by Peter Wren-Hilton | Jun 6, 2024 | Platform10
I was delighted to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with New Zealand’s Plant & Food Research last week. Below is a copy of the Media Release that was published to support the signing.
Plant & Food Research has joined a global initiative looking at finding new ways to control plant pests and diseases.
The Platform10 initiative is an international collaboration that aims to speed up the development of new biological control products for protecting crops against pests and diseases. Plant & Food Research has joined the collaboration, which aims to conduct trials in New Zealand and Australia.
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Plant & Food Research CEO Mark Piper and Peter Wren-Hilton of Wharf42 on behalf of Platform 10.
“Platform 10 was formed to help give growers confidence in adopting new biological alternatives to pest and disease control as global regulations around pesticide use tighten,” says Peter Wren-Hilton. “By providing a mechanism for growers to engage at the research phase, through field trials, we hope to increase understanding and uptake of these new biological products. Plant & Food Research has a strong track record in developing biocontrols and taking them through to the commercialisation phase, so were the ideal partner for us in New Zealand, working in the counter season to our trials in the USA.”
“Growers and marketers are increasingly looking for new ways to manage insect pests and diseases on their land that are more environmentally sustainable,” says Miriam Hall from Plant & Food Research. “We’re excited to be working with Platform10 to support validation of new products at the research stage and help growers understand how they can transition to new management protocols that incorporate biological controls into their crop management.”
Platform10 emerged from the 2023 Salinas Biological Summit where it became apparent that a global framework to accelerate promising biopesticide companies, rigorously assess products, enhance grower confidence, and facilitate market development and adoption was required. Launched in California in November 2023, Platform10 was established to bring growers to the centre of the innovation ecosystem. Platform10 will provide other key stakeholder groups within the specialty crop sector with the opportunity of learning about these problems and challenges at first hand.
by Peter Wren-Hilton | Feb 20, 2024 | Platform10, Uncategorized
Yesterday, Wharf42 was pleased to host the first Platform10 Global Partner Network review in Perth, Western Australia.
On the eve of the 2024 evokeAG conference, we were delighted to be joined by Dennis Donohue & Jeana Cadby of Western Growers, together with biologicals doyen, Pam Marrone. We were also delighted to be joined by a stellar group of invited stakeholders from both Australia & New Zealand. Their time, inputs and observations were very much appreciated.
The session kicked off with a live ZOOM presentation by California Department of Food & Agriculture Secretary, Karen Ross. Karen is an awesome supporter of Platform10 and we really appreciated her spending part of her Sunday evening with the group in Perth. The joys of time-zones! Pam Maronne then provided an insightful 15 minute presentation covering some of the most significant current trends in the world of biologicals. It was fascinating to see so many moving parts and the significant role that Platform10 had to play.
It was then the turn of Dennis & Jeana to provide an overview of the Platform10 model. This included an update on the recent recruitment of 10 biopesticide companies and growers to the first US-based Platform10 cohort. This provided something of a template for future international engagement.
Following a short break, the delegates attending then provided their own thoughts and insights around the development of the Global Partner Network. These included important contributions around:
- the efficacy and importance of robust field trials
- the recruitment of an International Advisory Board
- the recognition of the need to engage growers, their advisors and regulators in the process
- the opportunity to leverage existing programs in Australia and New Zealand that support investigating alternative inputs
With plans for the launch of the Platform10 Global Partner Network slated for the 2024 Salinas Biological Summit (25-26 June), the contributions made at the session were invaluable. We’ll be maintaining the engagements started today to ensure that the vision and purpose of the Network is realised in Salinas.
It was a great start to what will be an epic two days of conversations and networking at evokeAG.
by Peter Wren-Hilton | Feb 2, 2024 | Platform10
I’m delighted that myself, representing Wharf42, and Dennis Donohue, Director, Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology have recorded our first 5 episodes of ‘The Grower Talks’ podcast series.
The podcast series is an important element of the Platform10 initiative. It has been designed to provide insights into the ‘less chemistry. more biologicals’ discussion which is currently taking place amongst growers everywhere. As regulators and consumers globally are driving this change, it’s important that the grower stays at the centre of the conversation. That’s the aim of ‘The Grower Talks’ podcast.
