Soil Health & Sustainability

Triest Ag Group: Partners in Profitability

here is a lot of talk about sustainability and regeneration in agriculture these days. But what do those terms really mean? If you ask five people, you might get five different definitions. But for Josh Mays, Director of Agronomy for TriEst Ag Group, it all starts with profitability.

4/3/2024

Triest Ag Chloropicrin Environmental Stewardship

A High-tech Look Inside Soil’s Microbiome

Chad Hutchinson is pleased to discuss soil microbes and sustainability with Joy Youwakim, an agroecology scientist at Biome Makers, an independent, third-party genomics company that specializes in DNA sequencing of agricultural soil samples.

1/30/2024

Strike Chloropicrin Environmental Stewardship

Pushing for Sustainability Is Good, But Only If We Know What We’re Aiming For

You’d be hard pressed to look anywhere in agriculture today without running into the word ‘sustainability’. The whole industry is pressing forward on sustainability…but what does sustainability really mean? How do we define sustainability’s goals?

12/19/2023

Strike Chloropicrin Environmental Stewardship

Opportunities in Pecans

The TriCal Group recently hosted a meeting and had Samantha McLeod, Executive Director of the Georgia Pecan Growers Association and Editor of Pecan Grower Magazine speak to us and share information about the U.S. and Georgia pecan market. We’d like to thank Samantha again for her time and for sharing with us.

10/20/2023

TriCal Inc. Nuts

Short-term Thinking Costs Long-term Benefits

I convinced the director of agronomy for a large company that grows chipping potatoes to try soil fumigation with chloropicrin (sold as Strike). He appreciated the soil health and yield gains he achieved in year one, but he hasn’t been seeing the longer-term soil health gains.

10/17/2023

Strike Chloropicrin Potatoes

Ensuring Safe Agriculture: The Important Role of Product Stewardship

In the dynamic landscape of modern agriculture, the responsible use of chemicals has become paramount to ensure robust crop yields and the well-being of ecosystems, farmers, and consumers. This is where the concept of product stewardship takes center stage.

10/12/2023

Teleos Ag Solutions Telone Environmental Stewardship

Educational Outreach: Agknowledge Program in Salinas, California

The Agknowledge Program in Salinas, California, organized by the Grower-Shipper Association Foundation, is an initiative that brings together the Monterey County community to educate them on issues and public policies affecting the local agricultural industry.

9/22/2023

TriCal Inc. Food Safety

Managing the Good and the Bad of Soil Microorganisms

If you’ve farmed for several decades, you’ve seen firsthand the shift from broad spectrum to targeted pest management. Partially, the change has occurred because today’s available technologies are so vastly more precise than what our parents and grandparents used.

8/5/2023

Strike Chloropicrin Potatoes

The Badger Common’tater: An Interview with Josh Mays of Triest Ag Group

The July issue of the Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association’s The Badger Common’Tater features a wonderful, in-depth interview with our own Corporate Agronomist, Josh Mays!

7/31/2023

Triest Ag Potatoes Vegetables

Incremental Yield Improvement Is Good, But It’s Not Where the Money Is

Soil health is the basis of the entire crop. Healthy soil is the most important step towards your crop’s yield potential. Plant into unhealthy soil and, no matter how much effort and investment you shovel into those acres, your crop won’t reach its potential.

7/10/2023

Strike Chloropicrin Potatoes

Potato Farming Realities and Sustainability

It seems everyone is talking sustainability today. But, what does sustainability really mean in the context of today’s farming realities, and how do we achieve it in practical, real-world application?

6/27/2023

Strike Chloropicrin

Potato Farming Realities and Sustainability

6/27/2023

Strike Chloropicrin

Does Soil Fumigation Have a Place in Regenerative Agriculture?

Over the past handful of months, I’ve attended a whole pile of potato seminars, expos, forums and conferences around the world. Regenerative agriculture and sustainability are almost always top of the agenda.

6/6/2023

Strike Chloropicrin

Fumigation Proves Worth for Bundaberg Chillies

TriCal Australia has worked closely with a Bundaberg, Queensland, farming business to help improve soil health. The soil on the farm suffers from fungal infections that severely damage chili plants in and around the fruiting set. In some seasons, fruit losses can be as high as 70%.

