California Fruit and Vegetable

Tag: Vegetables West Magazine

  • UCCE Virtual Workshop Series on Nitrogen Management in Organic Production

    Growers of organic vegetables and strawberries across California are invited to attend an online training to learn how to manage nitrogen fertilization. UC Cooperative Extension is offering the three-part Nitrogen Planning and Management in Organic Production of Annual Crops Workshop on Nov. 29, Dec. 5 and Dec. 12.

    Growers, certified crop advisers, pest control advisers and other agricultural professionals who are interested in learning about nitrogen management in organically farmed crops are encouraged to enroll.

    The workshop is also available in Spanish.

    Tuesday, Nov. 29, 1-3 p.m. – Part 1: Understanding nitrogen: the nutrient, the role of microbes and the relevance of soil organic matter. Daniel Geisseler, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in nutrient management at UC Davis; Radomir Schmidt, program manager for the Working Lands Innovation Center at the UC Davis Institute of the Environment; and Margaret Lloyd, UCCE small farms advisor will give an overview of the sources, transformations and fates of nitrogen in soil. They also will discuss the role and dynamics of microbes in nitrogen management, and how nitrogen fixation impacts management decisions.

    Monday, Dec. 5, 1-3 p.m. – Part 2: Estimating nitrogen release from organic amendments and contributions from cover crops. Patricia Lazicki, a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Lloyd will discuss estimating nitrogen release from compost, organic fertilizers, cover crops and crop residue and irrigation water.

    Monday Dec. 12, 1-3 p.m. – Part 3: Putting it all together: Completing a nitrogen budget, synchronizing nitrogen release with nitrogen demand, and using soil tests. Joji Muramoto, UC Cooperative Extension organic production specialist; Richard Smith, UC Cooperative Extension vegetable crops advisor; and Lloyd will address nuances of organic soil fertility management in vegetables. Discussions will include crop nitrogen demand and strategies to supply demand, as well as using and interpreting soil testing. Specific references will be made to strategies for complying with forthcoming regulations. The session will conclude with a discussion on new frontiers in organic nitrogen management.

    Registration for the virtual event is $25 and includes all three classes. A single registration can be shared by members of the same farm. Space is limited to 75 participants. To register, visit https://ucanr.edu/organiccrops22.

    Participants may earn six hours of CDFA-INMTP continuing education credits (formerly CURES CE Credits) or six hours of CCA credits.

    For more information, contact Margaret Lloyd at (530) 564-8642 or mglloyd@ucanr.edu.

    UC Agriculture and Natural Resources brings the power of UC to all 58 California counties. Through research and Cooperative Extension in agriculture, natural resources, nutrition, economic and youth development, our mission is to improve the lives of all Californians. Learn more at ucanr.edu and support our work at donate.ucanr.edu.

  • Darkling Beetle Overwintering Locations and Movement into California Tomato Fields

    Darkling beetles girdle seedlings at or below soil line by chewing which can cause significant damage and plant death when beetles are in high numbers. Darkling beetles are not usually a problem once plants are big enough to withstand the chewing damage. They move in from field edges, including weedy areas or adjacent crops like grains or alfalfa. Conventional control includes insecticide baits, but organic growers have more limited options.

    The UC Cooperative Extension conducted a study funded by the California Tomato Research Institute to better understand darkling beetle movement into tomato fields and develop a monitoring strategy to assist with control before beetles migrate into crop fields. Probable habitats for darkling beetles were scouted March-May 2022. These sites included weedy vegetation, hedgerows, field borders, and other locations in close proximity to crop fields (examples of trap sites pictured below). To determine darkling beetle presence, pitfall traps and visual observations were used. Pitfall traps consist of plastic cups buried in the soil, so that the opening is even with the soil line and filled with a preserving liquid. Insects walking across the ground fall into the cup as they travel and are unable to escape.

    Four organic field sites were monitored, with a total of 30 pitfall traps. The data is still being analyzed and beetles are currently being identified but the figure below shows a generalized overview of what was captured in the pitfall traps in Spring 2022. Because pitfall traps are better at measuring insect activity rather than density, they were not very effective at capturing darkling beetles. Darkling beetles do not move around as frequently as other insects like predatory ground beetles, which were caught in high numbers. However, darkling beetle damage was also not readily observed in these tomato fields. One field did however have significant damage from vegetable weevils which feed on foliage and stems, defoliating the plant, rather than girdle young plants at the base.

