March 24, 2016
Announcements and Reminders
Art, Stan, Keith, Doug and Win were named Rotarians of the week because they are all going to the district assembly.
A reminder that the major fundraiser event sign-up sheet is going around. The event is on May 6th! Sign up!  $150 per ticket!
 
 
Dr. Art Dover introduced our speaker for today’s meeting, Steve Nelson, CEO of  Plant Sciences in Watsonville.  He has a BS and MS in agriculture and, as  president of Plant Sciences is a leader on varietal development of strawberries and  other berries.
 
 
 
Dr. Art Dover introduced our speaker for today’s meeting, Steve Nelson, CEO of  Plant Sciences in Watsonville.  He has a BS and MS in agriculture and, as  president of Plant Sciences is a leader on varietal development of strawberries and  other berries.
Mr. Nelson spoke about the company background and their core objectives. They represents the berry sector of the agricultural industry in California and combat global threats thru innovative growing techniques.  They have 150 FT employees 1000 seasonal employees as well as  partnerships on 6 continents. Their research facilities are in Watsonville and their farming operations are in central valley  where they produce rootstock and seed. 
He spoke their work with strawberries where they develop mother plants and  extract seeds and then assess seedlings for performance. Once a seedling proves beneficial over 8 yrs then it gets sold as a selection.  Statistically they look at 2000 seedlings before they find a new possible plant.  They then begin asexual reproduction thru stolons (runners). Berries are the leading category of fruit sold in North America.
Plant variety protection act allows them to protect hat they develop and growers then get a license to grow their proprietary varieties. They are now working on black raspberries trying to make them bigger and firmer so that they can be grown and shipped.   They are also working on artichoke hybrids because growers need to be able to harvest more than 30 days a year.
Mr. Nelson identified six threats to the global strawberry industry: 1. Scarcity of labor;  2. Limited water;  3. Soaring land values; 4. Loss of soil fumigants (methyl bromide); 5. More demand for locally grown produce;  6. Need for competent growers and ag scientists. He said there had been an increase in acreage until 2 yrs ago; now there is a 13% reduction since 2013 throughout North America.
Mr. Nelson then went on to describe global opportunities. They include: Advances in genomics, precision breeding, bio-informatics and biotech applications, robotics, Integrated Pest Management, ‘sustainable growing systems’ and software. One example he showed us was of a solar equipped glasshouse used for raspberry production in Toulouse France. Another one was substrate growing of strawberries which involves taking them out of soil and putting them in a disease free environment on a rack in the Netherlands. This eliminates need for diseased soil correction methods. These are grown in cocoa peat but it might be possible to use almond hulls in California.
Mr. Nelson concluded his presentation with a short video on Lifesong for Orphans, a partnership that identifies needs of orphans and widows and presents them to business people. The video showed growers in Zambia where 100% of involvement goes directly to point of need. It involves also teaching recipients how to grow and sell their own crops. They have also built houses, and offered immunization shots and built schools.
For more information see lifesongfororphans.org  or www.plantsciences.com