By: Emily Roden, Marketing and Communications Manager
From expansive potato acres in the pacific northwest to cotton fields in the deep south, the Vive® Crop Protection laboratory team has been busy this summer getting their hands dirty in the field.
If you were not raised on a farm, chances are you probably don’t have a great grasp of all that goes into crop and livestock production. All too often, people don’t ever get the chance to learn about where their food comes from beyond the doors of a grocery store. As a part of the agricultural industry, Vive Crop Protection feels it is important to educate our employees with minimal agricultural exposure, about different farming practices. So this year, Vive team members from Head Office got the chance to meet with growers, get their hands dirty, and learn all about farming!
Vive sent 10 members of our lab staff into the field to ride along with our sales managers and visit with growers on their farms across the US and Canada. Read on to hear about the field experience from three of Vive's Chemists and discover more about what they learned, the highlights of the trip and the one telling conclusion everyone came to:
Ahad Ahsan, Lab Technician:
Ahad Ahsan had the opportunity to travel to Mississippi and visit farms growing cotton, peanuts, soybeans and rice. Ahad said, “I learned a lot about farming equipment mostly regarding planters used for soybeans and cotton and the process of harvesting cotton. Cotton used to be very labor intensive, requiring multiple people to collect the loose cotton and then compact it. Nowadays farmers have very expensive machines that can do all these tasks at once, increasing efficiency.”
Ahad also discovered that farmers are looking to advancements in technology to help them keep up with growing demand while being more efficient and cost-effective. When visiting a cotton plantation, Ahad learned about nematodes and the negative impact they can have on cotton quality and yield. He was then shown a research plot comparing Vive’s Averland® FC nematicide, enabled by our Allosperse® nano-polymer technology, with a competitor. Ahad saw that the plot with Averland FC had stronger root growth over the competitor.
Ahad in the driver's seat!
Hung Pham, Product Development Manager:
Hung Pham flew to the great state of Colorado to meet with Vive’s Plains Regional Sales Manager, Mardy Alberts, and Northern Agronomist, David Reif. Spending most of their time in eastern Colorado, Hung got first-hand experience with sugarbeets and corn. Hung was able to visit with local retail locations, see a farming operation in full swing, and even learned the difference between dryland and wetland (well water).
“My favorite part of the trip was to see the work that we do in the lab has an enormous impact on the field, which consequently impact what we have on our dinner table. It escalates my motivation to another level,” said Hung.
Hung, Mardy, and CHS retailer Jerome Benish assessing cold/frost injury to corn.
Robin Fraser, Research Scientist:
Robin Fraser took a drive across the border to upstate New York for her field visit with Vive’s Eastern Sales Manager, Kent Taylor. Together they explored the crop diversity of rural New York, seeing everything from vineyards to corn to potatoes! On this trip Robin was able to learn a very valuable lesson that all growers know too well… farming is unpredictable. When meetings and plans fell through due to the fickle nature of farming, Robin learned how important it is to be adaptable in this industry.
Robin was eventually able to get her boots muddy. She met with Gale Hazen on his potato farm. Gale has been a user of Vive products, AZteroid® FC 3.3 fungicide and Bifender® FC insecticide, for several years now. As Robin is on the R&D side of Vive, she typically doesn’t get to hear growers’ thoughts on how our products handle in the field. When visiting Gale’s farm, he pointed out a sprayer and said, “You see that there? Oh yeah, I got AZteroid and Bifender in that tank mixed with 6-24-6 fertilizer. We only used about half of it, and it’s been sitting there for a month. Still looks good and we are going to spray it again!” Robin was shocked!
Robin enjoying her time on the farm!
At Vive, we believe it is important for our team to have a greater understanding of how food is grown and produced. A better understanding of crop production and how pesticides fit into that production, can help Vive’s lab staff be better equipped when it comes to researching, developing, and maintaining products, ensuring a best-in-class user experience for the grower.
And the one thing everyone had to say after their trip, “I’d love to go back during harvest!”
Additional shots from the field!
Christabelle Parnanthu, Chemist, in the Pacific Northwest.
Hung taking the lab to the field.
Vive lab team members (left to right) Kingsley Shan, Kirill Pastushenko, and Liana Sneltjes learning about sugarbeets in the field.
Christabelle learning about in-furrow applications.
Christabelle going for a ride in the tractor!
Sr. Biologist Megan Conner teaching Liana and Kingsley all about corn leaf diseases.
Important: Always read and follow label instructions before buying or using Vive Crop Protection, Inc. products. The instructions contain important conditions of sale, including limitations of warranty and remedy. Bifender FC and Averland FC are Restricted Use Pesticides. Allosperse®, Averland®, AZteroid®, Bifender®, and the Vive Crop Protection® logo are trademarks of Vive Crop Protection. ©2022 Vive Crop Protection Inc.