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Sustainable Raspberry Farming: How Earthmade is Leading the Way

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At Earthmade, we believe that sustainability is the foundation of a thriving agricultural future. As raspberry farming continues to grow in popularity, it’s crucial to adopt practices that not only produce quality fruit but also protect the environment. Our commitment to sustainable farming extends to raspberries, where we focus on eco-friendly methods that enhance crop health, reduce waste, and promote long-term productivity.

Why Sustainable Raspberry Farming Matters

Raspberries are a delicate and nutritious fruit, but their cultivation can be resource-intensive. From water use to pest control, traditional farming practices can place significant strain on the environment. Sustainable raspberry farming offers a solution by optimizing resources and reducing the need for harmful chemicals. These methods not only support healthier crops but also contribute to soil conservation, biodiversity, and the reduction of greenhouse gasses.

At Earthmade, we are dedicated to helping farmers adopt sustainable techniques that make a difference both on their farms and in the environment. By transitioning to organic fertilizers, integrated pest management (IPM), and water-efficient irrigation systems, raspberry farmers can enjoy higher yields while reducing their ecological footprint.

Earthmade’s Sustainable Farming Techniques

Our approach to raspberry farming is grounded in several key sustainable practices:

  1. Organic Soil Management
    Healthy soil is the backbone of any successful crop. At Earthmade, we encourage the use of organic fertilizers and composting to enrich the soil and promote its long-term health. These methods improve soil structure, enhance water retention, and provide vital nutrients for raspberry plants without relying on synthetic chemicals. By using organic amendments, farmers can boost productivity and protect the environment.
  2. Water-Efficient Irrigation
    Water conservation is critical in raspberry farming, especially in regions that experience droughts or water scarcity. Earthmade advocates for efficient irrigation systems like drip irrigation, which delivers water directly to the plant roots, minimizing waste. According to the USDA, this method can reduce water usage by up to 50%, ensuring that farmers maintain healthy crops while conserving precious water resources.
  3. Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
    Pest control is often one of the biggest challenges in raspberry farming, but it doesn’t have to rely on harmful pesticides. Earthmade promotes integrated pest management (IPM), a strategy that uses a combination of biological, cultural, and mechanical controls to manage pests naturally. This includes introducing beneficial insects, rotating crops, and using organic repellents. By reducing the reliance on chemical pesticides, IPM helps protect biodiversity and ensures healthier fruit.
  4. Crop Diversification and Rotations
    Diversifying crops is another key strategy that Earthmade encourages. By planting a variety of crops, including raspberries, farmers can naturally reduce pest and disease pressures while improving soil health. Crop rotation also helps break pest cycles and enhances soil fertility, creating a more resilient farming system. This holistic approach supports the long-term success of raspberry farms and promotes sustainable land use.

The Benefits of Sustainable Raspberry Farming

Sustainable raspberry farming offers a range of benefits for both farmers and the environment. Here are just a few:

  • Improved Crop Yields: Sustainable practices like organic soil management and efficient irrigation can lead to stronger, healthier plants that produce higher yields of raspberries.
  • Cost Savings: Reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and excess water lowers costs for farmers, making their operations more economically viable.
  • Healthier Ecosystems: By avoiding harmful chemicals and promoting biodiversity, sustainable farming supports pollinators, beneficial insects, and overall ecosystem health.
  • Climate Resilience: Sustainable techniques like water conservation and organic farming help raspberry farms become more resilient to changing weather patterns, including droughts and extreme temperatures.

Earthmade’s Commitment to a Sustainable Future

At Earthmade, we are more than just an agricultural solutions provider—we are advocates for the future of farming. Our goal is to empower raspberry farmers to embrace sustainable practices that benefit their crops, their communities, and the planet. With the right tools and guidance, we believe that farmers can produce high-quality raspberries while reducing their environmental impact.

As we continue to Farm it Forward, Earthmade is proud to lead the way in sustainable raspberry farming. Together, we can create a future where agriculture thrives in harmony with nature, ensuring a bountiful harvest for generations to come.

