Episode 183: Overcoming the Ammonium Death Spiral with Jim Dunlop

Jim Dunlop is a senior agronomist with Advancing Eco Agriculture (AEA) whose journey into agriculture began after serving in the Marine Corps. He used the GI Bill to study biology and chemistry at CSU Stanislaus. While there, he started a CSA farm in the Yosemite foothills, which grew significantly as he collaborated with organic growers. Jim later managed a pasture livestock operation on California's Central Coast and spent a year traveling the country in an RV to visit diverse farms. He eventually settled in Oregon's Columbia Gorge, transitioning from a compost facility to managing orchards for Mike Omeg, where he first discovered AEA.

Today, Jim is working to build the AEA business in the Pacific Northwest. He works with conventional and organic growers across a variety of crops, including tree fruit, berries, vegetables, and livestock pasture. In his role, Jim uses his years of experience, sap analysis and AI to pinpoint plant metabolic bottlenecks, helping growers overcome environmental stress and unlock peak crop performance.

In this episode, John and Jim discuss:

• How adding small amounts of sugar to foliar sprays stops a destructive "ammonium death spiral" by balancing nitrogen and raising sap pH.  
• How addressing a plant's foundational sugar and boron levels successfully unlocks calcium movement into new leaves far better than heavy doses of foliar calcium alone.  
• The way using AEA's pre-mixed nutrient blends rather than standard tank mixing helps farmers cut application costs while achieving identical sap movement.  
• The impressive field trial results of AEA's Pinion product in successfully making powdery mildew less active in highly susceptible conventional cherry orchards.  
• The powerful synergy of pairing fertigation and foliar applications together to trigger rapid shoot growth and maximize fruit size. 

Resources To learn about working with AEA, please visit: https://advancingecoag.com/land/consulting/ To buy and see what Pinion can do for you, please visit: https://advancingecoag.com/product/pinion/ To buy SeaStim, please visit: https://advancingecoag.com/product/seastim-gal-p685008/

About John Kempf
John Kempf is the founder of Advancing Eco Agriculture (AEA). A top expert in biological and regenerative farming, John founded AEA in 2006 to help fellow farmers by providing the education, tools, and strategies that will have a global effect on the food supply and those who grow it.

Through intense study and the knowledge gleaned from many industry leaders, John is building a comprehensive systems-based approach to plant nutrition – a system solidly based on the sciences of plant physiology, mineral nutrition, and soil microbiology.

Support For This Show & Helping You Grow
Since 2006, AEA has been on a mission to help growers become more resilient, efficient, and profitable with regenerative agriculture. AEA works directly with growers to apply its unique line of liquid mineral crop nutrition products and biological inoculants. Informed by cutting-edge plant and soil data-gathering techniques, AEA's science-based programs empower farm operations to meet the crop quality markers that matter the most.
AEA has created real and lasting change on millions of acres with its products and data-driven services by working hand-in-hand with growers to produce healthier soil, stronger crops, and higher profits.

Beyond working on the ground with growers, AEA leads in regenerative agriculture media and education, producing and distributing the popular and highly-regarded Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, inspiring webinars, and other educational content that serve as go-to resources for growers worldwide.

Learn more about AEA's regenerative programs and products: https://www.advancingecoag.com