Each year, IFPA recognizes changemakers for their contributions and accomplishments in the produce and floral industries that advance the industry through innovation, collaboration and leadership. Braga Fresh and Agrology were honored as a result of the work they did to monitor, measure and quantify soil carbon flux and soil respiration, key indicators of soil microbiome health and activity. In the Fall of 2022, Braga Fresh was the first grower to install Agrology’s Arbiter Carbon Monitoring System, the first-ever continuous soil carbon monitoring system, on its regenerative crop trials.
As a result, Agrology and Braga Fresh are joint recipients of the annual Science & Technology Circle of Excellence Award at the IFPA Global Produce & Floral Show in Anaheim. The award was presented by IFPA’s Chief Science Office Max Teplitski, to Eric Morgan of Braga Fresh and Charlie Dubbe of Agrology.
“A key piece of our regenerative agriculture journey has been Agrology’s systems for measuring and monitoring soil health and carbon flux,” said Eric Morgan, Braga Fresh vice president of environmental science and resources. “You can’t manage what you don’t measure and the Arbiter has enabled us to measure the impact of our regenerative trials and make better-informed, data-driven decisions.”
Left to right: Charlie Dubbe, Eric Morgan
Since installing Arbiter, Braga Fresh has been able to track its in-field carbon footprint and soil health, as well as drive farm management decisions and improve the environmental impact of its regenerative farming practices. The company implements regenerative farming experiments and Agrology has enabled them to measure the impact of these practices on soil health and carbon stocks in real-time, which allows them to continuously iterate and improve on their regenerative program. Agrology also monitors soil moisture, irrigation events and a variety of other climate data points.
“Braga Fresh inspires us to dig deeper into our ability to develop technology that adds value and clearly demonstrates the efficacy of regenerative farming practices,” said Charlie Dubbe, head of regenerative partnerships at Agrology.
“The soil microbiome is the future of regenerative agriculture and to be successful you have to have the right measurement tools in place,” added Morgan. “It has been a big team effort with Agrology and we are extremely optimistic about the direction it’s taking us.”
In September, Braga Fresh and Agrology hosted a webinar, “The ROI of Regenerative Agriculture,” covering a variety of topics, including the return on investment in regenerative agriculture. The webinar is available to watch on YouTube.
Agrology was also one of 12 start-ups invited to participate in the IFPA’s 2023 cohort for the Fresh Field Catalyst Accelerator. This year’s companies were focused on climate-smart solutions to some of the industry’s biggest challenges and brought companies with ready-to-market solutions for the produce industry.
For more information:
Kori Tuggle
Braga Fresh
[email protected]
https://bragafresh.com/
Holly Nuss
Agrology
[email protected]
https://www.agrology.ag/