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Mike Howell (00:08):
The Dirt, with me, Mike Howell, an eKonomics podcast where I present the down and dirty agronomic science to help grow crops and bottom lines. Inspired by eKonomics.com, farming’s go-to informational resource, I’m here to break down the latest crop nutrition research, news, and issues, helping farmers make better business decisions through actionable insights. Let’s dig in.
(00:38)
Well hello again, everyone, welcome back to The Dirt. Glad you’re tuning in this week. We’re gonna try to take you to a different part of the world today and learn a little bit more about agriculture. Today we’re gonna be visiting Trinidad. To help us talk a little bit about agriculture in Trinidad, today we have two guests with us. The first is Josanne Basanoo, and the second is Nigel Patterson. Josanne, welcome to The Dirt.
Josanne Basanoo (01:04):
Thank you, Mike, for having me.
Mike Howell (01:04):
And Nigel, same to you. Welcome to The Dirt.
Nigel Patterson (01:04):
Thank you so much, Mike. Pleasure to be here with you.
Mike Howell (01:07):
So Josanne, let’s start with you. If you will, tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do.
Josanne Basanoo (01:11):
I am Josanne Basanoo. I am the Coordinator for Engagement at the Nutrien Trinidad site. So my role is basically engagement with the public in terms of community relations and investment. And a large part of that is the Nutrien Model Farm and Agricultural Resource Center where we have a 75 acre farm with the main aim to train and teach. So the farm actually falls under my purview as well.
Mike Howell (01:36):
Very good. And Nigel, if you will, tell us a little bit about yourself.
Nigel Patterson (01:39):
I am Nigel Patterson. I am the President of the Brazil Village Farmers Group, which is located in East Trinidad. We are a lead farm group. We host a team of over 50 farmers in our group and we are there, we provide whatever support that we can to our farmers to ensure that farming is feasible and successful in our community.
Mike Howell (02:02):
That sounds great. 50 farmers in your association there, that seems like a awful lot for such a small area. I guess that’s gonna lead us into the size of the farms there. It sounds like y’all have some pretty small farms.
Nigel Patterson (02:14):
We have farms ranging from different size, from one lot all the way up to 10, 12 acres. We have farmers with different sites, backyard farming, large scale farming, medium and small scale farming.
Mike Howell (02:25):
Well, let’s get started and talk a little bit about Trinidad agriculture. Josanne, if you will, tell us a little bit about the history of agriculture in Trinidad, what crops are produced there, and some approximate acreages of some of these crops.
Josanne Basanoo (02:38):
Thanks, Mike. So the history of agriculture in Trinidad and Tobago, for us it’s very ingrained with our overall history as well. Because of colonialization, and Christopher Columbus, and our discovery, and the different hands that the country has passed through, from the Spaniards to the French and British, we had plantations since those days. So sugar cane plantations, cocoa plantations. So a lot of our history is related in terms of background started in farming.
(03:09)
So the sugar cane industry, that was very popular. First we had Caroni (1975) Limited, and that was a local sugar cane industry, so that was a big part. Actually the University of the West Indies also started as Institute of Tropical Agriculture, where persons would come from all over the world to find out about Caribbean agriculture, tropical agriculture. So farming has always been ingrained in our society, and we are actually trying to get back to that place. Because currently we’re actually a food insecure nation. So one of CARICOM’s goal is actually reduce the food import bill by 25% by the year 2025. So we’re actually looking at ways we can do that.
(03:49)
In terms of other, cocoa production was also very important for us. We have a special variety of cocoa called the Trinitario. So cocoa production, sugar cane production, that’s more on the historical aspect. Currently have farmers doing a variety of different crops, so we have a variety of long term and shorter term crops as well, ranging from tree production like breadfruit production, midterm things like cassava, and shorter term things like vegetable production, tomatoes. And the acreages of these vary quite a bit as well, as Nigel indicated, from about one lot to 10 to 12 acres. I know we have some ground provision farmers that do things like sweet potato, and they would range from about five acre parcels as well. So even though the island is very small, it’s quite diversified.
Mike Howell (04:36):
Nigel, I understand that you farm as well. Can you tell us a little bit about the crops that you’re producing on your farm?
