This customer showcase blog will highlight Enza Zaden’s Croptracker use to record their spray applications and inventory at their Florida research and development station. Enza is in their third year of using Croptracker’s Spray module.
Enza Zaden Introduction
Enza Zaden is a global seed breeder and wholesaler. The company’s home base is the Netherlands and has been family-owned and operated since 1938. Beginning as a seed seller for small-scale allotment growers, founder Jacob Mazereeuw shifted focus after WWII to breeding and selling seed for professional field and greenhouse vegetable growers. Under the leadership of the Mazereeuw family, Enza Zaden developed their own breeding and development techniques, resulting in many in-demand and unique vegetable varieties that have become favored by growers all over the world.
Today Enza Zaden is still on the cutting edge of seed development technology, in part because of their work to develop a collaborative organization focused on genetic plant research, KeyGene. Developing new varieties can take over a decade and an eye towards future climate challenges and emerging diseases and pests means Enza must be invested in the future.
Enza Zaden Florida R&D Station Introduction
Croptracker is working closely with one of Enza’s North American R&D facilities in Myakka City Florida. Under the leadership of station manager and senior agronomist Antonio Canales III, this station is currently developing and testing disease resistant varieties of tomatoes, peppers, basil, eggplant, cauliflower, squash and watermelon. Antonio brought in Croptracker’s digital Spray tracking system after he took over management, successfully transitioning the station from paper records.
The Florida research station has two main growing areas for seed development, one with much more security and entry control to limit exposing the plants from outside contamination during testing. To help organize this, both these areas are split up in Croptracker’s mapping system into two different farms, creating a clear differentiation between them for spraying and accessing information.
Antonio also employs Croptracker’s replanting feature to record crop rotations. After the seed production in the area is complete, a cover crop will be planted to help amend and protect the soil before the next round of planting and testing. Since this is a research station and is not producing fruit or seeds for sale, at the end of a testing period the harvestable produce will be gleaned and donated to a local food bank.
Peace of Mind with Digital Spray Records
Croptracker has served us a great deal because we’ve had some surprise inspections and we need a REI and PHI chemical history. In Croptracker we can go into the history and print out exactly what we need and give it to them. … It touches all the bases on all of the critical points that the auditors and inspectors want to see.
Like many other Croptracker Spray customers, Antonio gets great value from using Croptracker during audits. When asked specific questions and given specific scenarios during surprise and scheduled audits, Antonio is able to filter Croptracker spray reporting and pulls up the answers in seconds.
Croptracker gives me peace of mind. It is at your fingertips. It’s mobile so it's easy to look at records in the past unlike in the past when everything was hand written. It is fast to retrieve information and pull up only the information needed for auditors.
To ensure the safety of workers, Antonio uses Croptracker’s spray plan printouts for centralized posting. This page includes all the information required to comply with Worker Protection Standards including chemical brand name, EPA#, the area treated, and the REI (optionally including a map of the area and the chemical labels as needed).
We use Croptracker for our centralized posting. I print it out and put it up and the workers at the station know what’s been sprayed. It’s a really good flow and I’m happy with the program.
Enza Zaden also uses Croptracker’s spray records to help boost their sustainability and disease protection goals while determining the best recommended treatments for their seeds/plants before it reaches the market. Being able to quickly assess whether the max applications of specific treatments have been reached, Antonio is able to monitor if a plant requires another treatment or if they can stay below the max application rate. This helps to improve their environmental protection metrics. If an Enza Zaden seed/plant can support itself with fewer treatments, it is a big selling point as it costs farmers less to grow and is a more sustainable and disease resistant product overall.
It also gives peace of mind in the sense that it is easy to look back at past sprays and determine quickly if the max application has been reached and helps us determine if we can stay under the max application rate which improves our MPS reporting which rewards less applications.
Efficient Spray Tracking and Supportive Customer Service
Croptracker’s Spray module includes the ability to add your own chemicals but our team also maintains an extensive list of registered chemicals to speed up use and set up. Enza Zaden’s Florida R&D facility is subscribed to the USA registered chemical list. Our technical support team is consistently adding to this list based on customer’s needs.
The support team has been good to us. If a chemical is not in the inventory we send the EPA numbers and within minutes it’s on the platform.
Croptracker pride’s itself on supporting growers of all levels of technological expertise. We understand that the job of the grower involves much more than the work in the field or greenhouse and our goal is always to ease that burden instead of complicating it. Our support staff meet with users to make sure they get the most from the software.
Whenever I have a question or concern I send an email and get a quick response with a time to meet and go over it. The customer support is understanding and helpful in training. It is also pretty self explanatory to use. The ‘When & Why’, ‘Where’ and ‘What’ steps to record a spray are very user friendly.
Enza Zaden's implementation of Croptracker at their Florida research and development station has significantly streamlined their Spray record keeping process and operations generally. Over the past three years, the use of Croptracker’s Spray module has allowed the station to transition from paper records to a comprehensive digital system, enhancing efficiency and compliance with regulatory standards. Station manager Antonio Canales III praises the system for its ease of use, rapid information retrieval, and robust support from Croptracker’s team, which collectively contribute to improved sustainability and precise disease management. The ability to quickly access detailed spray histories has been invaluable during audits and inspections, ensuring that Enza Zaden remains at the forefront of agricultural innovation and environmental stewardship. This collaboration underscores Enza Zaden’s commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technology to advance their breeding programs and support the development of resilient, high-quality seeds.