    Ground beetles were the most abundant insects captured, followed by miscellaneous beetles (not including darkling beetles) which included carrion beetles, click beetles, lady beetles, rove beetles and others in smaller numbers. Earwigs were also commonly captured along with isopods, spiders and ants (data not included). — By the UC Cooperative Extension with Funding from the California Tomato Research Institute

  • New Grant Aims to Reduce Plastic Taken From Fields to Landfills

    Washington State University is leading a new project that aims to advance soil-biodegradable mulches and develop innovative methods for recycling the plastic. The projects is funded by a $8 million, four-year Specialty Crop Research Initiative grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

    Growers of crops like strawberries, raspberries, pumpkins, tomatoes, and melons depend on plastic mulch to enhance productivity. But that mulch is rarely recycled, and the soil-biodegradable version isn’t allowed in domestic organic production.

    Consequently, every year an estimated 2.5 million tons of plastic mulch is dumped into landfills, tilled into the soil, or burned, leading to global terrestrial and aquatic pollution. And that number is rising as more growers worldwide adopt plastic mulch without viable, sustainable end-of-life options for waste management.

    The new WSU-led program will focus on strawberries as a model crop because it’s a popular fruit grown throughout the country in different weather situations and soil systems. Scientists, extension specialists, and growers in California, Florida, Nebraska, and Washington will all participate. Companies such as Driscoll’s and Natureripe are also collaborating on the project.

    Plastic mulch is long black plastic strips laid down in fields to suppress weed growth, optimize soil temperatures, reduce water loss, and produce higher yields of clean fruits and vegetables free of soil debris. Its usage leads to significantly reduced herbicide application, fewer crops lost to rot from soil contact, a jump start on the growing season, yield enhancements, and improved profitability.

    “Growers are really dependent on plastic mulch,” said Lisa DeVetter, a Department of Horticulture associate professor based at WSU’s Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center in Mount Vernon. “Every year, tens of thousands of acres of mulch are put on soil across the country, but the plastic mostly winds up in landfills and takes hundreds of years to degrade.”

    DeVetter, the lead project investigator, has collaborated on plastic mulch solutions for several years, frequently focusing on improving knowledge of soil-biodegradable mulch.

    Lisa DeVetter

    Soil-biodegradable mulch currently can’t be used in organic fields because it contains non-bio-based and synthetic materials forbidden in U.S. certified organic production. Growers are also concerned about its ability to fully biodegrade in soils and the potential long-term economic implications of degraded soil.

    Mulch recycling is a limited option because it’s coated with dirt and plant debris after being removed from the fields.

    “As much as 50 to 80% by weight of the removed mulch is contaminated with debris,” DeVetter said. “Most recycling facilities require less than 5% contamination.”

    The research team will look at methods for removing debris from the plastic and new technologies for recycling debris-laden plastic. They’ll also study ways to build the infrastructure necessary to handle potentially huge volumes of mulch, and how to incentivize more sustainable waste management behavior.

    This is the first time a research project will combine recycling and soil-biodegradable efforts to help reduce the tonnage sent to landfills and the resulting environmental impact; they’ve always been separate studies.

    “We’re leveraging our experience and network of collaborators — researchers, people in the industry, as well as allied nonprofit organizations — to come up with viable solutions to make an impact,” DeVetter said. — By Scott Weybright, College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences, Washington State University

  • Microgreens Offer Chance to Grow Vegetables for Customized Health Needs

    Broccoli is well known for its particular flavor, healthy properties, and ability to help ward off certain types of cancer, but there’s more to this veggie than the florets found in salad bars, stir fries, and your favorite broccoli cheese soup.

    As proof that good things can come in small packages, baby broccoli — one type of “microgreen” — packs as much as four times the number of cancer-fighting antioxidants as its adult counterpart. On top of that, you can grow them easily and rapidly to ensure that you have a ready supply.

    “Broccoli microgreens are young and tender greens harvested when the first true leaf appears,” explained Tianbao Yang, plant physiologist at the Agricultural Research Service’s Food Quality Laboratory in Beltsville, MD. “As compared to their mature counterparts, broccoli microgreens contain higher amounts of phytonutrients and minerals.”