Nigel Patterson (04:41):
Well, I personally focus more on tree crops on my farm, but more of the emphasis is placed on the farmers that belong to our association/group. We farm a lot of tomatoes, melongene, peppers, like that. A lot of what you call cash crop, pimentos, hot peppers, corn, stuff like that. And we also have farmers who have tree crops like soursop, and breadfruit, caimet. And according to what Josanne would have said earlier too, we have a lot of old cocoa fields in our community also, where you tend to find persons are in the process of rehabilitating the old cocoa field, because the coca industry is making a return once again, and then it’s reaching those persons in rural areas. Farmers in rural areas are beginning to once again recognize the importance of contributing to the cocoa inventory of the country at large. So we have that happening. Also, we have the old crops coming back, we have the cash crops happening, and we have some root crops, which is also considered a cash crop, like the cassava, yam, a very high demand for those things. Those are generally the type of crops, to give you a fair idea, that we would be farming in the Brazil community.
Mike Howell (05:58):
Very good. You’ve both mentioned cocoa, and that is a crop that I know very little about. Could one of you tell us a little bit about how cocoa is produced, and how it’s grown, a little bit about the growing cycle?
Josanne Basanoo (06:09):
Nigel, would you like to take that one?
Nigel Patterson (06:12):
Cocoa, first thing that will be noteworthy, most of the cocoa fields in Trinidad and Tobago are not new cocoa fields. There are a lot of rehabilitated cocoa fields. So cocoa is grown from the seed, essentially. The grown cocoa matures in about five to seven years, it is used to produce chocolate. It’s a process, it’s a crop that is dried to produce chocolate, cocoa chocolate. We have something called cocoa tea in Trinidad and Tobago. We use the cocoa where we process it locally in a manner that it is well favored by the locals. And then it is exported also, where it will be processed into chocolate and other products.
(06:50)
So the cocoa tree, it probably grows up to about, I would say about 15 feet in height, about 10, 15 feet wide. One picking, you can get up to about 25 to 100 pounds of cocoa at any point in time. But it’s a crop, as much as we would like to say it’s seasonal, you would always find cocoa on a cocoa estate, just varying in quantities over the course of the year.
Mike Howell (07:17):
Okay, very good. I have learned something today. I had no idea how cocoa was produced, so I appreciate the information. Josanne, you mentioned that there’s a goal in Trinidad to reduce your food imports by 25% by the year 2025. That’s just next year. How in the world are you gonna reduce those imports that much that quickly?
Josanne Basanoo (07:35):
Right, that’s a very ambitious goal. So, one of the ways we think that we can do that is get everybody interested in agriculture, from even the small backyard farmer to even the bigger ones. And that’s why the model farm is so important in getting that training and facilitation out there to help people actually improve their crop use and improve their potential. It’s important for us, as I said, to become a more food secure nation, and we think that if we could do that looking at things like import substitutions. So instead of things like wheat, if we could use breadfruit flour, crops that are grown locally that are more versatile, and we could actually do things like import substitution, so we could actually use what is locally available to assist that.
(08:17)
Another part of this is actually changing the local taste. Because we have grown quite accustomed to foreign consumption, so that is another part that we need to be very mindful of. It’s an ambitious goal, but we’re taking it one step at a time, one day at a time, with a structured approach with everybody with an interest in agriculture to help us get to that goal as a region. Not only Trinidad, but the CARICOM region overall.
Nigel Patterson (08:41):
I would also like to that on a community level. For us in Brazil Village Farmers Group, we have recently launched an agroprocessing facility which works towards contributing towards that national food inventory to bring down the food import bill, so to say. So the farmers, what would happen very quickly, the farmers, when they produce, we would find a market through that agroprocessing facility for farmers. We have legal and regulatory requirements to be met. So as a group, it is met at that face of the facility. So when farmers produce, it is, the facility serves as a collection point. So that, for example, we have five farmers producing pimento, and we need a 20 pounds of pimento to ship off to one grocery. One farmer in himself may not be able to produce 200 pounds of pimento, let’s say, but five farmers could definitely do that. And then that way we are able to get pimentos to the grocery shelf. And in that way, it might be very minute, but it makes a little dent inn getting that food import bill down.
Mike Howell (09:46):
So that kinda works like a co-op, is that right?
