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

XChateau Wine Podcast

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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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