CropTalk

Controlled environment growers have been inundated with advancements in light technology and new fixtures over the past decade.

Many growers have since installed supplemental light or artificial light in their greenhouse or warehouse.

Installing the fixtures and paying the energy bill is only a small piece of what a grower must do to get the most return on their lighting investment.

That's why we had Marc van Iersel, PhD onto the #LeadersTalkCrops series of CropTalk podcast.

Marc shares a whole mess of insights like..

- Plant physiologist should be the ones to define PAR and engineers should follow their lead when creating lighting fixtures.

- Far red light does not get the credit it deserves

- He is on a campaign to redefine Photosynthetically Active Radiation to 400nm to 750nm

- Adding supplemental CO2 when running supplemental lights will be an enormous benefit for your crop and will give you faster ROI on the fixtures.

- Dimming controllers for supplemental light are something you've got to consider

And, much more..

P.S. Go DAWGS!!

Until next time, #StartCleanStayClean

Brett Puffenbarger, the VP of Corporate Initiatives at Multichain Ventures, breaks down what the 'blockchain' is and what it means to be 'decentralized' while providing context on how it applies to agricultural sectors.

Bobby and Brett and discuss the role that blockchain technology will have on the supply chain management of produce and plant medicines. And they dive into the broader implications of blockchain on ag and how/when we can expect to start seeing the wider implementation of technologies built on the blockchain.

Not the typical #CropCareConvos episode. But this sure isn't a #CropTalk #podcast that executive decision-makers and supply chain managers want to skip!

.#LetsTalkCrops on #CropTalkMedia

If you've hand-watered ornamental hanging baskets in a greenhouse the couple weeks before Mother's Day, you know that it is impossible to give each hanging basket the TLC and water it really needs to thrive.

Some are under-watered. Some are over-watered.

Some are missed completely and go to the dump pile in the days following.

Growing large amounts of ornamental hanging baskets to the quality specs that many retailers demand is a monumental feat in and of itself.

To grow hanging baskets consistently, with increased quality, reduced labor and reduced shrink is what many growers would describe as one of their wildest dreams.

Len Logsdon, Controls Engineer at Control Dekk, LLC has been working hard to help growers realize those wild dreams using OASIS, the automated hanging basket irrigation system that Control Dekk developed and markets to greenhouse growers.

We had Len onto CropTalk to share what refusing to automate your hanging basket production is costing you.

Until next time, #StartCleanStayClean

How can controlled ag. collectively succeed? According to Eddy Badrina, we should be looking to other industries to see what the future horizon for the CEA may hold and how to avoid future problems.

Topics include the danger of silos, realistic expectations, the dramatically changing produce consumer and running a company with a modern vision and purpose.

Do you like BBQ?

Not all BBQ is made the same.

Do you want to eat BBQ that is just sufficient in taste or BBQ that is mouth-watering and award-winning?!

Most would say mouth-watering and award-winning.

As a grower, should you provide your plants with sufficient nutrients to survive or should you dial in the details that make your crop award-winning and profitable on a per-acre basis?

Kyle Lilly, a Plant Nutrition Product Developer, joined as a guest on the #LeadersTalkCrops series of CropTalk to share why he believes growers should ditch the sufficiency-based approach when managing crop nutrition.

Kyle drops a bunch of actionable knowledge bombs in this conversation including:

- What nutrients can be applied directly as seed treatments to get the crop off to a healthy start

- How growers can use nutrients as physiological tools to steer plant growth and performance

- What tools are available to manage ethylene levels in crop production

Until next time, #StartCleanStayClean

Professor Kellie Walters from the Univ of Tennessee researches controlled environment plant physiology and works to help growers improve their crop production systems.

Bobby Shearer and Charlie McKenzie had a chance to chat with her about what she considers to be the 3 most overlooked aspects of controlled environment agriculture (CEA).

From food production to floriculture, they get into environmental controls, flavor and nutrition management, and consumer preferences in an episode of #CropCareConvos that no CEA operator will wanna miss.

Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus is a mouthful.

It's a mouthful of tough to pronounce words for growers trying to use the novel tool and a mouthful of certain death for many Lepidopterans that consume it.

Nuclear Polyhedrosis Viruses aka NPVs are baculoviruses -- pathogens that attack insects and other arthropods.

With ever-increasing resistance to conventional synthetic pesticides, growers are searching for alternatives to help them control the pests that cause economic damage to their crops.

That's why we had Ben Arends, Market Development Specialist at AgBiTech, onto the #LeadersTalkCrops series of CropTalk podcast.

Just a taste of the knowledge that Ben drops:

- How growers can change their behavior and mindset to see the maximum impact when using NPVs for worm control. - The cost of using NPVs vs. traditional synthetic pesticides - What using NPVs can do to slow down the evolution of pesticide resistance

Skip your morning cup of coffee before listening to Stephen Ritz's episode of CropTalk #KyleTalksAgTech!

Stephen is sure to inspire and entertain you as we walk through the impressive work he is doing educating students via the Green Bronx Machine and his PBS show.

If you are looking for some inspiration, this is the episode for you!

Albert Lin has learned a great deal since starting VegBed bamboo substrates about entrepreneurship. Join us on this episode of CropTalk #KyleTalksAgtech as we discuss starting up, doing whatever it takes to succeed and lessons learned about running your own company.

If you've worked in agriculture for long enough, you've probably heard "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" or "that's the way we've always done it".

Chances are the individuals expressing those kinds of sentiments are probably not the most open-minded.

They probably don't collaborate or share information with other growers very much because they might think they "know-it-all".

Growers that succeed or are able to continue farming over the next couple of decades will be those of the "learn-it-all" mindset.

They will be radically open-minded and willing to collaborate with their peers.

Zac Ricciardi of BioSafe Systems has spent much of the last decade collaborating with growers of many different crops and helping those he works with apply the knowledge he's gained through being open-minded about crop production.

Zac joined the #LeadersTalkCrops series of CropTalk podcast to share his thoughts on the reasons why radical open-mindedness and collaboration in the agriculture industry is necessary.

Until next time, #startcleanstayclean