Fortitude is very much a necessary part of the toolkit for successful farming. Those at Kimball Ranches- El Hogar know that as well as any. One of California’s most devastating natural disasters, the 2017 Thomas Fire wreaked havoc to their and many other farms in their region.

“You could be called crazy for being in partnership with Mother Nature, because as a farmer there are so many things outside of your control,” said Rachael Laenen, Director of Farming and Operations at Kimball Ranches in Ventura County, California. “But it just means that actually you can really focus on the things that are in your control and do better every day.”

This persevering attitude has led to a successful recovery and retooling of their operation, including their crop nutrition.

“We were really lucky to come across Redox,” she said. “They have fundamentally changed the way we farm here.”

Laenen said Rx Platinum™ has been a crucial part of their young tree establishment program, while Mainstay® Calcium and diKaP have provided major benefits to their older trees.

Laenen is the first female chair of the California Avocado Commission’s Board of Directors. She and her father, Gordon, carry on the family farming legacy.

Find out more about Kimball Ranches- El Hogar, including their retail sales, at https://www.kimballavocados.com.

Whether advancements in crops or livestock, upgrading mechanization or efficient use of resources, research carried out by universities has gone a long way to the abundance in agriculture that benefits us all. It’s a top priority for the University of Idaho, one of the top ag schools in the nation. Leslie Edgar, Dean of the University’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, recently visited Redox Headquarters to strengthen our partnership.

"Theory is amazing, but making sure that we can actually apply it so it works for producers is really important," Edgar said. "That's the blessing of being at a land-grant university that we get to do that. The value of us partnering with companies like Redox is that you have the innovation, and that we have the scientists and the students that can work with you and then partner at a really high level."

Golf is far more than a cherished pastime, it’s an immense economic engine, source of jobs and, perhaps surprisingly, an awesome way to learn about science, math and many other vital subjects.

The First Green program from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GSCAA) makes this all possible.

“I hear teachers saying things like ‘Hey guys, look at this. This is what I’m teaching you in class, but this is how you apply it in real life,” remarked Dave Phipps, former superintendent and one of the organization’s nine regional representatives.

Dave is part of a team passionately working in First Green; connecting students with many relevant topics and making them aware of future job opportunities. A growing area of focus is working with the more than one million FFA students in the U.S.

More growers are utilizing biological products on their crops—it’s an emerging category that includes biostimulants, biopesticides and biofertilizers. The global agricultural biologicals market is expected to more than double in value in the next decade. It’s promising technology to help with productivity and many other key areas.

“Globally, the biostimulant market is growing, and that market is going to explode here in the United States once we get a clear path to market,” remarked Keith Jones, Executive Director of the Biological Products Industry Alliance (BPIA) in Washington, D.C.

Jones said a key benefit would be a uniform federal definition on biostimulants, which is being considered by Congress this session.

The BPIA's mission is fostering continued improvements to the biological products regulatory process.

The industry's leading market research firm DunhamTrimmer expects the global non-microbial biostimulant market will reach nearly $8 billion by 2030.

FInd out more at BPIA.org and DunhamTrimmer.com.

Planting season is a time for renewal and labor, as the Midwest is home to some 180 million acres of corn and soybeans. There are hurdles every year, and 2026 is no different, with low crop prices coupled with high fertilizer costs.

Fourth generation grower Jared Brown in Central Illinois grows 2,000 acres of corn and soybeans. This is his second year working with RDX-N® for nitrogen optimization, and so far the results are encouraging.

“ We’re going to have RDX-N® across half of our acreage this year,” Brown said. “We’ll have really good data next year to say yes, it definitely paid us by cost savings number one, and number two if we can get a yield increase, it’s just icing on the cake.”

Brown was a top performer in nitrogen management trials with the National Corn Growers Association. He said more growers are intrigued with new technology like RDX-N® because low crop prices and high input costs have created more incentives to make efficiency gains.

Spring marks a time for heightened activity in fields and orchards across the nation. The nutrition choices a grower makes go a long way towards determining their outcome at harvest.

Redox RAM (Redox Active Molecule) technology helps keep plants in charge balance, so your crops can solely focus on yield and quality.

RDX-N® has been an excellent addition in California almond orchards, improving nitrogen use by up to 50 percent while maintaining or enhancing performance.

“It’s really exciting,” said Redox agronomist AJ Borges. “We want to take back a little bit of control and utilize a product that’s so powerful. RDX-N gives us the opportunity to take the reins back and utilize nitrogen more efficiently.”

Borges said he has seen excellent success with diKaP™ with California cherries, as it helps with unform color, improved quality and protection against abiotic stress events, including untimely rains or heat waves.

Additionally, he said OsmoFlow™ has been an excellent addition to improve salinity concerns and water efficiency for field corn grown in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

Success in farming is hard-earned. For the Richardson family in White Marsh, Maryland, their farm involves many family members and has included tremendous labor and innovation for nearly a century.

Brian Richardson is the fifth generation of the family working at their farm and grocery store. They are known far and wide for their excellent quality vegetables, including kale, collard greens, tomatoes and sweet corn. Many Redox products help nourish their crops, including Rootex, Rx Platinum, diKaP, TriPlex Micro, Mainstay Calcium 2.0 and Mainstay Si.

He said he had great success with RDX-N with his winter kale crop and will be using more of this nitrogen optimization technology next season.

“I definitely plan to incorporate it more,” Richardson said, including his first sweet corn crop of the year, which he hopes “I can cut fertilizer usage even more and get the benefit of it.”

From greenskeeper to superintendent, Tanner Jacobs has made a steady climb in his young career. He’s in charge at Rocky Bayou Country Club in Niceville, Florida, and obsesses over every detail to provide his customers with the best golf experience. Keeping his turfgrass balanced and perfectly playable is a top priority.

“I don’t make a simple soil application without incorporating calcium and OsmoPro™ in my program,” he said. “I feel since we started using it, we’ve had a lot of success with health, with growth and just overall playability and how they look. For my program, it’s perfect.”

Rocky Bayou features 115 acres of championship play, incorporating rolling hills, sprawling oaks and stately pines, including 18 holes that they describe as “challenging play with wide fairways, perfectly managed greens, and five spring fed lakes.”