    Phytonutrients are natural compounds in plants that may help prevent disease. In particular, broccoli contains large amounts of glucosinolates, which change into other chemicals during the cooking process and digestion. Studies have shown that these chemicals help reduce the development and growth of various diseases, including prostate, breast, colon, skin, bladder, and oral cancers.

    According to Yang, glucosinolates are antioxidants mainly found in cruciferous plants, such as broccoli, kale, radish, and cabbage. Epidemiologic studies suggest a correlation between consuming broccoli with reduced effects of aging, asthma, and other chronic pulmonary diseases.

    These natural health benefits are not hard to find, Yang said. “Microgreens are easy to grow and handle and have a short production cycle. They are a good choice for urban farming and controlled environment agriculture.”

    Microgreens may be an option for people who want to garden but have limited — or no — outdoor space to grow their own produce. Home gardeners can grow microgreens indoors or outside, in soil or hydroponically— that is, in water. Not only that, but broccoli microgreens may be ready to harvest in as little as a week. Information on hydroponic gardening is readily available from many online sources.

    Yang offered two simple tips that home gardeners can use to get even more healthful benefits from their baby broccoli: adding calcium salt to the hydroponic solution or applying it as a spray; and/or putting the sprouts under ultraviolet B (UVB) light for 1-2 hours per day.

    Both calcium salt and UVB induce a stress response in the plants that promotes the production of glucosinolates. The methods can be used together or separately.

    Yang believes that, in the future, it could be possible to grow personalized vegetables for specific populations with chronic diseases.

    “Fruits and vegetables are an important part of diet,” Yang said. “They are rich in a variety of phytochemicals and minerals that are beneficial to human health. Controlled environment agriculture provides the opportunity to manipulate plant growth conditions and design beneficial nutrients. Microgreens are one of the best candidates for this.” — By Scott Elliott, USDA-ARS Office of Communications

  • New Nanoparticle-Based Sensors to Measure Residual Herbicides in Food

    Two newly developed, low-cost tests that use nanoparticles to detect chemicals can accurately measure tiny amounts of two potentially harmful herbicides in fruits, vegetables and their products.

    Reporting in the journal Food Chemistry, a Washington State University research team used two testing methods to measure the levels of two herbicides, namely atrazine and acetochlor, in samples of apples, strawberries, cabbage, corn and fruit juices. The work shows the real-world viability of their easy-to-use and inexpensive methods of testing.

    “We applied this technology for real sample detection – which is an important step in moving towards commercialization,” said Annie Du, research professor in WSU’s School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering and the principle investigator of the project.

    Annie Du

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regularly tests a broad range of commodities for approximately 800 pesticide residues, and producers are required to keep the chemical residues on food below a certain level that is considered safe. The two herbicides the researchers measured are widely used in crop production in the U.S. At high exposures, they are potentially toxic for people and have been linked to a range of maladies from allergies to hormone disruption to cancer.

    Doing the testing, however, currently requires sophisticated and expensive instruments as well as a trained technician.

    “We want to come up with a low-cost method that can be used in the field or in the laboratory,” said Bernie Van Wie, corresponding author on the paper and a professor in WSU’s Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering.

    Bernie Van Wie

    In the past few years, the researchers have developed and patented their idea that uses nanoparticles of palladium and platinum to amplify the signal of molecules. The nanoparticles attach to an antibody, which recognizes the chemical, and then stimulate the production of a signal.  The amplification allows the researchers to know that tiny amounts of the chemicals are present and at what level.

    In this latest work, the researchers used the nanoparticles in two types of tests to measure two chemicals simultaneously. The chemicals were spiked into fruit and vegetable samples that were pureed in a blender.

    One of the tests uses the palladium-platinum nanoparticles to catalyze a reaction that causes a color change in a sample when the herbicide is present. The test can be done using a small unit that can be carried into the field.  The other test the researchers developed uses the nanoparticle in a low-cost paper strip that looks like a COVID-19 or pregnancy test and can be read with a smartphone reader.

    The tests were sensitive enough to measure the chemicals down to the maximum acceptable levels and were validated using traditional testing methods.

    “We’re actually able to detect below the maximum concentration limits. If there’s any pesticide or herbicide in the sample,” said Van Wie. “That’s good because while this can be done by other methods, this method is low-cost and portable in the field.”

