Braga Fresh Shares Regen Progress Report; Eric Morgan Details
SOLEDAD, CA - Sustainability and regeneration are hot topics in the industry, and Braga Fresh is continuing to put Mother Earth at the forefront of its battle plans. Braga Fresh, home of Josie’s Organics, is marking Earth Day by sharing the progress toward its commitment to harvest and take to market regenerative-grown crops. To do this, the grower has disclosed a major step in its trialing of a low-soil tillage concept designed to increase the carbon content in the soil.
“Our team is committed to sharing our successes and failures as we focus on improving our practices and strive toward becoming carbon-neutral,” said, Eric Morgan, Vice President, Environmental Science and Resources. “Our intent is to learn, adapt, and demonstrate our proof of concept and feasibly change Salinas Valley farming practices. Those changes could reduce our overall CO2 emissions.”
According to the release, this is the third year Braga Fresh is trialing regenerative agriculture practices. 2022 was a learning year and an opportunity to build awareness with the company’s farming peers and retail partners. In February, Braga Fresh co-hosted a free, day-long seminar for Salinas Valley growers with Sustainable Conservation and the Monterey County Farm Bureau. The seminar discussed cover cropping on the Central Coast and how cover crops can assist growers with complying with Ag Order 4.0.
Multiple practices are used to implement the trials including plant sap analysis, data management, companion plantings, crop rotation, intercropping, cover cropping, soil testing, and water management technology. All regenerative trials are grown to meet GMP and LGMA standards.
The objectives of the regenerative farming trials are to conserve soil carbon by reducing tillage passes that allow for an increase in soil biology diversity and decrease the consumption of diesel fuel that powers the tractors conducting the tillage operation. With these goals, the company hopes to lessen water and fertilizer usage.
Organic Sweet Baby Broccoli is the next trial regenerative crop on Braga Fresh’s docket, which will be harvested in June on the Braga home ranch in Soledad, California.
To mark Earth Day 2023 Braga Fresh is sharing its year two learnings with industry peers and retail partners in a video summary on its YouTube channel.
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