Sutton Morgan owns Oasis Organics, a certified organic farm comprising roughly 2,500 acres in the Imperial Valley in the southeastern region of California.

Like a growing number of farmers, Morgan is pushing sustainability first, which presents a number of challenges. Both traditional and organic farmers face labor shortages and higher production costs.

"I cannot use chemicals as an organic farmer, so my option is labor. Weeding by hand, and with minimum-wage laws and rising labor costs, I'm forced to look for other options, so I can stay in business," Morgan said.

That is where Morgan has relied on Mark Siemens, a University of Arizona Cooperative Extension expert and researcher who works to integrate advanced technology with farming.