    Du has recently started a company that is negotiating with WSU’s Office of Commercialization to license the technology for additional applications. The work was supported by the USDA/National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program (grant number 2018-67021-27970). — By Tina Hilding, Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture, Washington State University

  • USDA’s Cost of Pollination Survey Going Out to California Growers

    On Nov. 1, USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will mail the 2022 Cost of Pollination Survey to over 2,700 CA crop producers. The survey will be sent to nearly 16,000 producers nationwide.

    “Honey bees are important pollinators of crops ranging from almonds to zucchinis,” said Gary R. Keough, director of the NASS Pacific Regional Office. “To help accurately depict the health of the pollination industry in the United States, NASS will ask crop producers about their use of honey bees, the fees they paid for honey bee pollination, and any other expenses related to pollinating their crops.”

    Survey recipients are asked to respond securely online at agcounts.usda.gov through the Respondent Portal, by mail, or fax. Those who do not respond by Nov. 14 may be contacted by a NASS representative to arrange an interview to complete the survey.

    All information reported by producers will be kept confidential, as required by federal law. NASS will publish the survey data Jan. 11, 2023, on the NASS website at nass.usda.gov and in the NASS Quick Stats searchable database at www.quickstats.nass.usda.gov.

    For more information about the Cost of Pollination Survey and NASS’s bee and honey program, visit www.nass.usda.gov/Surveys/Guide_to_NASS_Surveys/Bee_and_Honey/. NASS’s other honey bee reports include the Honey report published every March and the Honey Bee Colonies report published every August.

    These and all NASS reports are available at www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/. For more information, call the NASS Pacific Regional Field Office at 1-800-851-1127.

  • Western Growers Selects Future Volunteer Leaders Class VII

    Western Growers is welcoming the seventh class of Future Volunteer Leaders, a group who will be embedded in specialized networking and agricultural leadership development events with the organization for the next two years.

    Class VII includes:

    • Celeste Alonzo, Junior Enterprises
    • Jose Covarrubias, Wholesum Farms
    • Krystal Del Bosque, Del Bosque Farms
    • Briana Giampaoli, Live Oak Farms
    • Shay Myers, Owyhee Produce
    • Garrett Nishimori, San Miguel Produce
    • Nisha Noroian, Nish Noroian Farms, Hye Farms
    • Sal Parra, Coyula Farms
    • Spencer Quinn, Quinn Company
    • Anthony Reade, Betteravia Farms
    • Byron Talley, Talley Farms
    • Mitchell Yerxa, River Vista Farms

    Complete bios for Class VII can be found below.

    Members of the class will be invited to participate in all regular Western Growers board meeting functions for the next two years, in addition to standalone farm tours with WG board members and trainings with the organization’s subject matter experts.

    In 2011, Western Growers welcomed its inaugural class of Future Volunteer Leaders. The competitively-selected Future Volunteer Leaders Program is designed for the next generation of leaders within Western Growers member companies interested in becoming more informed and effective advocates for the fresh produce industry. These individuals are policy-minded and have expressed a desire to serve the industry – both now and in the future – in volunteer leadership capacities.

    About Western Growers:

    Founded in 1926, Western Growers represents local and regional family farmers growing fresh produce in California, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. Western Growers’ members and their workers provide over half the nation’s fresh fruits, vegetables and tree nuts, including half of America’s fresh organic produce. Connect and learn more about Western Growers on Twitter and Facebook.

     

  • Fresno-Area Women in Ag to Receive Support, Learning Circle & Resource Fair Nov. 2

    Fresno-area farmers face water management and business viability challenges like never before, but financial and technical resources are available to help growers and landowners navigate these challenges. American Farmland Trust is partnering with the Sierra Resource Conservation District and USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service to gather women in agriculture around these issues and feature services they can lean on at a Women for the Land Learning Circle and Resource Fair on Nov. 2 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m in Fresno.

    At this women-centered gathering, growers, landowners and others involved in agriculture will be able to share experiences, while agricultural resource providers will describe local services that support the viability of agriculture and agricultural communities. The event has been co-designed with input from a broad range of partners in the region to reach a diversity of communities engaged in Fresno agriculture, according to Caitlin Joseph, AFT’s Women for the Land Program and Policy Manager. As such, multilingual resources will be provided in English, Spanish, Hmong and Punjabi, as needed.