5/8/2023

Telone Trical Australia Peppers

Why Healthy Roots Matter for Agriculture

We will explore why healthy roots are essential for crop growth and productivity. A plant’s roots serve as the main pathway through which water and nutrients are absorbed from the soil, and without a vigorous root system, plants cannot absorb enough nutrients to support their growth.

4/28/2023

Teleos Ag Solutions Telone

The Importance of Irrigation in Pecan Production

Pecan trees have high water requirements, as much as 350 gallons per tree per day for mature trees. They have been shown to take most of the water they require from the upper 32 inches of the soil profile for normal seasonal growth. The deeper the trees have to reach for water the more energy they use.

3/27/2023

Triest Ag Nuts

What Is Soil Fumigation—And Why Does It Matter?

The presence of many common organisms, parasites, and pests can mean the difference between a healthy yield or an off year. Soil fumigation can give plants the best chance possible to grow up and develop, while controlling pests safely and effectively—with lasting results.

3/21/2023

Teleos Ag Solutions Telone Chloropicrin

Introduction To Sustainable Agriculture

The term sustainability has become more engrained in everyday use, but the term is difficult to define. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines sustainability as “of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged.”

3/21/2023

Teleos Ag Solutions Telone

Soil Health: An Overview For Growers

Healthy soil is the foundation for successful agricultural production. One factor that can inhibit soil health is plant parasitic nematodes. Ee will discuss the importance of soil health, how nutrient cycling affects soil health, and the importance of soil fumigation in controlling nematodes.

3/15/2023

Teleos Ag Solutions Telone

Potato School Snapshot - Can Fumigation and Sustainability Align?

As an agronomist and potato scientist, I’m always fascinated to hear the latest research from potato experts around the world. That’s why the TriCal Group’s Potato School with its focus on grower education is one of my favorite events.

1/3/2023

Strike Chloropicrin Potatoes

Make the first – and biggest – step toward sustainability

Potato farmers today are pushing hard for sustainability. Regenerative, soil-health promoting practices like reduced tillage, cover cropping, and planting into more residue to reduce erosion are all increasingly mainstream.

1/1/2023

Strike Chloropicrin Potatoes

When Size Matters

When a plant is unfumigated they have a smaller root system which means that water and nutrient uptake is poor. As a result, more water and fertiliser have to be applied to the soil for the stunted root systems to extract both. This increases wastage and input costs.

10/18/2022

Strike Strawberries

Ontario Potato Farmer Notches 100% Yield Increase

Four years ago at a farm show, I happened to cross paths with a long-time, forward-thinking potato grower from Ontario named Paul. He had the walk of a guy who wasn’t planning to stop. But four words on our signage literally caught him mid-stride: Strike supports soil health.

9/22/2022

Strike Chloropicrin Potatoes

Fertigation in Substrate: Doing it Right? for Berries

Change occurs slowly in a traditional soil production system. This allows berry growers to make fertigation mistakes that are not completely detrimental. Soil deficiencies are more difficult to correct. When fertigating in a substrate system, growers can change pH almost daily.

8/8/2022

Triest Ag Grapes & Berries Greenhouse Raspberries Substrate

Growing Long-cane Raspberries in the Southeast

NC State University started an on-farm research project with Lewis Nursery and Farms to investigate the feasibility of long-cane raspberry production in the state. Commercial production of this high value crop has been limited to the western part of the state where the temperatures are cooler.

7/18/2022

Grapes & Berries Greenhouse Raspberries Substrate

Do You Miss the Money You Could Have Earned?

For a variety of agronomic, environmental, and management reasons, some potato producers choose not to apply soil fumigants to manage disease. The industry standard fumigant doesn’t allow for a winter cover crop to protect your soil and requires a great deal of management.

6/6/2022

Strike Potatoes

Disease Management vs. Sustainability — Does it Have to be a Choice?

The push for sustainability in agriculture: cover crops, reduced tillage, planting into more residue to reduce erosion, and choosing more sustainable chemical inputs are priorities for our whole industry. Is there a way to do that while controlling disease and staying profitable too?

