We don't sell fertilizer
No commission from any brand. The recommendation comes from your lab results, not from what we'd like to move.
About us
Advice that earns nothing from what it recommends.
Independent agronomy in Fresno, with soil and water tests before any fertility plan.
The line we hear most on a new farm: "We've always put this on, ever since my dad farmed it."
Our approach
You don't guess at soil. You test it.
Taproot started from something farmers treat as normal: the person advising you is the same person selling you fertilizer. When the one writing the recommendation gets paid on what they recommend, the rate always tends to creep up.
- Fully independent: we don't sell inputs or represent any brand.
- Able to cover consulting, irrigation, fertility, pest management and food safety.
- Predictable: a written plan with rates, a calendar and an estimated cost.
Three moments in every season
-
Test
Soil, water and tissue before deciding what to apply.
-
Irrigate
Measured uniformity and scheduling by crop stage.
-
Feed
Rates by block, with the estimated cost out in the open.
What we solve
It almost always starts with one of these.
We start from what's actually worrying the grower, not from a list of services.
Pick a situation to see how we'd handle it.
My advisor is the one selling me fertilizer.
We don't sell inputs. Your plan comes from the lab results, and you buy wherever you want, at whatever price you can get.
View related serviceI've never had a soil test done.
That's step one. It almost always turns up something you've been over-applying for years, and that one fix usually pays for the service.
View related serviceOne block yields less and I don't know why.
We measure flow along the laterals. It's common for the end of the line to get half the water without anyone noticing.
View related serviceA load got rejected for residues.
Every market has its own limits and its own banned list. We choose products for the destination and log the pre-harvest interval on every application.
View related serviceThe audit is coming and my records aren't ready.
Records get built during the season, not in the two weeks before. We set up the system starting with the first spray.
View related serviceI'm losing too much fruit between the field and the packing shed.
It's almost always three spots: bins sitting in the sun, bruising when fruit is dumped and slow trips to the cooler. Logistics fixes it.
View related serviceI explain it to the crew and they still do it differently.
Training has to happen with the tool in hand, on a real plant. A slideshow doesn't change how anyone prunes.
View related service Your season, step by step
From the first visit to the season wrap-up.
Every stage has a point where you can review and decide.
- Visit
- Lab tests
- Plan
- Season
- Harvest
- Wrap-up
How we work
Five steps every season.
The same order on fifteen acres of vegetables and on five hundred acres of blueberries.
- 01
Field visit
We walk the field, check the crop block by block, dig soil pits to look at the roots and see how the water is actually getting there. A diagnosis made from a photo or over the phone is an expensive guess.
- 02
Lab tests
We pull soil samples by block and a sample of your irrigation water, and send them to the lab. Without those two results there's no fertility plan: what one block is short on, the next one may have too much of, and salty water changes the whole recommendation.
- 03
Season plan
You get the plan in writing: rates per acre, an application calendar, irrigation scheduling and the checkpoints for the season. It includes an estimated cost, so you know what you'll spend before you start.
- 04
In-season support
The plan adjusts to what happens in the field: a frost, a pest flare-up or a price swing means making corrections. We visit on the agreed schedule and leave a report after every visit, with what we saw and what needs to happen next.
- 05
Season wrap-up
At the end of the season, we compare the plan with what actually happened: yield per acre, cost per pound and what went wrong. That report is what makes next season better than the last one.
Why TAPROOT?
What you'll find here.
It's not just about higher yields. It's about knowing what every pound you harvested cost you.
Lab tests before the plan
Soil and water go to the lab every time. Without those results, any fertilizer program is a shot in the dark.
We walk the field
We dig soil pits and check block by block. We don't diagnose from a photo or over the phone.
A report after every visit
What we saw and what needs to happen goes in writing, with a date. Nothing depends on someone's memory.
We talk cost per pound
At the end of the season, we compare the plan with the harvest. Higher yields don't help if you don't know what they cost.
We train your crew
Your field crew carries out the plan. If they don't understand the why, the plan doesn't get followed.
0 Fertilizer products we sell No commission from any brand, so the recommendation answers only to your crop.
8 Field services Four in crop management and four in testing and support.
2 Lab tests before any plan Soil and water, every time. Tissue tests are added depending on the crop.
Who we are
Who we are, in six answers.
What's worth knowing about Taproot before the first visit.
What we do
Crop consulting, drip irrigation, fertility, pest management, lab testing, food safety audits, postharvest and crew training.
Where we're strongest
Measured irrigation uniformity and fertility plans built block by block, not for the whole field at once.
Who we work with
Small family farms, export growers, and nurseries and greenhouses.
The problem we solve
Making sure growers know what they're applying, why they're applying it and what each harvested pound cost.
How we do it
A field visit, soil and water tests, a written plan with rates and support all season long.
What sets us apart
We don't sell anything we recommend. The only way we win is when your farm does.
Next step
Book a field visit.
We'll walk the crop and tell you what can be improved this season and what's better left for next.