Dialing in the Vineyard w/ Cody Ashurst & Lex Palmer, PhyTech

Tracking vine trunk movements down to the 0.5-micron level, Phytech is leveraging technology to optimize vine irrigation. Cody Ashurst, Director of Vineyards, and Lex Palmer, Marketing Manager, discuss how their solution optimizes and automates irrigation today and how it can be extended to optimize fertilization, harvest dates, and much more. Detailed Show Notes: Phytech - a global SaaS company that optimizes agricultural irrigationTechnology includes dendrometers, irrigation pressure switches, soil moisture probes, and frost & weather stationsCrops include nuts (biggest), citrus, pears, getting into row cropsVineyard solution primarily West Coast / CA, pursuing Portugal, Spain, Italy, Chile, Mexico, TexasDendrometer - digital devices mounted onto vine or tree, measures expansion and contraction of plant trunks at the 0.5-micron level (70 microns = 1 human hair)Vineyard solution includes a dendrometer, soil probe, website, and mobile app with wireless comms and data loggers connected via cellular, satellite, or wifiThe solution can be adjusted based on the type of farming (e.g., quality or quantity), rootstocks, clones, soil typesTracks trunk size and soil moisture to signal irrigation needsOptional: pump/value control for irrigationCan schedule up to 2 weeks of irrigationCan monitor fertilizer inputs (cost of fertilizer up 600% last 5 years)Benefits:Don’t promise water savings, but see up to 60% less water useImprove quality by knowing when veraison happens and when vines stop growing or are stallingOptimize fertilizer, diesel, and electric pump costsReduce labor for irrigation if automatedThe system logs data, enabling knowledge transfer when people leaveCase study: High-end Napa vintner got WE94 points 1st vintage, then used Phytech in a heat wave year and got WE97 w/ tailored post-veraison irrigation; other growers had a 30% loss, the winery had a 3% lossCase study: one ranch was expecting a 50% loss, but down to 3% with irrigation changesPricing - depends on # of sites in a blockThere is a small upfront fee for installationMonthly SaaS fee (~$50-80/acre/year), includes maintenanceWeather station ~$700/year (vs ~$3,500 to buy)Case studies (videos on website)Ultra premium Napa winery NeotempoLarger Mendocino grower Bonterra Marketing most through word of mouth/referralsDigital media, video testimonials, trade shows & panelsVideo in digital media has been the most valuableConnecting 1:1 is very helpfulPhytech is more holistic than other solutionsThe most significant barrier to adoption is technophobiaThe subscription-based model eliminates “tech graveyard” growers haveProduct roadmapPredictive brix/pH model (growers input brix, system tracks weather, vine response) to predict harvest date by blockGDD (growing degree days) monitoring tracking temperature and humidity in the field at the block levelAI Advisor to look at past data and current practices and enable recommendationsOther exciting innovations - Autonomous spraying and tractors (Guss, Monarch), optical arrays for vine health (Scout), microalgae for soil health (MyLand) Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.