    “AFT is excited to bolster the work of local RCDs, NRCS staff and others, by partnering on this free event for women producers and landowners, applying a peer-to-peer learning model we have utilized nationally to great effect,” says Joseph. “In addition to a farm tour led by Lilian Yang, one of the region’s innovative Hmong women farmers, there will be discussions on how the drought is impacting water and land use in the San Joaquin Valley, and what is still needed to support farm viability throughout these changes. Through our Women for the Land Initiative, we have found that learning in this type of environment can really drive women farmers to take action to support their operations.”

    “Sierra RCD is thrilled to offer this space for women farmers to build relationships with service providers who can help them access financial and technical resources,” says Karin Roux, District Development Manager at Sierra Resource Conservation District. “We are particularly interested in the powerful ways that AFT’s peer-to-peer learning will help women hear directly from each other on the unique challenges and successes they are experiencing farming here in the Central Valley, and receive first–hand accounts of technical and financial assistance opportunities available to improve their farms’ water efficiency and resilience.”

    Where:

    Start at Sierra RCD Office (10637 N. Lanes Road, Fresno, CA 93730), take bus to farm visit and return to office where lunch will be provided
     
    When:  Nov. 2, 2022; 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
     
    Organizers
    Caitlin Joseph, Women for the Land Program and Policy Manager, AFT
    Anel Trujillo, California Outreach Specialist, AFT
    Vicky Espinoza, AFT and The Nature Conservancy (discussion leader)
    Alyssa Flores, Water Use, Soil Health, and Conservation Planning Support Assistant, SRCD
    Karin Roux, District Development, SRCD
    Veronica Martinez, Community Engagement Youth and Education Program Manager, SRCD
     
    For multilingual assistance, contact:
    Karin Roux (English) – (845) 527-6590
    Anel Trujillo (Español) (559) 385-1517
    Deep Singh (Pajābī) (559) 909-9962
    Vila Xiong (Hmong) (559) 402-0067 ext 108

    American Farmland Trust is the only national organization that takes a holistic approach to agriculture, focusing on the land itself, the agricultural practices used on that land, and the farmers and ranchers who do the work. AFT launched the conservation agriculture movement and continues to raise public awareness through our No Farms, No Food message. Since our founding in 1980, AFT has helped permanently protect over 6.5 million acres of agricultural lands, advancing environmentally-sound farming practices on millions of additional acres and supported thousands of farm families.

    USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) mission is “Helping People Help the Land.” NRCS helps America’s farmers, ranchers and forest landowners conserve the nation’s soil, water, air and other natural resources. All programs are voluntary and offer science-based solutions that benefit both the landowner and the environment.

    The Sierra Resource Conservation District (Sierra RCD) is a non-regulatory, non-taxing, nonprofit, Special District of the State of California; the mission and function of the Sierra RCD is to take available technical, financial, and educational resources, whatever their source, and focus or coordinate them at the local level, to meet the present and future natural resource needs of the local land user. Offices are in Auberry and Fresno, CA. More information can be found at www.sierrarcd.com

    Sierra RCD service area covers the eastern half of Fresno County and has two main programs in operation that interact with local land users and landowners: the Forestry and Watershed Program which predominantly focuses within the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and the Agriculture and Rangeland Program which focuses within the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and Central Valley floor.

  • Judges Selected for AgSharks Pitch Competition

    Western Growers and S2G Ventures have announced the judges for the 2022 AgSharks Competition, a unique event where startup companies pitch their innovations in front of a live audience of the world’s largest specialty crop producers to win a $250,000 minimum investment.

    Three startups will be selected to pitch their inventions to these judges in front of an audience of more than 300 fresh produce farmers and industry leaders during the WG Annual Meeting in Las Vegas on Nov. 2-5, 2022. The competition will be hosted by Stuart Woolf, President and CEO of Woolf Farming & Processing.

    In addition to potential investment capital, the winner(s) will receive international recognition, mentoring from S2G and WG, potential access to farm acreage to pilot their technologies and access to WG’s expansive network of leading fresh produce companies.

    The judges are:

    Neill Callis

    Neill Callis is the General manager of Turlock Fruit Company, a family-owned and operated fresh produce grower / shipper / packer founded in 1918 by James “Cantaloupe” Smith. Neill joined the company in 2013 following a 17-year career as a project manager and systems engineer in the aerospace industry. As a member of the family management team, he now works alongside the 2nd (Don), 3rd (Steve), and 4th (Alec) generations of the Smith family operating the business of farming honeydews, cantaloupes, mixed melons, asparagus, cherries, tomatoes, and almonds in Merced and Fresno counties.

