Greetings.

Living in a small coastal town reflects in the faces of it’s inhabitants. Doesn’t anybody scowl around here?  Seriously, Hermanus is a friendly village loaded with kind & friendly people. If in doubt, just pop into the local ‘oasis’ called “Goddards” to meet the chairmen & ladies, lining the wide oak counter. All good folks; many of which refer to this popular watering hole as ‘The Office’.

Had a very insigtful meeting with Manie, Cambrian’s production manager. An engineer with with a fertile, creative mind, Manie is always on the look out to improve quality& production. He shared some promising new developments regarding a number of issues that are of importance. I am looking forward to working with him over the next days to evaluate the effectiveness of a few modifications presently in the planning stages.

Thereafter awaits a series of meetings with key individuals; all representing various components of the ‘bigger picture’. Of special interest is a new relationship in development with a significant African agricultural distribution company, owned and led by Pieter. I hope to swing by Pretoria to share a fresh brew with him on my way back to the US.

Take care, SP

Good day.

A new year always brings fresh aspirations and renewed commitments. May the targets you have listed all be achieved.

Flying east to cross oceans normally brings  noticeable and pesky issues of  ‘jet lag’ which can stretch over a number of days. This journey to South Africa was no different. South African Airways’ catering & service was, as usual, of top quality; the flights to Cape Town uneventful and as pleasant as extended flights can possibly be.

The African sun is hot in early January; any pale exposed skin is rapidly ‘toasted’ especially on toes peeping out of sandals, the popular local footwear. Fortunately, armed with Ecklonia kelp based Ocean Glow(r) Nourishing Hair & Body Mist, the ‘ouch’ factor was rapidly eleviated and sun burn damage limited.

South Africa closes down for the holidays from Christmas to early January. The South African wine industry does exceptionally well over this period and certainly contributes to the festive atmosphere clearly on display everywhere. Happy New Year wishes are randomly exchanged between family, friends and strangers alike.

For the majority, today would be the first day back at office. The wheels are turning again as early morning traffic flow cleary indicates. Time to load the pick & shovel, saddle up and get back to business. More as this unfolds.

Thanks for visiting! SP

Good evening.

December brings special significance to many folks around the world united by a common goal – peace and harmony between all nations of this Earth.

December is also one of inventory counts, office parties and exchanging gifts between family members, friends and associates.  Certainly a merry, special month for kids of all ages.

A time to stop for a while, grip the hands of those closest and express appreciation for who they are and what they have contributed and accomplished during the past twelve months.  My sincere thanks to the Cambrian team; it has been an honor and a privilege to associate with you to expand our presence.

Tomorrow brings a new adventure, flying off to the south coast of Africa. The 18 hours sandwiched into a tight seat is a small price to pay for the privilege of spending some time with loved ones and to pursue the business goals of this extensive journey.

The local and international demand for Ecklonia kelp is escalating rapidly; our function here at Cambrian Biotech is to also ensure a continuing, dependable supply of quality raw material. It’s time to break bread with our supply associates and collectively plan and prepare for an exiting new year.

If all goes well, the next post possibly from a sunny beach somewhere in Africa..

Regards. SP

The festive season is upon us;  2008 is wrapping up. Malls are packed with shoppers and kids suddenly are behaving exceptionally well in anticipation of ‘the visit’. Remember to place the oatmeal snack for the reindeer..

There are multiple tasks on our lists this time of year; some directed at family and others at our professions. Time to wrap up company and mail Christmas and Happy Holiday cards to friends & associates. We, here at Cambrian, have so many to thank for an exceptional year of growth; new exiting products and projects leading to new US and international markets.

To our clients  – thank you! The contribution Cambrian has to offer lies in your hands. Only your total satisfaction will allow us to move forward and grow. This we know and appreciate.

Fresh snow does offer great sledding opportunities; enjoy!

Take care, SP

Be careful what you ask for; it has arrived. It’s white outside. Old wounds have been telling we’ll be digging and shoveling again soon.

Our environments and seasons do seem to be in a state of flux. Cold snaps, drought spells and heat waves strike when least expected. Farmers, especially, are faced with ever greater unpredictability regarding weather patterns. Crop survival and yields are often threatened by such weather variables.

In South Africa, many years ago, we were examining a dry land wheat field that had been foliar sprayed with EkloGrow(r) Kelp Plant Stimulant. These plants not only survived a medium term drought spell but also yielded an acceptable harvest while the neighboring field, the non-treated camp, was bone dry and dead; not a kernel was harvested. 

This clearly illustrated the benefits of larger, deeper rooting systems obtained with the Ecklonia Kelp foliar spray at 1 qt /acre. The improved nutrient and moisture uptake capabilities thus obtained made the difference between growth and yield and premature senescence.

Crop insurance companies should take a close, hard look at the benefits and low costs of EkloGrow Ecklonia Kelp Plant Growth Stimulant. They stand to significantly gain from reduced crop pay-outs; no doubt about it!

Take it easy with the snow shovel.  SP

Good day.

It feels like a typical April day here in Pennsylvania. Wet, with temps in the 50′s. 

If this continues it could nudge perennials and trees out of their winter slumber to put out new, fresh growth. That would be disastrous as a following winter blast would lead to certain ‘vegetation termination’. We seldom call for cold weather but we need it now. In addition, we can do with some snow for the holiday season, right?

The desk is loaded, the ‘to-do’ tray full. Product to be shipped, both national and internationally.    We welcome our new clients based in Cameroon and look forward to receiving their experiences regarding Cambrian’s products applied to coconut groves in the near future.

