Redox Grows

From humble beginnings on a Georgia farm, Donnie Cochran has soared to heights few have experienced.

Cochran broke historic barriers as the first African American pilot in the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels, as well as the first African-Americana Commanding Officer and Squadron Leader.

The Blue Angels showcase patriotism and incredible skill as they perform shows far and wide. Their coordinated maneuvers reached speeds of more than 400 miles per hour, with as little as 18 inches between each aircraft.

Aviation and farming are his two passions, and he’s heartily pursuing the later through building up the farm he grew up as one of 12 children. Cochran is working with Ag Nutrients, powered by Redox Bio-Nutrients, for nutrition for his young pecan orchard. 

He said he learned many important lessons while serving America and said three critical attributes for success in life are ACE, attitude, character, and enthusiasm. 

Cochran’s book, Glad to Be Here, chronicles his amazing journey, as well as inspirational insight into making the most of your life. Glad to Be Here represents the motto of the Blue Angels and is available at Amazon.com. 

California is a powerhouse for strawberry production, growing about 85 percent of the U.S. crop. Berries are susceptible to insect and disease pressure, and that’s where the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Strawberry Center comes into play.

“Pathology, entomology, and innovation – those are the three areas of emphasis for us,” said Gerald Holmes, who has served as center director since its inception in 2014. 

The Strawberry Center is a partnership between Cal Poly and the California Strawberry Commission, with the goal of increasing the sustainability of the industry through research and education. 

The Center’s annual field day will be held August 8, when hundreds will gather to get the latest on research projects, including the battle against harmful insects and soil-borne pathogens. 

You can find more information on the center at strawberry.calpoly.edu 

The best sustained success in agriculture happens with a healthy growing environment. The University of Idaho’s new Center for Plant and Soil Health in Parma is a welcome addition to the landscape.

“The new center is a much-needed advancement,” remarked Margie Watson of J.C. Watson, an onion grower-packer shipper with more than a century in business. She also served as the mayor of Parma. “This brand new, wonderful facility is going to take us to another level. We have to have researchers in agriculture, with this changing world, and they have to have facilities to go and do the research.”

“I see evidence that the work we do really does impact the industry,” said Mike Thornton, Professor of Plant Sciences at the University of Idaho. “I see it on a small level with individual growers, but also on a larger scale. For example, our onion industry has adopted drip irrigation over the last decade and a half. … To see that rapid adoption tells me that we’re really making an impact.”

“The key part is that my knowledge helps the grower and all of our producers reduce the impact of crop diseases on their bottom line,” Juliet Marshall, Plant Sciences Department Head, Professor and Plant Pathologist at the University of Idaho. “{It’s an economic and a food safety issue.”

Thornton and Marshall said research conducted in Idaho can also assist growers elsewhere in the U.S.

The $12.1 million dollar facility encompasses 9,600 square feet and is a welcome addition to the small town of Parma, where the University of Idaho has had a research presence since 1922.

Georgia is far and away the nation’s leading peanut producer, with annual production greater than the next six states combined.

One of their leading voices is Tyron Spearman, who has been working in a variety of different jobs in the peanut industry for more than 50 years. His resume includes a decade as Executive Director of the Georgia Peanut Commission, President of the American Peanut Council, heading up the Peanut Farm Market News publication, and manager of the National Peanut Buying Points Association.  Interestingly, the association’s founder was peanut farmer, America’s 39th President, and Nobel Prize winner, Jimmy Carter.

Spearman said the industry continues to explore new uses for peanuts, including using peanut oil for future jet fuel and to help bolster nutrition of eggs and chicken meat. 

Georgia produces about three billion pounds of peanuts a year, more than half of the U.S. crop.

Spearman has single-handedly grilled countless peanut butter and jelly sandwiches over the decades as an ambassador for the industry. 

While much in agriculture and the science behind crop nutrition have changed since Redox Bio-Nutrients started business in 1994, our company’s founding principles have not.

Integrity, sound agronomic knowledge, and the continual quest for scientific advancements have defined Redox since the first days Darin and Val Moon started operations with John Kelly.

Today, Redox technology helps growers succeed throughout the U.S. and internationally, covering a wide variety of crops, both conventional and organic.

Owner, founder and CEO Darin Moon said with greater scientific understanding and growth in sustainable farming, the future for Redox is bright.

“I’ve been fascinated with it for years and I’m even more fascinated now, with the ability of plants to grow and how we manage that, to get the most nutrition per acre with the least amount of input and damage to the environment,” Moon said. ““I’m more excited today than the day I started the company.”

