CropTalk Kyle Barnett

Growers have often struggled with understanding where their crops stand with regards to optimal nutrition.
Optimal nutrition is often the difference between a bumper crop and a break even year.
Soil testing and plant tissue analysis are traditional ways for growers to attempt to understand how their plant is taking up needed nutrients and regulating its overall health.
Those techniques offer more objective information than growers have had in the past and are much better than a visual subjective analysis.
That being said, there’s a new technique in town. It’s been used in Europe for some time and has migrated to the States for use in high value crops.
It’s called plant SAP analysis and my guest on this episode, Scott Wall of New Age Laboratories, is performing the technique for growers around the county.
It reveals how and what the plant is taking up in terms of nutrients, in the present moment.
Instead of guessing on what might happen in between a soil test, a leaf tissue analysis and a potency test on your flower, you can see into the plant’s day to day nutrient uptake activity.
Listen to this episode to learn more about how SAP analysis can change the way you manage nutrition.

A few months ago Shenandoah Growers changed their name to Soli Organic. Why did this change happen? What is the leading provide of organic herbs doing to perfect their branding? What does it take to build a strong produce brand in CEA?  On this episode of CropTalk #KyleTalksAgtech Don Helms, Vice President of Marketing at Soli Organic Inc. does a masterful job of answering these questions, explaining what it takes to build a strong brand and the story of how and why this recent name change occured. 

What does the future of vertical farming look like? Will we be able to grow not only food but medicine in the future using this technology?  On this episode of CropTalk #KyleTalksAgtech Sam Burtram, CEO of OnePointOne answers these questions and dives deep into some of the industry challenges and his experience developing a team and system to grow vetically using aeroponics. 
Additional topics include the add values of vertical farming for retailers,  the progression of accessible food over time, and how "your engineers customer is your grower."

Indoor Ag-Con is the premier indoor agriculture trade show and conference for indoor | vertical farming and controlled environment agriculture.
On this episode of CropTalk #KyleTalksAgtech Suzanne Pruitt, the Director of Indoor Ag-Con runs us through the history of the conference, what to expect at this years show and the group effort that has enabled this event to come together. 
If you are interested in attending this year's show in Las Vegas Feb 28th - March 1st use promo code "CROPTALK22" for 25% off full tickets via Indoor.Ag 
Hope to see you there! 

What the heck is a sustainability specialist?! What exactly do they do in CEA? Why do I keep seeing job listings for this "new" position within controlled ag. pop up?! In this episode of CropTalk #KyleTalksAgtech I speak with Kindall Brantley, Sustainability Specialist at AmplifiedAg / Vertical Roots. Our discussion answers the above question while also addressing what exactly is being measured (scope 1 - 3), what to expect in a Sustainability Specialist role, and what the future may look like in regards to carbon footprint and sustainability within our industry.

Blake Lange of Signify has been lighting vertical farms since the beginning. On this episode of CropTalk #KyleTalksAgtech Blake and I discuss the evolution of LED horticulture lighting, words of cation for buyers and some of our favorite stories (Spoiler: Don't eat the produce if you don't know the companies food safety standard and your lettuce shouldn't be covered in "seeds")
Additional topics include Signify's recent acquisition of Fluence, using lighting to control specific crop characteristic and what is on the horizon for horticulture lighting