Nigel Patterson (09:49):
That’s right.
Mike Howell (09:51):
Josanne, you talked about the model farm, and you mentioned that you’re working there with the model farm. Go into a little bit more detail about the model farm. What is the model farm, why was it established, and what are you trying to get out of it?
Josanne Basanoo (10:02):
Back in 2007, we did a community s- leader survey to find out how we could give back to the community. At that time, we were PCS Nitrogen, being a fertilizer company, and the sugar cane industry was closing in and around that time. So we were given 75 acres, the company leased from the government with the main aim to train, and teach, and to actually impart knowledge to those ex-Caroni farmers. Because part of their voluntary separation since the company was closing, each worker was gonna get two-acre parcels of land. We were gonna provide free agricultural training to help them optimize their two-acre parcels.
(10:37)
Since the farm was established in 2009, we realized food security is a national concern. So just not only for the ex-Caroni workers, but anybody with an interest in agriculture is free to attend our free agricultural training courses to gain that knowledge. We do a combination of various courses, farm business, planning, how to start a farm, farming on hillsides. So we find different topics based on agriculture to help the general public improve that, the ability to farm. And we also have a lot of feedback forms and stuff, so areas of interest, we tend to do training courses on those as well.
Mike Howell (11:12):
Nigel, do a lot of the farmers participate in these training classes?
Nigel Patterson (11:15):
Yes. Our farmers, as many training classes are available, we have farmers with a particular need. So it may not be the same group of farmers each time for, per course, but across from farm to farm, we have farmers interested in different programs. So overall, yes, all of our farmers, I could be able to say, participate in training courses over any 12-month period.
Mike Howell (11:40):
Okay. Very good. Glad they’re taking advantage of that opportunity.
Josanne Basanoo (11:43):
Can I add to that as well, Mike?
Mike Howell (11:45):
Yep.
Josanne Basanoo (11:46):
So before Covid, all our courses would have been in person, but during Covid, obviously we had to make that transition. So we actually moved to the virtual platform as well, and started having all our courses virtually as well. And from 2023, even to 2024, we had over 11,000 course attendees. And some of these are repeat persons attending the courses, which means that we had to be doing something good online. We had this weekend, an agri-expo in Trinidad to just garner that interest in agriculture. It was a three-day agricultural expo and I was very pleased and happy to see a lot of our training participants actually come up to a booth and said, “Hi, we’re so happy we benefited from your training courses,” and stuff like that. So it really warmed my hear to be able to interact with the farmers and stuff, and see the impact that we have been having. Some of them actually showed us some picture of what they’re growing and stuff, so that’s a testament to some of the good work that Nutrien has been doing in Trinidad.
Mike Howell (12:39):
It’s always good to hear those success stories and people that are actually taking advantage of what you’re offering and putting it to good use. So Nigel, let’s go back and talk about some of the biggest challenges that are associated with crop production there in Trinidad. What problems are most of the farmers dealing with?
Nigel Patterson (12:54):
Well, I will put the challenges aspect under a broad umbrella first, for a better understanding of what is really happening. And it hits right home to the food insecurity issue that Josanne would have spoken about at the very beginning. Our farmers produce where the food production is way below anticipated quantities and qualities. So what happens is that… And let me give you some very practical examples here. A farmer might say they’re gonna put down half acre of cucumbers, let’s say. And they might do all their projections, and they would clear the land, prep the land, they would put down the crop. And somewhere mid-crop, they may be hit by some sort of virus or fungus that they may not recognize. Majority of their crop is gone before an agronomist steps in and some remedial action is taken. Later down, they might be hit by the devastating drought, dry seasons. So what you tend to find is that at the end of it all, the anticipated yield might actually be up to 75, 80% less than hoped for.
(14:02)
And this is where the synergies and the relationship with Nutrien and Brazil Village Farmers Group comes in, because we are currently working on a program to put the science into the agriculture now. And we call it the one-lot model, if I may, where we are actually selecting a number of farmers, and it’s a research program, and it will be championed by Brazil Village Farmers Group, and of course all of the tactical expertise and whatever have you would be directly coming from Nutrien, all of the resources that we are not able to, for financial and other reasons, bring to the table. So we have selected a number of farmers, we would be using one lot exactly of land which would be 5,000 square feet, and we would be planting the crop of choice out of a list of crops we would have preselected. And we will be paying specific attention to the preparation of the land, preparation of the seedlings, the irrigation systems, the possible issues, fungus, pest, that we may encounter, and bringing this crop to harvest, and with the hope of maximum yield.