    Neill has served on the California Cantaloupe Advisory Board since 2015, participated in the Western Growers Future Volunteer Leaders program (Class III), and served as an industry mentor to Cohorts II/III of the Thrive AgTech Accelerator. In the Turlock community, he serves as a Trustee of the Legacy Health Endowment, serves on the boards of the Turlock Community Theatre, Prodigal Sons & Daughters, and Little Lights Preschool, and is also a member of the James Irvine Foundation New Leadership Network’s 3rd cohort. Neill graduated with a. B.A. in Political Science from Elon College, and holds a Graduate Certificate in Complex Space Systems from the Stevens Institute of Technology.

    Neill joined the Western Growers Board of Directors in 2019, following in the footsteps of Turlock Fruit Company owners Steve Smith and Don Smith. He is currently serving as Treasurer of the Board. He is married to Steve’s daughter Hilary, and they have two young children, Daniel and Elin.

    Audre Kapacinskas

    Audre Kapacinskas is a Principal at S2G Ventures where she leads Corporate Development efforts across our focus sectors: food & agriculture, oceans & seafood, energy, and real assets. Audre actively engages corporate, investor, nonprofit and government stakeholders to identify opportunities to accelerate growth and impact of S2G companies. By building relationships with a diverse ecosystem of stakeholders, Audre seeks to apply advanced and emerging technologies at scale to address today’s most pressing challenges in order to realize a more humane and healthy planet.

    Over the last 10+ years, Audre has worked at the intersection of technology, strategy, finance and operations to incubate new ideas and drive growth. Prior to S2G, Audre was a Director of Sales and Corporate Strategy at Uptake, a predictive analytics start-up delivering artificial intelligence and IoT solutions to multiple Industrial sectors. Previously, Audre worked for Stax, a boutique strategy consulting firm that works closely with private equity firms and corporate clients on growth acceleration, value assessments and investment due diligence.

    Audre lives with her family in Chicago where you can find her hunting for the city’s best sourdough, planning an outdoor adventure or bouncing crazy ideas around with entrepreneurs and creatives. Audre is Co-Founder of Fifth Star Funds, a venture philanthropy focused on investing in underrepresented tech founders in Chicago. Audre holds an Honours BA from the University of Toronto (Economics, International Relations), an MA from Vilnius University and was a Fulbright Scholar.

    Aaron Rudberg

    Aaron Rudberg is the COO and Managing Director at S2G Ventures. He has worked in the investment business his entire professional career, and brings experience as an entrepreneur and institutional investor. Prior to joining S2G, Aaron spent 10 years at Baird Capital where he was a Partner and Managing Director overseeing the global strategy, investor relations, marketing and business development for the $3.5 billion private equity and venture capital business. Aaron previously spent time at a private equity fund-of-funds and a venture capital firm. Early in Aaron’s career, he was an entrepreneur building a venture-backed software company that was acquired. Aaron received a BA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Aaron is a member of the board of The Civic Federation, Adler Planetarium, and was named an Emerging Leader by the Chicago Council of Global Affairs in 2014.

    Kristen Smith Eschaya

    Kristen Smith Eshaya is the President of Yuma, Ariz.-based JV Smith Cos. JV Smith Cos. began with the formation of Skyview Cooling Company in 1970 by John Smith, Smith Eshaya’s grandfather and Vic Smith’s father.

    Smith Eshaya graduated as the valedictorian of her class at Yuma High School in 2003, and then went on to graduate from Colorado College with a Bachelor of Arts in economics and, later, from Northern Arizona University with a Master of Education in human relations. She lived in Texas and California, working in finance and development for the arts, before moving back home to join the family business.

    She also has been involved with industry trade associations, having formerly served on the Center for Growing Talent by Produce Marketing Association board of directors, as well as the PMA diversity and inclusion task force.

    Smith Eshaya is currently in the Western Growers Future Volunteer Leaders Program, in addition to serving on the Children’s Museum of Yuma County board of directors. Along with her husband, Emil, Smith Eshaya resides in Yuma with their two children.