To-date, we have interviewed five awesome guests;
- CDFA Secretary Karen Ross
- Pam Marrone
- Carl Casale
- Don Cameron
- Josette Lewis
Recorded live in the Salinas studio, you can view them via YouTube, Spotify or Apple Podcast. And you can view them all here, right now! Platform 10 | The Global Specialty Crop Biological Platform
We are adding new podcasts every 10-14 days to this asset library. If you are looking to learn more about the conversation and the key role that growers will have to adopt these new inputs, it’s one page you should bookmark.
by Peter Wren-Hilton | Dec 12, 2023 | Platform10, Uncategorized
I was delighted to join Dennis Donohue and Jeana Calby of Western Growers for the formal launch of Platform10 at the Organic Growers Summit in Monterey, California, last week.
Platform10 is an international, multi-year collaboration that will accelerate promising biopesticide companies, rigorously assess products, enhance grower confidence, and facilitate market development and adoption.
Growers are up against mounting pest and disease challenges due to climate change, reduced efficacy, and diminishing availability of traditional pest control tools. The specialty crop industry in particular requires new crop input technologies due to governmental regulations and consumer demands. Bio-based and novel pest control options to address existing and anticipated gaps in pest management are sorely needed to ensure that our growers are properly equipped with the tools to address these challenges.
In Monterey, we had the opportunity to meet and speak to a number of growers. The response we got to the purpose of Platform10 was overwhelmingly positive. It clearly meets a very defined need. Wharf42 looks forward to helping develop this program through 2024 as we take the lead in building Platform10’s Global Partner Network to be launched at the 2024 Salinas Biological Summit in June.
It’s an awesome initiative and an awesome opportunity!
by Peter Wren-Hilton | Oct 27, 2023 | Platform10
It gives me a great pleasure to formally introduce you to Platform10, the most significant outcome generated by the 2023 Salinas Biological Summit.
Platform10 is an international, multi-year collaboration that will accelerate promising biopesticide companies, rigorously assess products, enhance grower confidence, and facilitate market development and adoption. Platform10 is being developed by Western Growers and ourselves at Wharf42.
Growers are up against mounting pest and disease challenges due to climate change, reduced efficacy, and diminishing availability of traditional pest control tools. The specialty crop industry in particular requires new crop input technologies due to governmental regulations and consumer demands. Bio-based and novel pest control options to address existing and anticipated gaps in pest management are sorely needed to ensure that our growers are properly equipped with the tools to address these challenges.
This new model to assess and accelerate biopesticide and bio-based pest control tools is intended to improve grower confidence and understanding for how to use biological products. Rigorous standards of efficacy including knockdown, crop damage, and increased yield/quality potential will be assessed. Additionally, effects on non-target organisms and soil health, replacement potential for traditional chemical pesticides, and appropriate application rate/use pattern will be considered. This program will work with product companies to design protocols, developed to assess how the product works when incorporated into a more integrated, ecologically based farming system.
Demonstrating successful product / solution outcomes through extensive field trials on grower properties is a key metric for Platform10. Over the next six months, Platform10 will be engaging with international partners to build out a multi-year program of activity. This will be formally launched at the 2024 Salinas Biological Summit next June.
Today, working with dedicated, targeted growers within the Western Grower network, the initial field trial program will be managed out of the Western Growers Center for Innovation and Technology in Salinas, California. This initial program, open to product companies anywhere, will be formally launched at the Organic Growers Summit in Monterey on 29-30 November.
Platform10 has targeted 5 key initial specialty crops with high priority diseases. They are;
Leafy Greens: INSV, Pythium, Thrips
Tomato: Beet leafhopper, Thrips and / or Tomato spotted wilt virus
Grape: Mealy bug, Powdery mildew, Botrytis
Strawberry / Other berries: Lygus bug, Macrophomina, Phytophthora
Citrus: Citrus thrips, Red scale
Product companies (of any size and from anywhere) who are;
- addressing the control of pests and diseases in the above crops where current traditional chemical solutions are at risk or have been removed;
- replacements for fumigants, where pest resistance is a serious problem;
- there are residue/MRL issues;
- the food channel buyers or export markets are asking to reduce or replace a particular chemical pesticide;
are asked to download the Platform10 RFP and apply to join the Program.
You can download the RFP here