(15:15)
So it will be more of a research project, as I said, which will be overseen mostly by Nutrien. Of course I have to give a little shout-out to Josanne there. And what we hope to achieve from this is that after such a program, maybe one or two crop cycles, we would have been able to troubleshoot sufficiently that our farmers would be able to identify any incoming adversity, any incoming threat, would be able to do the necessary, take photographs, call in, uh, raise, sound the alarms early enough, save the crops, so that the resources that Nutrien is putting behind the program would be able now to step in and intervene, take remedial action, put it on record.
(16:03)
So what we have is a two-way thing now. So Nutrien will be bringing their expertise to the table and our farmers will be trained in the numerous problems that we could be possibly face with during any crop cycle. And the sum total of that now would be packaged, we would look at it after 12 to 18 month period, and we would be better poised now to bring a crop to harvest with maximum possible yield. And in that way, we would be able to say, “This is how we are going forward.” So that in itself would cover the number of issues that we have, ultimately allowing us to contribute significantly to the reduction of that food bill.
Mike Howell (16:45):
Nigel, that sounds like quite a task, quite an undertaking, but sounds like you’ve got a plan in place, and it sounds like you’re on top of things. And it’s gonna take everybody working together to make this happen, and I’m glad that Nutrien’s being a partner down there and working with these farmers to help make ’em successful.
(17:00)
We talked about problems, and with problems always come opportunities. Do you see any opportunities available for the farmers down there, any ways that they can expand their operations or do things a different way to be more profitable?
Nigel Patterson (17:12):
Absolutely. Once we overcome these challenges that we have, and I’ve mentioned earlier that we have an agroprocessing facility in place where we now have relationships with large national markets, so once the farmers are able to get their productivity and production levels up, now they would now have crop to supply. Once we go through this one-lot model, and we learn the lessons from it, each farmer is now able to scale up their operations. So in scaling up their operations now, farming ultimately would become feasible, a viable option for families in the communities, it will become a profitable option, and it will be actually motivating to other persons looking on, that, “I want to get into farming.” But first, we have to overcome the challenges, and we would have, overcoming those challenges will bring a certain amount of efficacy to the issue of farming, and with that, the opportunity will be limitless.
Mike Howell (18:12):
Josanne, Nigel mentioned there cooperation between Nutrien and the farmers, and trying to help make them more profitable and produce better crops. Do you wanna expand on that a little bit and go into a little more detail what Nutrien’s got in mind, and what else we need to be doing?
Josanne Basanoo (18:25):
Yes, definitely. So, we believe that as he s- as Nigel said, it’s a scientific approach. Traditionally sometimes we have not been as in-depth with the scientific aspect of farming as we should have in the country. So we are trying to change that in terms of starting with soil testing, and looking at what components are already in the soil, what crops are we proposing to plant, and what is the best use of that, best use of fertilizer. So utilizing things like our for- our Nutrien program and those things to actually maximize crop yields and fertilizer usage. So that is just one example of things we would be looking at.
(19:02)
Things of proper record keeping, that’s another problem that a lot of farmers in Trinidad and Tobago face. They don’t keep proper records. So that’s another course that the model farm actually offers, proper recordkeeping for farmers. So it’s all these things we try to implement. We would be using the standards set by The National Agricultural Marketing and Development Corporation, NAMDEVCO, and the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards, so good agricultural practices, so ensure that the produce is up to a particular standard and quality. So those are just some of the ways we plan to work together with the farmers to improve our overall yield.
Mike Howell (19:39):
Well, I really appreciate both of you taking time to visit with us today. I know I’ve learned a lot about agriculture in Trinidad. Before we sign off, Nigel, is there any closing remarks you wanna make? Anything you wanna leave our listeners with before we go?