    AgSharks was first held in 2017, and through the competition, past winners Hazel Technologies and Burro have since brought their products from development to market. Hazel Technologies has raised over $87.8 million in funding over six rounds and is advancing the industry with sachets that extend the shelf life of fresh produce by as much as three times. Burro raised a $10.9 million Series A round in September 2021 led by S2G Ventures and Toyota Ventures and continues to help solve farmers’ labor woes with the expansion of its fleet of autonomous robots to farms across the west.

    About Western Growers:

    Founded in 1926, Western Growers represents local and regional family farmers growing fresh produce in California, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. Western Growers’ members and their workers provide over half the nation’s fresh fruits, vegetables and tree nuts, including half of America’s fresh organic produce. Connect and learn more about Western Growers on Twitter and Facebook.

    About S2G Ventures:

    S2G Ventures, the direct investment team of Builders Vision, partners with entrepreneurs who are working on solutions to some of the world’s greatest challenges across the food, agriculture, oceans, and clean energy markets. We provide capital, mentorship and value-added resources to companies pursuing innovative market-based solutions that generate positive social, environmental and financial returns. We provide our partners with flexible capital solutions that can range from seed and venture funding through growth equity to debt and infrastructure financing. For more information about S2G, visit s2gventures.com, tune-in to our podcast, or connect with us on LinkedIn.

  • How to Improve Soil Health in Potato Cropping Systems

    Minimizing soil disturbance is one of the key tenets promoted to build soil health in agricultural systems. Many farmers across the county have adopted reduced and no-till systems to build soil carbon, a central component to healthy soils. But what if you grow a crop where the part you sell is underground – like potatoes? What are some options to build soil health in those systems?

    In the US, overall, the potato industry was a $4 billion industry in 2020. Americans will eat their potatoes fresh, frozen, fried, chipped, canned, dehydrated. Potato products are also used as food ingredients, like potato starch.

    Potatoes are a valuable crop in Washington state. We are the second leading producer of potatoes in the United States (after neighboring Idaho.) Central Washington grows Russet potatoes primarily for French fries and other processed potato products. Northwestern Washington is known for colorful, fresh-market potatoes.

    The potato industry in Washington recognizes the importance of healthy soils for long-term, sustainable production of the crop. One issue with growing potatoes: they are a tuber crop, growing belowground. Thus, planting and harvesting them disturbs the soil more than a crop like wheat or barley, which are harvested aboveground. Growers and researchers are working on strategies to promote soil health in this typically high disturbance system.

    Through Washington’s new Soil Health Initiative, my team and collaborators recently set up a long-term rotational experiment to explore some of these strategies in potato-based systems. The strategies represent the typical rotations and soils of the area. The trial is designed with methods that use changing levels of:

    • soil disturbance (i.e., tillage),
    • organic matter inputs,
    • internal (cover crops and residues) and,
    • external (compost).

    This allows us to study multiple soil health principles and how they interact with one another.

    Potatoes in northwestern Washington are typically grown in a particular field every 3-5 years. Soil improvement strategies are really focused on what happens before and after the potato crop.

    One practice many growers are experimenting with is cover cropping. Cover crops are grown between cash crops to provide agroecosystem benefits related to 3 of the 4 main soil health principles: cover the soil, increase diversity, and maximize continuous living roots, which help feed microorganisms in the soil.

    Farmers in the area are using two methods. One is winter cover crops, planted in fall and terminated in spring. The other is multi-year cover crops that are mowed and continuously provide organic carbon inputs to the soil.

    Our cold, wet fall and spring seasons can be a challenge to establishing winter cover crops. This is due to harvesting potatoes through October. But having cover crops between all other rotational crops may still benefit the soil.

    The multi-year cover crop likely provides more soil benefits, but farmers are then missing out on several years of growing a cash crop. Our experiment looks at both cover crop strategies and their effects on soil properties, crop yields, ecosystem benefits, and farm economics.

    We are also studying potato-growing systems that reduce soil disturbance. We’re looking at whether it’s both feasible and beneficial to rotate in wheat or barley planted with no-till seeders. Minimizing soil disturbance between potato crops could improve soil health and future potato yields.

    Ultimately, we need to take a systems approach to improving soil health with potatoes and with any crop. It is not just about one crop. It’s about how the whole cropping system is managed over time. By finding those intervention points to introduce a soil-building practice, we can steadily improve soil health even with underground crops. — By Deirdre Griffin-LaHue, Washington State University