Our technology helps create long term farming success through Redox Homeostasis, a 50-50 balance between positive and negative electrical charges during nutrient uptake. The less plants need to work to achieve Redox Homeostasis, the more they will spend ensuring positive outcomes, including yield and crop quality. 

The Southern California Coast maintains a strong agricultural industry despite a host of challenges, including ever-marching urbanization.

A sometimes-overlooked key to productive farming is the role agronomists play in guiding positive outcomes.

Working in the Oxnard area, Fernando Mendez of Buttonwillow Warehouse Company is among those working to get the most out of every acre planted.  He is a PCA, CCA, and California Nitrogen Management Specialist who works to ensure that vital nutrition is utilized for strong plants, abundant crops, and sustainable farming.

He works with growers of a wide variety of crops, including avocados, citrus, cut flowers and a variety of berries, including strawberries.

“I’m always looking for the best for the growers,” he said.  “That includes sustainability, with good results, and helping the grower to make money.”

Oxnard is an important region for berries and is often mentioned as strawberry capital of the world.

The California Coast is where a significant amount of the nation’s vegetables is grown, but that bounty doesn’t always come easily.

Frankie Orozco grows for Dole Fresh Vegetables in the Oxnard area, working with his team to grow crops including celery and romaine lettuce.

He works with Redox Bio-Nutrients to provide nutrition for his crops and said the newer technology has yielded favorable results.

“There’s a lot of positive things I have seen using biostimulants,” he said. “Just itself, being able to reduce inputs, whether it be fertilizers or pesticides, and just starting to be more friendly to our soil.  Starting to give back slowly, being more sustainable and leaving something good for the next generation to come.”

California produces about 75 percent of the U.S. celery crop, and about 80 percent of the nation’s romaine lettuce.

Farmers far and wide face challenges in growing crops, but growers in highly-urbanized Southern California navigate through a rather-unique set.

Home to more than three million people and stunning real estate value, Orange County farmers continue to grow a variety of high value crops.

Mark Lopez, Vice President of Orange County Land Management Services, has successfully grown crops in creative places for a quarter century.  He said the expensive conditions mandate he does his job right every time out.

“We can’t afford to make mistakes,” he remarked. “Between the pH in the soil and in the water, we’re trying to make it optimally so we can grow. Those that don’t do what we do, you won’t be as fortunate.”

One of the most unusual places Lopez grows crops is the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station.

Lopez and his team utilize Redox Bio-Nutrients products in their inputs to grow a variety of crops, including strawberries, carrots and green beans.

California supplies 95 percent of the U.S. avocado crop, although growers don’t always have an easy path to success.

In Ventura County, grower Jason Cole continues their family avocado heritage that his grandfather started more than 50 years ago.  He credits a new nutrition program as part of their successful farming formula.

“We keep breaking our own records,” he said. “2020 was just a tremendous year for our ranch. Again in 2022, we broke our records on total yield and per ranch yield/per acre return on volume and pounds. Now in 2024, we’re only about 10 percent harvested right now, but the ranches we’ve picked are way ahead; just breaking all of the yield records for those particular sites.

A big part of their nutrition upgrade involves Redox Bio-Nutrients technology, as Cole employs several Redox products.

“After college graduation in 2009, I came right home and went to work,” he said. “We probably do nothing the same agronomically today that we were doing back then.” 

California avocados are a huge part of Cinco de Mayo, which corresponds well with the industries harvest and marketing season.

Brian Bonlender has found a great formula for running a successful golf course. As longtime superintendent at the historic West Bend Country Club in Wisconsin, he overseas an experienced staff and keeps the course in great shape through a strong nutrition program of Redox TurfRx products.

“The healthier the plant, the easier your job becomes,” he said. “It’s all about health. It’s all keeping the best conditions possible on a daily basis. It’s consistency.”

Brian began at an entry level job at the country club 25 years ago. Since the early days, he graduated with a horticultural degree and has risen to the superintendent’s role.  His tenure, tenacity, and continual tinkering to provide the best nutrition to his turfgrass have served West Bend well. 

Keeping the course in great shape takes careful planning, as the country club is within 30 miles of Lake Michigan, so temperatures can stay low for much of the year. 

“The joke is ‘keep your winter jacket in your car until the Fourth of July, take it out, hang it up, and on the fifth put it back in’,” he remarked. “We’ve seen snow in May. We’ve seen 85 degrees in May. It really keeps you on your toes.”