Recently, FarmTogether and MyLand integrated MyLand’s Soil as a Service technology in four high-value apple orchards in Washington state. The companies say this supports efforts to enhance efficiency, reduce input costs and advance regenerative agriculture practices.
FarmTogether is a part of MyLand’s Washington State Program — a $4.8-million initiative supported by Washington State’s Climate Commitment Act. The program is designed to accelerate the adoption of regenerative soil health practices across 9,000 acres of farmland, promoting carbon sequestration, improving water efficiency and supporting climate resilience throughout the region.
MyLand extracts live, native microalgae from soil directly from the field, cultivates optimal microalgae in a closed-loop environment and reintroduces the living biomass back into the soil. This process is designed to enhance biological activity, support nutrient cycling, and promote more resilient soils over time
Boyd Corkins, head of farm management at FarmTogether, says the motivation for this partnership is due to the increases in inputs on orchards as well as pressure on pricing. He says he knew of MyLand for his time working for Hancock Citrus, where an organic citrus block had shown improvement by deploying MyLands’s technology. FarmTogether uses MyLand’s technology on about 400 acres.
“One of the reasons is that it’s part of our sustainability program and how we go about our sustainability, and it’s a good time to try out that product,” he says. “There are a lot of headwinds we’re looking at anywhere we can cut cost, and when we used it in our citrus, we were seeing some just overall improvement in the tree itself. It helps the tree and its ability to efficiently pick up nutrients.”
Corkins says the FarmTogether team will monitor KPIs to track overall orchard improvement, something he acknowledges might not be immediate.
“If you’re looking to improve your soils, that’s a long-term process, and that takes a while. I’ve been on trials where it’s a year, five-year and 10-year trials, and you don’t start to see anything, really, until year five,” he says.
Corkins also says understanding that long-term view is critical when it comes to soil health and communicating benefits to growers.
“When you have your year-end meeting with your grower, remind them again, ‘Hey, we’re still using this product. We’re not seeing any improvements yet. We’re going to continue to monitor it. However, we do anticipate, over the next couple years, we will be seeing improvements in the soil,’” he says. “And just keep them updated on what’s going on.”
Corkins says on top of using MyLand, FarmTogether has deployed compost, cover crops and irrigation sensors and emitters to better mitigate any issues with erosion but also in its ongoing sustainability efforts. He says FarmTogether mulches any cutting from pruning or orchard renewals and adds those back into the soil.
“As a farmer, you’re looking at what can help improve your soil health,” he says. “You’re looking at your sustainability farming practices and how you go about monitoring what you’re doing for sustainability.”
Corkins says this can be part of a regenerative ag program or an internal program.
“It could potentially help increase your crop yield and your quality, water management, efficiency management, and overall,” he says. “How I think about it is it comes down to helping to reduce your reliance on artificial or synthetic fertilizers.”
And Corkins says with sustainability efforts, he doesn’t always look to increasing the bottom line of his business.
“Sometimes you have to approach this in terms of, I’m looking at this as a long-term investment,” he says. “And part of it is I want to help improve the soil, and I want to help ensure that, my children — they’re not in a world where they go out there and farm and they’re cleaning up our mess.”
