On June 12, 2026, Danny Bernstein of Reservoir Farms made an X post featuring a field demonstration by TRIC Robotics. Chaos ensued. Within a few hours of the post going up, it had millions of views, thousands of reposts, and hundreds of comments. In these comments, there was plenty of support, but users questioned safety, effectiveness, and trust in AI and machines in farming.
“@POTUS, We demand these on every farm. NO MORE CHEMICALS. MAKE IT HAPPEN,” @scdlcaramia.
“This is what decimating the night time pollinator population looks like,” apparent entomologist @FedUpInTheMid.
“AI will replace jobs in every industry on the globe,” @MartiniGuyYT.
“Plants need dark to respire and facilitate flowering hormone triggers, here you are with a UV, Genius,” @Fugaziplacebo.
“Don’t they get UV light during the day (from the sun)??!” @Justcuriousjta.
These are just some of the hundreds of comments that reveal the disconnect between the work that startups like TRIC are doing and general population awareness. Current trends and initiatives like MAHA are leading people to seek healthy living practices and pesticide-free produce, but consumers remain distrustful of technology. Now more than ever, there is a desire to be connected to the processes of growing food.
When something from the agtech world is successful enough to be seen by the general audience and becomes part of the zeitgeist of current ag trends, it offers some useful insight into the consumer. Capturing their attention also provides an opportunity to educate and help bridge the gaps between those growing food and those buying it. Most of the comments listed above are made in good faith, but many of them are thrown into the void of the internet and never taken advantage of and followed up on. At best, people ask grok, which is a form of education, but lacks the nuances that a company like TRIC could share about their own technology.
What do we do with this information?
Despite the sceptics, this post’s virality was a good thing. Danny Bernstein, TRIC Robotics, and Reservoir Farms follower counts skyrocketed, creating an audience for future posts. 6 million people have seen the post, and if you look up TRIC Robotics on X, there are at least a dozen copycat posts, working to do free advertising for TRIC.
The phrase “all publicity is good publicity” is certainly not true. Every year we see companies’ reputations torn apart by poor choices from their executives or media people.
Figures in the ag tech ecosystem must be intentional with what they share and how they share it. Media needs to be something that is monitored, measured, followed up on, and most importantly, constant. Companies must maintain a flow of communication with both their clients and the general public to build a reputable brand. One successful post with no follow up actions is just a blip in the X timeline, but post after post after post has the potential to give a startup real staying power and attract the attention of those that they want to attract.