5/18/2022

Strike Chloropicrin Potatoes

La Nina Heralds More Than Flooding Rain

Soil health dramatically decreases after a flooding rain event due to waterlogging and introduced pests and diseases from other land areas. The most effective solution is to fumigate the soil to control these pathogens and rebalance the native beneficial soil microbe population, conditioning it ready for planting.

11/18/2021

Strawberries

Sustainability = Environmental Stewardship, But Economic Success Too

Sustainability is one of the more commonly misunderstood concepts in agriculture today. At times agricultural success, especially higher productivity, is put at odds with ‘sustainability’. This is not necessary, and here’s why.

7/13/2021

Strike Environmental Stewardship

Spudman announces potato industry Dream Team 2021

As the global director of potato research and market support for TriCal Group, Hutchinson is a master of soil health and disease suppression. He is the industry’s leaders in research and isn't shy. He is often a speaker at potato-related educational opportunities, like Potato Expo.

2/8/2021

Chloropicrin Environmental Stewardship

Fumigation reduces soilborne diseases, which helps sustainability

Improving sustainable potato production is a goal for the potato industry. The basic concept of sustainable crop production is to produce an economically viable crop while maintaining or improving soil health and reducing the potential environmental impacts.

2/1/2021

Strike Potatoes

A Crisp Autumn Morning

Picture a crisp, autumn morning. The sun is starting to rise above the tree line that edges up close to the field that stretches before you. The air is still but sweet with the smell of season’s end. You step into the taller grass that grows just beyond the end of the field. The grass is wet with dew. In a heartbeat of time, all that has happened to get to this point passes before you.

11/17/2020

Potatoes

Climate Change, Agriculture, and Chloropicrin Soil Treatment

Climate change is a politically divisive topic. It is advisable for those with a stake in agriculture to explore the ramifications of potential weather changes on business. As weather instabilities or weather extremes become more common, farming will need to change.

2/19/2020

Chloropicrin Potatoes

AGRONOMY HUB

Tools and resources for functional sustainability.

ARTICLES

Triest Ag Group: Partners in Profitability

A High-tech Look Inside Soil’s Microbiome

Pushing for Sustainability Is Good, But Only If We Know What We’re Aiming For

Opportunities in Pecans

Short-term Thinking Costs Long-term Benefits

Ensuring Safe Agriculture: The Important Role of Product Stewardship

Educational Outreach: Agknowledge Program in Salinas, California

Managing the Good and the Bad of Soil Microorganisms

The Badger Common’tater: An Interview with Josh Mays of Triest Ag Group

Incremental Yield Improvement Is Good, But It’s Not Where the Money Is

Potato Farming Realities and Sustainability

Potato Farming Realities and Sustainability

Does Soil Fumigation Have a Place in Regenerative Agriculture?

Fumigation Proves Worth for Bundaberg Chillies

Why Healthy Roots Matter for Agriculture

The Importance of Irrigation in Pecan Production

What Is Soil Fumigation—And Why Does It Matter?

Introduction To Sustainable Agriculture

Soil Health: An Overview For Growers

Potato School Snapshot - Can Fumigation and Sustainability Align?

Make the first – and biggest – step toward sustainability

When Size Matters

Ontario Potato Farmer Notches 100% Yield Increase

Fertigation in Substrate: Doing it Right? for Berries

Growing Long-cane Raspberries in the Southeast

Do You Miss the Money You Could Have Earned?

Disease Management vs. Sustainability — Does it Have to be a Choice?

La Nina Heralds More Than Flooding Rain

Sustainability = Environmental Stewardship, But Economic Success Too

Spudman announces potato industry Dream Team 2021

Fumigation reduces soilborne diseases, which helps sustainability

A Crisp Autumn Morning

Climate Change, Agriculture, and Chloropicrin Soil Treatment

VIDEOS

Why soil health is so important to Andrew Braham

Eno River Farm - Hillsborough North Carolina

Strike + Potatoes Overview

Potato Expo 2020

TRIALS

Green Beans: Low Rate Fumigation Trial