The Agronomic Vision and Plan at GCC by Gabriel Chait
Coffee farms are complex ecosystems that incorporate a diversity of flora and fauna into productive environments that are just right for the coffee tree to thrive. These systems are reliant on a delicate balance between soils, light exposure, water flow, nutrient cycling, pollination, and many other interdependent factors. At GCC, our agronomy philosophy focuses on deeply understanding and working with the natural conditions of our farms in the region, consistently applying the best practices in the present, while innovating, planning, and investing in the future.
As we grow our operations and expand our farms we are keenly aware of the work we must undertake to maintain this balance and grow the highest quality coffees our farms can produce. We will continue to innovate and adapt our approach as we learn from the land and the results of our agronomic practices harvest to harvest. We have begun this process by implementing an agronomy system that is predicated on using innovative methods and technologies to minimize negative impacts while building a base for regenerative cycles to take hold.
Through our investments in state of the art wet mills, we are reducing our water usage from 40 liters to 3 liters of water per kilogram of parchment we produce, significantly diminishing our need to pull resources from our watershed. We have begun to roll out a micrografting program of our best new varieties, increasing our future yields while reducing the need for fertilizer and pest control. We have partnered with our fertilizer provider to use highly specific soil sampling to ensure that we only apply the necessary inputs for our plants health, again reducing any overflow of external factors in the greater ecosystems of our farms.
Our agronomic vision and plan is long term, and we are dedicated to seeing it through at every step of the pre- and post-harvest cycles in the years to come. Our team is comprised of experienced agronomists who have a long history of working in the region, and is growing as we incorporate new, young talent to expand our reach. We are working with our neighboring producers to collaborate and share best practices, developing a community of farmers sharing a greater ecosystem that we will work together to maintain and support. As we do so we constantly keep an eye on the best practices being developed around the world for high quality coffee ecosystems, and will bring these lessons into our innovation strategy, as possible. We know that our practices will yield significant long term benefits for our farms and for GCC, as the balance we aim to maintain reaches its full potential and we are able to capitalize on our early interventions in many harvests to come.