Aiva’s System Approach
Nick Thorp
Crop Health Consultant, West
It’s already the end of February and it almost feels like it hasn’t rained for a bit (ducks quickly). In Herefordshire the spring (although probably just a lull before 2nd winter) is springing and the early flowers are starting to make an appearance. A new season is upon us and it’s time to make plans on how we’re going to approach it. It’s been a rocky couple of years so I’m sure we’d all love to just have a nice, normal, settled year with April showers, a few hot weeks in summer, even warm and dry would do I expect, and that, ideally, it would rain gently rather than the intense storms…. I know, wishful thinking but farming is the last bastion it seems so maybe we’ll have some luck in 2025.
As our Time to Talk events finished last week it feels like now is a good time to reflect on what we at Aiva learned over the course of the last 6 weeks. Laura is doing the write up about the events themselves so read that article next if you haven’t already! Whilst the events are primarily there to inform and support our clients, partners, and anyone else who wants to come and listen, it would be remiss of us to not take the opportunity to listen carefully to the instant feedback (for those of you who attended we apologise for making such a big thing about filling in the forms but this is part of how we learn and improve ourselves).
The focus of the events was carbon, which we know is a massive topic, hence why we drilled down into the four main areas of big picture, supplier, advisor, and on farm, in an attempt to narrow down the subject into areas that will directly affect the audience and reflect what’s happening in the world. We hope we were successful!
However, it was interesting to note that the idea of the systems approach and the wide-ranging complexity of how to implement change kept on coming back up. To paraphrase a piece of feedback we received:
…are a wide range of job[s] that most of your farmer clients are probably doing and being a skilled, informed grower is just one of them… a lot of people know the theory and are struggling to implement, or still doing counter intuitive things and that’s because some of the basics require repeating and revisiting many times, before enough confidence is built to really push through some of the big hurdles”
We often discuss in the team and with growers about what the next steps need to be to keep people moving forward and how the further we go with our clients, the more they want to push, and we need to be right there with them on the journey. However, what we mustn’t do is forget that everyone had a starting point and many struggle to push through the roadblocks that chemical agriculture has put in front and behind to maintain primacy. The basics are the building blocks that set you up for success and it’s not a negative
to periodically go back to reinforce understanding of these. So, with that in mind, and also because at a recent technical meeting with our Edaphos colleagues it was well received as an aid memoir, I want to go back to a piece that we did last year about the systems approach. A simplified option guide to help growers to consider what they’re applying and how to get the best out of it. It’s here as a full A4 page for you to Download and print out and pin to the board in the office, save to your phone as a quick reminder, or keep in the tractor where a lot of thinking really gets done.
The guide isn’t a blueprint for success nor a sales tool, it is purely a checklist of things that could or should be considered when making an application pass (along with the Aiva product but there are always others). Yes, the products are there but the systems approach means that the system defines the product/input and not, as is so often the case, the reverse.
As an example, if you’re applying nitrogen, is it an opportunity to support other minerals and nutrients to maintain balance, or to get some carbon and/or fulvic acids in to improve efficiency? Is a foliar nitrogen a better option for the application given timing, conditions and crop biomass? Would amino acids or carbohydrates either instead or as well as help the crop to deal with the application stress?
Have you or will you do a tissue or sap analysis to determine crop need? There are more things to consider and if you answer no to all then that’s great, you’ve thought it through and come to an informed decision. That’s what this journey is all about. As for the issue of repeating and revisiting the basics, that’s a tough one to easily support without appearing condescending or patronising so my solution is this… if you’re not sure then give us a call, or send us an enquiry via the details below.
Ask the question
Our contact details are below, and you can talk to any one of us about a query, issue or concern (we love answering simple questions but they’re only simple if you know the answer and we find it a reassurance that clients check in with us). If you’re unsure who you need to speak with, then contact the office and they will determine who best to come back to you with an answer.
In that spirit, does your spray operator have our contact details and freedom to speak to us directly? I bet they have other specific questions too that might be different to the owner/manager. Tank mixing, water rates, etc. and wouldn’t it be quicker and easier if they just called direct? What about your agronomist? Can’t they just make a call to check in about using an Aiva product, maybe silicon, or how we plan to address potential disease management? There is nearly always a team that works around the farm to grow crops and over the last 20 years I have found that the best success comes when all the team, including us when involved, are pulling and pushing each other along the same path. When all the team get involved in that process, you’re no longer on your own clearing the roadblocks…. Many hands really do make light work!
About the Author
Nick Thorp
Crop Health Consultant, West
Hello! I’m Nick, one of AIVA’s Crop Health Consultants. For a few years now, I’ve been journeying on the regenerative road, developing crops, and applying inputs in a way that benefits the whole system. I started off as a grassland specialist, now I also develop arable systems towards a healthier, more profitable direction.
Got a question? Contact Me.