Nigel Patterson (19:51):
What I would like to say is that farming is a very viable, a very feasible opportunity for anyone who wishes to get into farming. ‘Cause there’s no greater pride in contributing to your national food inventory. Once you have the science, good science, and with good agricultural practices to farming, and you’re guided by agencies, as we have Nutrien here, that comes with a wealth of resources and experiences, and you work closely with them, you begin to see the results. So I would like to advise anyone who’s wishing to get into farming, whether it’s on a community level to contribute or on a individual level, to be guided by the agencies that come with the experience, the expertise, and don’t ever operate in a silo on your own, and you will begin to see the results.
Mike Howell (20:41):
Very good advice. Josanne, any closing remarks?
Josanne Basanoo (20:44):
Definitely, Mike. At Nutrien, we are committed to our vision of feeding the future. We are committed to the people of Trinidad and Tobago, and we are committed to helping us realize our vision of reducing the food import bill by 25% by the year 2025. Thank you.
Mike Howell (21:00):
Well, listeners, I hope you’ve enjoyed this segment as much as I have. I know I sure learned a lot from this. We wanna remind everyone to stay tuned, and we’ll be right back with segment two.
(21:09)
Listeners, I hope you enjoyed the first segment of today’s show. If you did, please take a minute, and give us a rating on your favorite podcast channel or app, and give us some feedback as well. We want to hear from you to help make the show even better. And don’t keep it to yourself. Please share these episodes with coworkers, family, friends, anyone you think may benefit from the information we’re sharing here.
(21:32)
Don’t forget to visit our website, nutrien-eKonomics, with a K, .com, to help find the latest crop nutrition news and research information, as well as market updates, a growing degree day calculator, a nutrient use calculator, a rainfall tracker, and much, much more. It’s all at nutrien-eKonomics, with a K, .com. Most episodes of The Dirt are now available for CCA credits. Visit our website, and click on the agronomics tab to find these CCA credit opportunities. And if you have a question, you can ask one of our agronomy team members. Simply ask your question and one of us will get back with you. Thanks for listening. Now, segment two of The Dirt.
(22:17)
Well listeners, welcome back for our second segment. If you’ve been listening for very long, you’ll know now that we’re traveling around North America visiting some of our different research farms. Today, we have Doctor Jill Moe, with the University of Nevada with us. Jill, welcome to The Dirt.
Jill Moe (22:31):
Thank you, good morning.
Mike Howell (22:33):
Jill, if you will, tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do, and tell us a little bit about the research station that we’re gonna be talking about today.
Jill Moe (22:40):
Sure. Well, so I am the Director of the Desert Farming Initiative at the University of Nevada, Reno. We are part of the Experiment Station network here in Nevada. We’re located right on the east edge of campus in Reno, so in an urban situation.
Mike Howell (22:57):
Tell us a little bit about the history of the farm there.
Jill Moe (22:59):
So the Desert Farming Initiative was established over 12 years ago, and the original intent was to just work on bolstering agribusiness in this high desert region. Nevada isn’t necessarily known for agriculture, but we are a state with a significant amount of hay and alfalfa production and livestock. The Desert Farming Initiative though, focuses entirely on fruit and vegetable production. Our mission is to advance climate-smart farming of fruit and vegetables, and we’re focused on building a resilient food system.
(23:33)
So in this region and statewide, we’re made up of faculty, students, and apprentices. So we have a formal vocational training program for aspiring farmers. And we work on this mission really with a lot of partners across this state and the Western US, so a fairly broad approach to solving some of these challenges that are facing us with climate change. We are a certified organic commercial farm, so we actually run as a business within the university, and we run a suite of programs that provide support to the ag industry, and also to address food systems gaps. So it’s a fairly broad program, and working as part of the Experiment Station, like I said. So land-grant universities have Experiment Station networks that are intended to do research, provide education, and do outreach for the ag industry.
Mike Howell (24:28):
Jill, one thing that we found out in doing these episodes is that these farms are vital to the producers in the state that they’re in. Tell us a little bit about why this Desert Farming Initiative is so important to the producers there in Nevada.
