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 irrigation

• Technology includes dendrometers, irrigation pressure switches, soil moisture probes, and frost & weather stations
• Crops include nuts (biggest), citrus, pears, getting into row crops
• Vineyard solution primarily West Coast / CA, pursuing Portugal, Spain, Italy, Chile, Mexico, Texas

Dendrometer - 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 wifi

• The solution can be adjusted based on the type of farming (e.g., quality or quantity), rootstocks, clones, soil types
• Tracks trunk size and soil moisture to signal irrigation needs
• Optional: pump/value control for irrigation
• Can schedule up to 2 weeks of irrigation
• Can monitor fertilizer inputs (cost of fertilizer up 600% last 5 years)

Benefits:

• Don’t promise water savings, but see up to 60% less water use
• Improve quality by knowing when veraison happens and when vines stop growing or are stalling
• Optimize fertilizer, diesel, and electric pump costs
• Reduce labor for irrigation if automated
• The system logs data, enabling knowledge transfer when people leave
• Case 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% loss
• Case study: one ranch was expecting a 50% loss, but down to 3% with irrigation changes

Pricing - depends on # of sites in a block

• There is a small upfront fee for installation
• Monthly SaaS fee (~$50-80/acre/year), includes maintenance
• Weather station ~$700/year (vs ~$3,500 to buy)

Case studies (videos on website)

• Ultra premium Napa winery Neotempo
• Larger Mendocino grower Bonterra 

Marketing most through word of mouth/referrals

• Digital media, video testimonials, trade shows & panels
• Video in digital media has been the most valuable
• Connecting 1:1 is very helpful
• Phytech is more holistic than other solutions

The most significant barrier to adoption is technophobia

The subscription-based model eliminates “tech graveyard” growers have

Product roadmap

• Predictive brix/pH model (growers input brix, system tracks weather, vine response) to predict harvest date by block
• GDD (growing degree days) monitoring tracking temperature and humidity in the field at the block level
• AI Advisor to look at past data and current practices and enable recommendations

Other exciting innovations - Autonomous spraying and tractors (Guss, Monarch), optical arrays for vine health (Scout), microalgae for soil health (MyLand)

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