Nutrien Ag Solutions recently added a new greenhouse in Biola, California, near its R&D department in Kerman, just outside Fresno. Nutrien is a fertilizer company that provides whole acre solutions.

The company aims to help growers achieve the highest yields through the most sustainable solutions, offering a wide range of product choices, including their proprietary brands such as Loveland Products, Inc.®, Proven® Seed and Dyna-Gro® Seed. The Nutrien brand was established in 2018 by the merger of PotashCorp and Agrium to form Nutrien.

John Breen, Nutrien's director of research and development, played an integral role in the acquisition of its new Agra Tech greenhouse. John received his doctorate. Received a doctorate in ecology from the University of California, Davis, and worked for a global crop protection company in Japan for several years. For the past seven years, he has been working at Nutrien, overseeing its global research and development of crop protection, nutrition and adjuvants. "Our focus is on products that improve the sustainability of growers around the world," Brin said. "Nutrient utilization efficiency, reduction of greenhouse gases, enhancement of soil health and soil function are one of the types of products we are developing."

Nutrien Ag plant in Biola, California

When Breen was hired by Nutrien, the company already had a fully operational Agra Tech greenhouse, so he was already familiar with the name. He described the importance of greenhouses in his research and development work. "Whenever we develop a product, we first test it in the laboratory, and then if there is hope, we will bring it to the greenhouse. If it still looks promising after that stage, we will then It will be brought to the field for more research. Having greenhouses is crucial to our ability to develop products, which is why we rely on them to complete our work." 

Brin said that this will not happen overnight. "It may take about 2-3 years from the initial idea to the laboratory and then to the greenhouse. In most cases, field research is the most time-consuming, and usually takes 2-3 years. Therefore, overall it is about It is a 4 to 6 year process. Our goal is to develop multiple products and release 2-3 new products every year."

Every experiment that Breen and his team conduct in the greenhouse is specifically designed for the goal of a specific product. "For example, if it is a nitrogen product, we will test our product with standard nitrogen fertility, and then use our enhanced product," he said. "We compared the two treatments and used statistics to determine if it was better. We did research on corn, peppers, tomatoes, cotton, soybeans; these are the ones we mainly use. Sometimes we also measure other plant growth parameters, For example, plant nutrients in leaves or root proliferation." 

The company recently added two Agra Tech Solar Light greenhouses in order to keep plants in two different environments-one to create a cool season and a year-round warm season. 

Insect exclusion is vital to quality research. He said that keeping insects out is a huge achievement of its new greenhouse, and Agra Tech knows how to achieve this goal. "The first is the air intake on the fan. These fans are enclosed in a closed enclosure so that even if the fan is turned on, insects cannot enter the greenhouse," he said. "On the other side of the structure, the outlet fan is enclosed in a shielded box. In addition, at the entrance of the greenhouse, there is a pressurized front hall so that when you open the double doors outside, the air will be Blow it out to minimize the number of insects that can fly in when the door opens." 

Breen said that working with Jim Bergantz, Agra Tech's sales engineer, was also an advantage throughout the planning process. "He is so professional and knowledgeable, he is great. Jim knows the industry and his company's products very well, and communicates well with us at every stage to ensure that our application fully meets our requirements." 

Breen explained that Ag-Con Construction, Inc of San Jose, California, built the new greenhouse for Nutrien Ag Solutions seamlessly, without any drama. "Everything they do for us is meticulous, safe and clean," he said. "We are very satisfied with Ag-Con. The staff at Ray Pound knows exactly what to do, which is why this state-of-the-art structure looks great."  

For more information: Agra Tech agra-tech@agratech.com agratech.com

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