The typical coffee farm applies ~ 200 kg/ha of synthetic nitrogen each year, an excessive amount
I worked with this farm to phase out synthetic N and cut a total of 195,000 kgs of annual applications
The trees are healthier, higher yielding, and the coffee tastes better...
Synthetic N made up 80% of the fertility budget and diverted resources away from key nutrients like Ca, Mg, and trace minerals. With the price of synthetic N skyrocketing over the past few years, this is a huge saving allowing for more profit and on-farm innovation
N is now supplied more efficiently with a small amount of quality compost, biostimulants, nitrogen-fixing ground covers and shade trees, and minerals that synergize N cycling
As verified with sap and tissue analysis, the trees' N levels are perfectly in range
@samdknowlton How much $/pound would you have to sell the coffee for to recoup all investments, researchers, labour time, lab tests, etc?
@samdknowlton With this knowledge, why do you think the integration and switch to organic fertilizer caused such a devastation in Sri Lanka? How would you have switched from synthetic in a healthier way?
@samdknowlton Is there some kind of labeling we can look for to buy coffee that comes from this type of regenerative agriculture coffee farm?
@ZaritaFloridian Not at currently. There are very few coffee farms that would qualify. Buy from a specialty roaster that has a direct relationship with coffee farmers. Getting more money into the farmers hand is vital.
@CL1984Reveal This has to be done strategically. It requires good data, a holistic understanding, operational capacity and the right tools.
@JuliFrancoeur It depends. In many cases the cost of production is higher than the sale price. This is a problem with many layers and probably the biggest obstacle coffee growers face.