Helping growers meet market demand with consultancy and recipe development

In the second of a two-part series, IGS’ Product Manager Freddie Reed looks at how we help customers by delivering crop consultancy and recipe development services, and the role this plays in an ever-evolving market.

A lot is asked of fresh produce growers in today's market. There are operational challenges, like meeting unique specifications or managing input variability, alongside wider issues, such as managing supply and demand, adhering to local fresh produce regulations, and staying on top of input costs (e.g. energy). This is in addition to other big-picture issues, like scaling effectively and staying ahead of shifting consumer trends. Real progress comes with successfully navigating these issues, and taking an approach built off precision, adaptability, and deep-rooted industry expertise.

We’ve spent years working alongside growers across the world who face these challenges every day. They might be facing specific environmental conditions which require different nutrient or irrigation needs, contending with local supply issues which mean they’re tied to one particular substrate supplier, or looking to optimise energy usage. Crop consultancy can play a pivotal role in overcoming these challenges. It can be used to tweak existing recipes for bespoke circumstances, or create a new one specifically for them.

Where crop recipe development can help growers

Targeting niche crop characteristics

Consumer preferences are wide and ranging, so it pays for growers to be able to produce less widely available crops and make themselves invaluable to offtakers. Crop recipe development can be used to help do this.

Basil, for instance, has different compounds which – when tweaked appropriately – can give it either an aniseed or peppery taste. Making changes to existing crop recipes allows growers to target these more niche products ,optimising environmental factors (such as lighting or irrigation) to ensure that these specific traits are supported. This is where crop recipe development can really benefit growers, particularly those operating on a large scale and looking to grow multiple crop varieties.

Optimising recipes for fertigation and substrate

The local environment in which a customer is operating may also require a shift in approach. Often, factors such as water pH can impact how a crop recipe works, while the specific substrate a grower has access to is an equally important factor. Our crop recipes are designed to be repeatable for a variety of use cases, but when a grower is tied to a particular substrate, water source, or nutrient input, we can flex to ensure the recipe is still optimised. This ensures that the recipe delivers consistent results, even with different inputs.

Our approach to crop recipe development

Whether a grower wants to create an entirely new crop recipe, or simply tweak an existing one, we can work to achieve the desired result through our crop recipe development service. This can be done either from our Crop Research Centre in Dundee, or on the customer’s site. Our team covers all bases, working from an initial scoping call, through to a proof-of-concept study and various optimisation stages. These will cover the following areas:

· format: we’ll identify the best tray format and seed density

· fertigation: we’ll look into optimal schedule and volume, alongside crop-specific irrigation

· nutrition: we’ll look into what nutrient mixes work best for the crop in question

· lighting: we’ll fine-tune the required light spectrum for optimal growth

To ensure we’re getting the very best results, all trials are conducted multiple times under varied conditions, working to simulate real-world stress factors and ensure repeatability.

If a grower plans on growing propagules using vertical farming technology, before transporting them to a greenhouse or open field, we’ll also investigate the factors that come into play here, particularly through a change in environment, and replicate them to ensure a successful recipe. At the end of each trial, we provide a full recipe report and card which clearly outlines all the parameters. This ensures replicability, so that the customer can use the recipe to grow nutritious, consistent plants year-round. 

Our approach to crop consultancy

For customers looking to optimise plant growth, reduce energy consumption, or reap the benefits of a desk study, our crop consultancy service can help to enhance their existing operation. Our team of crop scientists draw on decades of collective experience, having grown over 250 different varieties of crop at our Crop Research Centre in Dundee. The service covers everything from light intensity and spectrum, through to irrigation and nutrition, as well as the impact that specific seed, substrate and other inputs can have on the final product.

There are so many areas where crop consultancy or recipe development can be used to improve the grower experience, covering everything from scaling an operation through to fine-tuning nutrient delivery to enhance certain crop characteristics. The key lies in good communication with the grower – this is something we pride ourselves on based off years of working with operations across the world.

Applying learnings to a dynamic market

The fresh produce market is ever evolving, so we’re careful to be dynamic and responsive to keep up and ensure our growth recipes remain cutting edge. This can be seen through our ideation and testing process, where we change multiple variables to hone crop composition. We also do this by working closely with customers, establishing a relationship built on trust and transparency so they can get all the benefits that come with a rigorous crop portfolio. This not only enhances market flexibility, but allows growers to boost their bottom line through innovative, climate-resilient technology.

Like what you’ve read? Get in touch to see how you can benefit from crop consultancy or recipe development.