Jill Moe (24:40):
Right. The Desert Farming Initiative is, just has this one site in Nevada, and what we are doing is listening to what growers need to be successful, and then we’re working on getting them that information. Again, this is focusing on fruit and vegetable production. So how we do that is we’re hosting research at the farm, so within a commercial farming context, and then, as we learn from that research, we’re demonstrating new practices that can help farmers be more successful here, and then communicating with them about those. And that looks, you know, on the ground, in different ways. We are providing training around those practices, we host workshops, and we’re sharing information on the Nevada Farm Network. So the Nevada Farm Network is a new platform that we have launched in Nevada, the Desert Farming Initiative coordinates it, and the point is to connect growers to each other, so there’s that opportunity for grower to grower learning, but also, especially in a state like ours where are growers are so far-flung, but also connecting growers to the best sort of curated information for them to be successful. And I can give some examples about what that research is later.
(25:49)
We’re also working with experts to understand the challenges that face growers as the climate changes. So what’s, something that’s particular to our region is, Reno, for example, where we’re located, is the fastest warming city in the United States. We have a lot of urban growers, and so each spring we’re hosting a forum, it’s a climate outlook for growers, to have our experts in this region share what we know, the best available information about what we can expect with irrigation water for example, heat, extreme weather events, to the best of their ability. And then it also provides the growers a chance to just ask questions directly with these specialists, have a conversation about solutions with some of these challenges.
(26:36)
We also have a climate-smart farming web platform that’s based on Cornell University’s climate-smart farming program. And that’s really something that we’re updating in real time about, what are those practices that are recommended around soil health, irrigation, business diversification, that sort of thing, can make farms more resilient, and talking about what we’re actually doing on the ground. How do those practices actually look on the ground in Nevada and what are we seeing success with? That’s what I really love about having this commercial farm as a platform for everything were doing, because it’s a real life context for what growers are facing, and then the practices that we have in place are taking into account, like, what are the economics around incorporating soil health practices, for example, and what are the costs and benefits associated with those? So I think that’s really valuable.
(27:29)
Along with all that, having this farm and doing research here right on the edge of campus, it’s a great opportunity for students to get training, practical training. So we have classes out here, we have students in academic internships. They’re actually doing the farming, but they’re also engaging in research and learning those research skills. So, an opportunity that’s really unique to what we have going here at the Desert Farming Initiative in Nevada.
(27:55)
And then last but not least, we do focus a lot on food system gaps and food security. So Nevada, and our campus here, this is a good example, one in four students on our campus are food insecure. And that’s just reflective of the broader situation in Nevada. We have in- food insecurity challenges here that are persistent, and so we run a series of programs around making farmers markets more resilient and expanding those, addressing the cost of food. These aren’t just farmers markets serving high-end segments of our population, economically, but using things like SNAP benefits, the, formerly known as food stamps, usable and at farmers markets, and making those markets more accessible to people across the spectrum of our economic status in our communities.
Mike Howell (28:47):
Well, Jill, you’ve talked about a lot of the work that’s going on there. If you would, talk a little bit about some of the significant discoveries that y’all have made in the 12 years you’ve been working with the Desert Farming Initiative.
Jill Moe (28:57):
I’ve actually been with the DFI, the Desert Farming Initiative for about six years, six and a half years, um, and I would say in the time that I’ve been here, the two most exciting things that I’ve worked on and that we’re seeing real results around are, one, tomato grafting. And I know tomato grafting isn’t anything new in the United States, but it’s fairly new for small farms here in Nevada. And what we did is we partnered with Doctor Felipe Barrios-Macias, who’s academic faculty member here at UNR, on a tomato grafting research project looking at what benefits farms could get out of using grafted plants. And what we found is that, especially where we have low nitrogen soils, which is an issue here in Nevada, and of interest for Nutrien ag customers, I’m sure, grafted tomatoes can better take up nutrients from low nitrogen soils and make use of those for higher yields. What we saw from the results of our grafting research, we’re actually doing the tomato grafting in our plant nursery, and then planting those starts out, and then tracking yields, we’re getting more than 50% higher yields from grafted tomato plants here. The results are more significant around the where we have low nutrient soils. So that’s really exciting.
