“In addition to his customer-oriented approach and passion for innovation, Michael is a licensed PCA, which is a critical requirement for California, and has worked on all aspects of growing, from irrigation to pest control, fertilizers and more,” said Ian Collinson, sales manager at BVT. “His extensive experience working with growers throughout the US and doing field research and demonstration trials will be powerful in growing BVT’s presence in this market.”
“It’s getting harder and harder for growers to get ahead, especially here in California where we have a number of environmental issues and increasing regulations,” Emrick said. “BVT, with its natural precision agriculture system, offers a sustainable solution that will help them thrive in the changing market conditions.”
California is BVT’s largest, most crop-diverse opportunity in the US, with 1.3 million(1) acres of key crops for the Company to target. This includes strawberries, blueberries, caneberries and almonds. The largest state in terms of cash farm receipts, California represents over 1/3 of vegetable and 2/3 of fruit and nut production in the US.(2) It also exports over $20 billion worth of crops a year (40% of total production),(3) much of which goes to countries with limits on pesticide residue, which makes products like CR-7 highly attractive.
“I see a clear fit and big opportunities for BVT here in California,” Emrick said “It will help growers with sustainable farming practices, and improve their crop operations through better disease management and improved yields. I’m impressed with the amount BVT invested in R&D and their extensive patent portfolio. The management team has a depth of agriculture knowledge, experience and passion for the space that’s heartening, and I’m excited to be joining a team with such innovative technology.”
As BVT continues its entry into worldwide berry and almond markets, new hires like Emrick will propel growth. “Our California strategy includes initial market penetration, customer retention and expansion through exceptional customer service, and leveraging the initial experiences to gain new customers,” Malik said. “Michael will introduce BVT technology throughout the state and pursue contracts with new growers for the next season, focusing on prominent early adopters who are influencers in their communities.”
(1) Source: USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service
(2)(3) Source: California Department of Food and Agriculture
BVT, an agriculture technology company, is a market disruptor with a significant global market opportunity in the $240 billion crop protection and fertilizer market. BVT has pioneered a natural precision agriculture system that replaces chemical pesticides and wasteful plant protection product spray applications by delivering biological pesticide alternatives to crops using commercially grown bees.
BVT’s award-winning technology, precision vectoring, is completely harmless to bees and allows minute amounts of naturally-derived pesticides (called biologicals) to be delivered directly to blooms, providing improved crop protection and yield results than traditional chemical pesticides – and improving the health of the soil, the microbiome and the environment.
Currently, BVT has over 65 granted patents, over 35 patents pending in all major agricultural countries worldwide, and has US EPA registration of its Vectorite with CR-7 (EPA Registration No. 90641-2) for sale as a registered biological fungicide for use on the labeled crops.
Additional information can be viewed at the company’s website.
p forward in pursuing the enormous opportunity that California represents that will further accelerate our revenue growth in this market.”