Take care, SP

G’evening.

Its good, nay, necessary, to get out and about. It widens the vision and illuminates who and where we are.

During the past few years, a new day has dawned regarding food production and it’s about 10 am right now.   We are facing multiple new challenges and associated opportunities as this century matures.  No longer are our bodily nutrient requirements soley produced by regular applications of refined chemical compounds that produce bumper crops while slowly strangling soils.

In grandad’s day, plants obtained their nutrition solely from microbial activity present in healthy soils.    Cow dung and other locally obtained organic materials were regularly applied to fields; crops were healthy, displayed natural resistance and yielded nutritional crops. Very few allergies in those days, I’ve been told.

We know that plants cannot dine directly on cow patties; these require to be ’worked over’ by millions of tiny soil microbes. Soil microbial activity not only converts the nutrients locked up in this package into plant assimilable forms but, in the process of doing so, greatly adds microbial metabolic compounds to the soil.  Some ‘free’ plant food!

This practise was followed by the ‘new age’ concept of creating and using ‘plant foods’ rather than ‘soil foods’.  Plant foods are refined forms of plant nutrition that are directly available to plants for assimilation.   The results of solely feeding crops with such refined plant foods have now become clear.

The cycle is turning. With understanding and knowledge, we are regaining what we have lost. It’s going to be a sunny day.

Thanks for stopping by. SP

Thanks to great team work, Cambrian Biotech had a successful presence at the ACRES Conference in St Louis last week.

FEDEX delivered on time, our booth looked sharp and Bruce & I looked totally irresistible in our yellow Cambrian logo’d shirts.  The bowl of candy on the table assured that we got the attention of every next generation organic grower visiting this prestigeous international event. In fact, some even visited multiple times. Ever watch the faces of grown-ups when kids move in to take over? They all light up with broad grins – so did we!

An interesting comment was made as we departed the Hyatt Regency Station Hotel by the heavily over coated doorman. Not a youngster, he commented that he had never experienced such a pleasant group of people visiting his hotel - friendly, courteous and cooperative. It sure was a pleasure mingling with thousands of folks indiscriminately smiling and nodding ‘good morning’ at each other.

We met old friends and made a whole lot of new ones. Too many to recount but memories were made and bonds were established with growers, distributors and formulators alike. We look forward to contributing to the organic movement by being of service both on a technical level and as dependable bulk material suppliers.

We remained at our post until the last moment. When the lights flashed to signal the end of the enjoyable event, we dismantled and packed at a furious speed. It was not fast enough however; the result was that a connecting flight was missed and I had the pleasure of enjoying the home comforts of Atlanta airport from 8 pm to 9 am the following morning. Made friends with a number of the early morning cleaning crew. The benches however, were no match for my hard but comfortable mattress back home! All in the line of duty.

Our thanks go to all who visited, too many to mention; a few deserve a special word though –  Jim, Leonel, Terry, Nate, and Paula (of ACRES). We look forward to meeting you all again at next year ACRES event.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if we could be of service.

Home, sweet home..

Regards, SP

Well folks, the bags are stuffed and boxes heavy; all packing off to St Louis, MO tomorrow to attend and mingle with the organic like minded at the ACRES Conference. 

This a premier event, drawing visitors from around the globe. So different from just 5 years ago, there is no doubting the ‘power of going organics’ anymore!

The Cambrian Biotech team has burned late oil for this event; our thanks in particular go to Jack and his professional team at Black Out Design, Scranton, PA. for pulling through.

Bruce Keltner and I are exited and eagerly looking forward to meeting good friends such as Jim Anderson, of Seagrass Recovery Inc.  – Jim has got some real interesting ‘growing organic underwater’ experiences – and Leonel Fernandes, – Cambrians materials resource associate just back from South Africa  – at Cambrian Biotech booth, #12B

 An adventure is about to begin. Hope to see you there at the Hyatt Regency Converance Center, St Louis; anytime from Thurday 4th to Saterday 6th December. Please stop by for some candy and Ecklonia kelp talk. 

Back here Monday 8th to drop a blog note & mind the store with Julie.

Keep warm, SP.

A thought to share:

There are some aspects that need be considered when shipping, handling and using organic liquid concentrates such as natural fish emulsions, kelp concentrates and humates.

Unlike liquid chemical fertilizers; i.e. formulations which consist of one or a few purified chemical components, liquid organic formulations consist of a much wider spectrum of nutritional elements and organic molecules, i.e.  Vitamins, amino acids, trace elements, macro nutrients, gels and growth stimulants; a true organic ‘fertilizer soup’ one might say.

Some of these components are in true solution whereas others might be contained in a suspended form; all with varied molecular weights.

The effects of this is that such liquid organic concentrates tend to separate in layers of similar molecular weights within the bulk container after a certain shelf  period. A certain amount of sedimentation might also have occurred during a lengthy time period. To ensure a consistent product, it is therefore important to apply effective re-mixing of the bulk material prior to container filling and/or farm applications. ‘Shake, or stir well’ is a good idea.

Also, as any dairy farmer would attest; handling milk requires care & sensible handling and storing practices. For instance, we know that cool, clean environments are preferred to maximize shelf life of milk; the same applies to all organic liquid concentrates. Keep the lids closed and product cool. Organic liquids all require some form of stabilization; by exposing concentrated organic liquid concentrates to open air bug contamination under heat conditions could strain a delicate stabilization system.

And remember not to store diluted product; it has to be applied. Dilution also dilutes the stabilizer balance with potential odorous consequences!  Can’t blame the dog for that one!

Until next time, Take care, SP