(30:19)
When we do workshops and tours here, and when we’re training students and apprentices, they’re actually working with these grafted plants, they’re doing the grafting, they’re harvesting from them. There’s a visual difference, it’s really important for farmers to see when we’re doing workshops, so that’s really exciting. So just in summary, having participated in the tomato grafting research, demonstrating those grafted plants in a production context, that’s really important information that we can share. Next year, we’ll also be making grafted tomato plants available for purchase from our plant nursery. So this is a wholesale nursery that serves farms with fruit and vegetable starts in spring, so that’ll be a new element that we can provide for farms to be more successful here.
(31:04)
And then secondly, I’m excited with the work that we’re doing with precision irrigation for small farms. This is also based on research that’s been done at the University of Nevada, Reno. And what we’re doing is using soil sensors at two different depths in the soil, measuring in real time the amount of soil moisture. We can also measure salt and temperature with these monitors. And then our farm manager is able to download, in real time, data around how much soil moisture we have in the soils, and then adjust our irrigation accordingly.
(31:36)
And working with other farms, I mean, that’s a great thing about our research approach here, is that it’s not just being done here at the Experiment Station, at DFI, but our researchers are working with private farms as well with this technology, and so we can factor in microclimates and different farming systems. We are seeing that farms can save, especially where there’s sandy soils, and we have a lot of those in Nevada, more than 60% of their irrigation water on a tomato crop, for example. Really important in Nevada where we have water availability challenges, water is over-allocated in many of our drainage basins. And so using that precious resource really effectively and efficiently is something we’re focusing on as part of our climate-smart farming program.
Mike Howell (32:22):
Well Jill, one thing that I’ve been asking all of our guests on this part of the program is, we know that the face of agriculture is changing, there’s a lotta new technology, and you’ve mentioned some of that new technology in the work that you’re doing. We also know that we’re facing urban sprawl, a lotta growth is coming in closer and closer to our research farms, and we know that we can have some issues with that. But what are these research farms gonna have to do to keep up with the pace of agriculture and continue to be a resource to the farmers and the communities? How are they gonna have to change over the next 50 years?
Jill Moe (32:51):
I think that’s a really good question. And I think that’s one thing that, um, we have going for us at DFI, is we’re situated in urban context, uh, like I said at the beginning. I think part of the solution is being able to incorporate agriculture into that rural-urban interface, or into the urban areas better. And we see that in other countries. You go to Germany, for example, where I’ve spent some time working in this field, you’ll see agriculture incorporated right into the towns and cities. And so I think that’s going to be part of it, is syncing through land use, land availability, you know, land access for agriculture, thinking about restrictions on water use for agriculture, that’s an issue here in Nevada. And experiment stations will need to pivot and be addressing some of those concerns, the urban context, or urban-rural interface. You have different challenges than you would have in the rural area. And we are certainly experiencing those here in (laughs) the Desert Farming Initiative.
(33:52)
We have, for example, urban wildlife active at the farm. We’re trying to balance some of those farm conservation practices that the NRCS encourages us to use with preventing the contamination of fresh produce. Geese can be a real nightmare to manage, and are a great example of one of those challenges that are different with urban farming versus rural farming. So if you look at our website, you’ll see the resources that we have out there, in particular around food safety on the farm, have to do with managing those urban challenges.
(34:24)
Those are some examples. I think we’re making some really meaningful advances here, and the type of operation that we’re running has incredible potential, not just for Nevada, but other states and regions. I think being able to run a commercial operation that can host research and demonstrate those practices that people really need to know about is important. That’s the whole seeing is believing (laughs) aspect of education. Farmers are facing serious economic challenges right now beyond the environmental challenges we’ve already talked about, and I would like to see experiment stations also really focusing more on how we can better address the economic viability of small farms here.
Mike Howell (35:07):
Well, Jill, we really appreciate you taking time to visit with us today and talk about the Desert Farming Initiative. You did mention there in your last answer that people could visit your website. If you would, tell us what that website is before we wrap this segment up.
Jill Moe (35:19):
The website is naes.unr.edu/dfi. And people can just google “Desert Farming Initiative” as well, and that’s probably the easiest way to find us. (laughs)
Mike Howell (35:32):
Okay. Well, Jill, once again, we appreciate your time today. Listeners, we appreciate you tuning into this episode. And as always, if you need more information on anything we’ve talked about today, you can visit our website, that’s nutrien-eKonomics, with a K, .com. Until next time, this has been Mike Howell with The Dirt.
