Long term success in agriculture greatly benefits from smart innovation. New technology is not only tractors and software, it also includes crop nutrition.

Christopher Hight at Bonipak Produce in Santa Maria, California, is constantly innovating. As lab manager of a large grower/packer/shipper, his job includes in house soil testing and on-site tank mixing. He’s a certified crop advisor and helps growers achieve nitrogen management plans.

His nutrition program includes Redox technology to grow several dozen crops, which ultimately end up with customers far and wide through outlets such as Costco and Safeway.

Christopher will soon achieve a PhD from UC Davis in Soil and Biogeochemistry.

Those savvy enough to continually evaluate data have an edge on keeping their business successful.

David Holden of Holden Research and Consulting in Ventura County California has for many years helped companies, including Redox, evaluate products for their effectiveness.

His research has included more than 750 biostimulant type trials in the last 20 years, and Holden said well-researched biostimulants can significantly help growers.

“Generally, biostimulants are going to make a grower money,” he said. “There’s going to be a return on investment. I see them as insurance policies.”

Holden said stress relief is one of the biggest biostimulant benefits. One research focus he hopes will be emphasized is the “why” behind how this technology works.

The movie character Indiana Jones is one of the most iconic and adventurous characters in history. While Harrison Ford carried out his impressive acting as Indy, Dr. Richard Hansen has carried out similar adventures in real life – with a few major differences.

“Before he crashed in the airplane, he always jumps out and saves himself. We stay on the airplanes until after they crash,” Hansen said. “Indiana Jones was out plundering archeological sites to get the famed treasure. Our objectives aren’t the artifacts. Our objective is to tell the story. The artifact is a consequence, not the objective.”

Hansen is a world-renowned archeologist who has mapped and excavated 56 ancient cities in Central America, as part of the Mirador Basin Project.

He has spent 42 years working in the jungle, with jaguars, poisonous snakes and drug runners nearby. The Idaho native also has a long farming history, and supports learning from past civilizations for brighter, more sustainable future for our food and natural resources.

There’s a way to further maximize farm production and do it sustainably. It involves understanding redox potential and how it helps plants focus on growth, health and quality.

Dr. Olivier Husson, a world-renowned expert in plant and soil health, has identified a revolutionary approach of analyzing the pH and Eh of plants, to ensure they are in proper balance.

He said this critical analysis means stronger plants, less insect and disease pressure and, ultimately, healthier food for consumers.

“If you don’t know where you are, and if you don’t know what your practices are doing and where they bring you, there’s almost no way that you can be at the right, balanced position,” Husson said.

He said the good news is there is ample evidence that keeping the right pH/Eh balance in fields is achievable and bolstered by new technology including handheld devices from Senseen that provide immediate analysis of plant nutrients, pH and Eh.

Innovation is a cornerstone of successful farming, and no one knows that more than grower Glenn Noma.

After a long, successful career with the large California vegetable farm, Tanimura & Antle, he has a creative new endeavor in the Salinas Valley – hydroponic strawberries.

Growing them in this unusual way provides many benefits, including providing berries to consumers during times when conventional operations are unable to fulfill.

Noma said Redox Bio-Nutrients has long been a key to his success, with diKaP™, Mainstay™ Calcium 2.0 and Mainstay™ Si among his proven winners.

“In my overall fertilizer budget, I was actually spending less per acre per year and getting better and higher quality yields,” he said. “Now I’m using it for hydroponic strawberries, and it has worked extraordinarily well.”

Glenn is a third-generation produce grower, and his past innovation includes designing a solar powered harvester.

American farmers continue to set productivity records, although they face many impediments to success. Pam Lewison in Washington State knows those struggles personally, and she’s working to keep agriculture vital and viable.

Lewison is research director at the Washington Policy Center’s Center for Agriculture. Her mission includes making sure their elected officials understand how legislation and regulation impact those growing their food. She also works with the media, providing articles that educate the public about why agriculture matters.

“If we use our words and share them appropriately with the media, we have the opportunity to make sure that people see us as who we are,” Lewison said. “I think that’s probably the most powerful avenue that we have available to us.”

Lewison and her husband operate JP Ranch, a forage farm in Moses Lake. They have been Redox customers for the past five years, including helping combat salt buildup in their soil, as well as nutrition for their alfalfa crop. As for diKap™, Lewison said “It’s fantastic. We get some extra tonnage, and it makes for some really beautiful bales of hay. We have nothing but good things to say about it."

California avocados are a quintessential high value crop. They are beloved by consumers and a big part of Cinco de Mayo celebrations, with 80 million pounds of fruit sold.

Grower Jason Cole in Santa Paula, California, said quality and sizing are vital for success, and he spends great care in the nutrition he uses to achieve that.

“We run a lot of humics and fulvics,” Cole said. “We use a ton of H-85, plus Rx Platinum, diKaP and Rootex…. Anything I’ve found spending on nutrition, as long as that fruit keeps coming in above industry average, I think it’s money well spent.”

Cole is Chair of the California Avocado Commission and said the industry expects another abundant avocado crop weighing about 375 million pounds. Future crops could be even heavier with new plantings throughout the state.

Growers can be poised for abundant crops, only to see their production take a major hit due to a stress event like a heatwave or cold spell.

Abiotic stress can be detrimental to any crop. A weakened plant can also be more susceptible to biotic stresses like pests and disease.

Redox Corporate Agronomist John Kelly said stress losses can be lessened when fields and orchards have proper nutrition that encourages strong plants, soil health, root growth and abiotic stress defense. He said diKaP™ has long proven itself as a tremendous boost in this area.

“It’s a powerful biostimulant that also includes phosphorus and potassium nutrition,” he said. “diKaP™ stimulates the plant for better respiration. With better respiration, there’s more energy ultimately coming into the plant, which means that plant now has resources to withstand stress.”

He said advancements in Redox technology can help growers succeed.

“I’ve never been more enthusiastic,” Kelly said. “Where there’s a motivation for change. Where there’s motivation to improve for higher crop performance, that’s where the opportunity is for Redox, to help identify what can be done to improve the bottom line.