elevate gives attendees a place to collaborate, ask honest questions, validate needs, and help shape what comes next for AI-powered agriculture in the region.
NEW THIS YEAR: Join us for our public Grand Farm Field Day from 3:00 to 5:00 pm! Attendees can take field tours, learn about our 2026 trials, and explore the Innovation Campus in action.
Professor & Associate Department Head – Machine Systems and Automation, Precision Agriculture
Professor and Chair of the Department of Computer Science
Research Scientist
Assistant Professor and Precision Agriculture Extension Specialist,
Associate Professor / Uncrewed Autonomous Systems (UAS) Faculty Fellow, Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
Vice President of Enrollment Management & Strategic Initiatives
Associate Professor, Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering
Donald B. Gillies Professor of Computer Science; Director
AIFARMS National AI Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
8:00 am | Registration + Coffee
9:00 am | Welcome with Dr. William Aderholdt, Grand Farm
9:10 am | Keynote: Why AI Matters
9:25 am | CIO Panel: What Matters to a CIO?
9:55 am | Why Research Matters
10:25 pm | Break
10:50 am | Google for Startups – AI & Emerging Innovation
11:00 am | Startup Pitches
11:25 am | Panel: Aligning AI Innovation with Agricultural Stakeholders
11:55 am | Startup Pitches
12:15 pm | Lunch
1:30 pm | Keynote: Landscape of Venture Funding in AI
1:45 pm | Panel: Farmer-Focused AI – Solving Real Problems on the Farm
2:15 pm | Break
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2:15 pm | Private Track: AgTech Lightning Rounds with gener8tor
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2:45 pm | Lightning Announcements
3:00 pm | NSF AgTech Engine in North Dakota
3:15 pm | Panel: AI in Motion – Robotics Transforming the Farm
3:45 pm | Closing Keynote: AI for Good
4:00 pm | Happy Hour and Poster Session
Growers: Gain insight into upcoming technologies and contribute your perspective on real-world challenges.
Nearby Airports
Casselton Hotels
Downtown Fargo Hotels
