Following the recent California agriculture leaders visit to Brazil, Dennis & Peter were delighted to host one of Brazil's leading biological companies on this 'The Grower Talks' podcast. It was a fascinating discussion!

IdeeLab Biotecnologia has established itself as a leading partner in the innovation and development of biotech-based products for agriculture. Through proprietary development platforms, a highly skilled team, and state-of-the-art R&D and scale-up infrastructure, the company enables top agricultural input players to build differentiated, high-quality product portfolios with real market impact.

IdeeLab’s core strength lies in its deep expertise in biotechnology and bioprocesses, combined with its ability to deliver exclusive, customized solutions—such as biofertilizers, biostimulants, and biopesticides—efficiently and at speed. With a proprietary microorganism library and a cutting-edge approach to product development, IdeeLab is recognized as Brazil’s foremost Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) for agricultural biologicals.

Last month, a delegation of California agriculture leaders undertook a visit to Brazil - recognized as a global leader in the development and adoption of biological solutions. So impressed were the delegation by what they saw that Dennis & I were delighted when key members of the delegation agreed to take part in this very special edition of 'The Grower Talks'.

Brazil has been on my personal 'must-do' list for a long time. It's a global leader in the use and production of bio-inputs, including inoculants, biofertilizers, and biological pest control products. Its regulatory framework is among the most advanced globally, serving as a model for other nations transitioning to biological-based products.

It's also a country where collaboration between industry, research & government lies at the heart of its success in supporting farmers and growers transition to a more biological future.

In this podcast, Dennis & Peter tried to cover a wide topic area; Research & Development, Investment, Adoption, Support Services. For anyone trying to get a better understanding of the Brazilian market and how its multi-stakeholder ecosystem works, our panel members were able to share their insights from their own unique perspectives.

As a policymaker, a regulator, a grower and a scientist, the lessons taken back home were wide-ranging. What was clear from the podcast was that Brazil is seriously deserving of its reputation as a global model for others.

A huge thanks to each of the team for taking part in a very open and informative discussion. It was a fascinating session and is a must-watch for anyone with an interest in biologicals and their adoption.

Featuring:

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross, DPR Director, Dr Karen Morrison, Don Cameron & Dr Jeana Cadby

After spending a decade in the fresh produce industry and several years in Agtech, Tim returned to his roots and joined the family farm in 2023.

Nuss Farms is a 5th generation family farm located in Lodi, CA growing a wide range of specialty crops at scale. Tim oversees the company’s finance and sales operations, but occasionally get let loose on a tractor to get his hands dirty.

Tim is also founder of the biological products portal, AgList.

Jeana has over 10 years of experience working in specialty agriculture, farmer advocacy and collaborative environmental program management. She brings to Western Growers her expertise in sustainable ag, fieldwork and resource conservation as well as her passion for building strategic partnerships and supporting our farmers.

In her previous work, she worked alongside growers, including enterprise, government, and NPO partners, on issues surrounding soil health, crop inputs, water quality and developing innovative solutions to bolster climate resilience. Jeana currently serves on the board of her local Resource Conservation District and has a B.S. and M.S. in Plant and Soil Sciences and a Ph.D. in Agricultural Development Studies.

More recently, Jeana has supported the development of the Platform10 initiative.

For Eric, embracing biodiversity on the farm started about 15 years ago with the introduction of beneficial habitat plantings at Braga Fresh Farm. Eric is the Vice President of Environmental Science and Resources at Braga Fresh and knew early on that natural enemy insects were a necessity in managing pests without conventional pesticides.

Braga Fresh is a large, vertically integrated, primarily organic grower with operations in the Salinas Valley and Imperial Valley. One of the primary concerns they had in organic production was no ability to put their red lettuce aphids in check. No organic sprays worked well to take care of lettuce aphids, so they turned to natural enemies to help reduce populations.

Eric says the process of farming with nature has been humbling. Having been in the industry a long time, he thought he had all the answers. “And then come to find out that I was really ignorant about the biological process in place. I've been able to answer a lot of questions that I've had for my entire career by observing biological systems and drawing conclusions from that; and then trying to find some level of translation to our production.” Eric enjoys discovering solutions. “I think discovery is what's making this entire process exciting. And I think it's what's exciting our entire team.”

A second-generation farmer, Tony Alameda, along with his two brothers Steve and Craig, and father Mel began The Alameda Company, formerly known as L.S. Williams Company in Fremont, California. Established in 1983, their farming operation focused on vegetable production in both California and Mexico. TopFlavor Farms was established in the Yuma region and expanded into the Salinas and San Juan Valleys and has grown into a diverse, family farming operation that produces over two dozen different commodities.

Tony is also a co-founder of Sabor Farms, a farming operation with an emphasis on specialty items. Tony and his wife, Cathy, also established Gud Pak Harvesting, which has since partnered to transform into today's Foothill Packing. Alameda is President of United Vegetable Growers Cooperative, a member of San Benito and Monterey County Farm Bureaus and supporter of San Benito and Monterey County fairs.

Dr. Hillary Q. Thomas is currently the Research and Technical Director at Naturipe Berry Growers, Inc. where she develops and implements applied agricultural research and extension programs for berry crops. She is an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) expert who received her doctorate in Entomology from UC Davis in 2009. She went on to serve as a California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) fellow in the California state legislature in the office of Fiona Ma.

She was also the Senior Research Manager of the California Strawberry Commission from 2011-2015 and is a Fruit and Veg class of 2019 40 under 40 award recipient.

A former Chair of Western Growers, in 2014, Illume recruited Kevin to create a table grape program built on the concept of staying ahead of the expanding innovation curve with a full suite of proprietary, new varieties.

As Sun World’s COO and head grower for 20+ years, Kevin was responsible for growing operations comprising 20,000+ acres of table grapes, citrus, stone fruit, and row crops in the San Joaquin Valley/Mexico and over 3,000 acres in the Coachella Valley. Kevin’s growing ability is incomparable in the industry; breeders often use his crops as their “showcase” vineyards for grower and customer tours, as well as seek his advice on how to develop and grow their varieties.