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Mike Dobbins

CEO, Vicentia

Mike Dobbins is developing bio inputs to replace pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers. His mission is to give farmers the tools they need to produce 100% chemical free food at the scale needed to feed the 9.8 billion people that will soon inhabit the earth. “If you want to look after biodiversity, and you want to improve our soil health, and you want to improve our chronic illness growth, we have to have NO chemicals. And in all fairness there has not been, on a worldwide basis, a solution to the problem.

 
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Walmart

A few years ago, Walmart embarked on a journey to become a regenerative company, dedicated to placing nature and humanity at the center of their business. As part of their commitment, they recently partnered with GEM Pack Berries, and will be distributing the first crops ever to be grown using an innovative cultivation method that eliminates the need for pesticides and soil-damaging heavy metals… game-changing strawberries from Earthmade. In keeping with environmentally friendly practices aimed at minimizing transportation distances, Earthmade strawberries are available in select Walmart locations in Southern California’s Ventura County.
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Duda Farm Fresh Foods

The Duda family has been growing fresh fruits and vegetables for nearly 100 years. It all started with Andrew Duda, who had just 40 acres of farmland, and his sights set on the American Dream. Now, six generations later, the Duda family continues this legacy by bringing their farm-fresh products to a restaurant or grocery store near you and ultimately, your kitchen table. Among their responsible farming practices, Duda has graciously partnered with Earthmade in running chemical-free farming trials on celery.
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Gath Farms

Gath Farms has a strong foundation of four generations dedicated to the land. They base their business on relationships, and understand the importance of face-to-face business practices built on honesty and integrity. Working together to build and grow their own successful farming operation provides the foundation upon which they can help others grow their operations, increase their profits and protect the land for generations to come. Gath Farms has partnered with Earthmade to run trials of chemical-free farming on commodities such as corn and soybeans.
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GEM Pack Berries

With an eye on the future, an ace coalition of California farmers known as GEM Pack Berries long ago embraced the organic farming practices standardized in the late 1980s. When they banded together in 2015, they wanted to find even more sustainable, soil friendly methods. They soon partnered with Vicentia, which was conducting innovative research on developing a special kind of good bacteria as a substitute to both artificial and heavy metal-based pesticides. GEM Pack understood that, if Vicentia scientists were successful, their advancements could solve a long list of health, agricultural, sustainability, and environmental issues. GEM Pack allocated a sizable plot of farming land so Vicentia bioscientists could conduct multi-year research on the cultivation of multiple commodities.
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Vicentia

Australian bioscience company Vicentia’s bio inputs have not only protected crops all around the world from pests that prey on them; they also eliminated the need for heavy metals, which have been found to affect the biofertility of the soil. Better yet, these revolutionary innovations could be adopted by farmers everywhere to grow all varieties of crops, thereby potentially transforming currently problematic farming practices into healthy, earth regenerating, sustainable practices. Vicentia’s groundbreaking solution also lowered production costs while maintaining or increasing yield and crop quality. Today, Vicentia’s regenerative agricultural advances are being trialed in seven countries.
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Howard Shapiro

Professor

Howard Shapiro has made it his life mission to understand the health of our plant. He has been involved with sustainable agricultural and agroforestry systems, pattern recognition, plant breeding, molecular biology and genetics for over 40 years. He has worked with indigenous communities, NGO’s, governmental agencies and the private sector around the world. A former university professor for 15 years, Fulbright Scholar, Ford Foundation Fellow, Fellow of the World Agroforestry Center, Chairperson of the External Advisory Board of the Agriculture Sustainability Institute at UC Davis, and numerous additional accolades, Shapiro has certainly proved he has the experience and vast knowledge of the very critical status of the world’s agricultural crisis.
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Mark Gath

Owner, Gath Farms

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Carlos Meza

Bioscientist, Vicentia Farmer

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Owner, Orange County Produce, LLC

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Mike Etchandy

Owner, Etchandy Farms Co-Owner, GEM-Pack Berries

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