PACIFIC GRO FISH FERTILIZER FACTS 2006 - 2008

Winter 2007

Pacific Gro attended an organic fertilizer workshop where the primary goal was to present concepts and actual applications of 3 specific organic plant/soil enhancement products, (1) Pacific Gro fish, (2) Humic Acid, and (3) soil enhancing Microbes. We also covered the interplay of all of these as a fertilization system.

Attendees included people from a National Fertilizer Company, a Fertilizer Contractor with 75,000 acres under contract, and Idaho farmers and agricultural specialists. The fish portion of the workshop showed the following results of fish in general and Pacific Gro in some specifics as applied during the 2006 growing season and the comparison of it to 8 other major fish product brands previously used/tested by the Contractor.

Pacific Gro Standard (Liquid) Fact Sheet

1. Pacific Gro has a distinct price advantage as it is manufactured on the West Coast and can normally be delivered in the 11 Western States for less than $4/Gallon. This allows the farmer to apply it by the ton rather than by the diluted gallon/acre due to cost per/gallon barriers.
2. Most often fish is applied according to budgets not as needed by the soil. If fish fertilizer were priced lower a larger amount would be applied. With the recent spiraling increases in fossil fuels fish fertilizers are now more in line with conventional fertilizers.
3. The marketing of fish fertilizers is difficult when approaching long-term conventional farmers. NPK is the only thing they discuss when talking bang for the buck for fertilizing their crops. That is why many of them have to keep increasing the application rate on their farms as their soils are not balanced and the mineral up take is not efficient. On the other hand Organic farmers have had to learn about the things that make good plant products by using a balanced soil. Hence they know NPK is many times misleading and are not deceived into thinking only NPK
4. Pacific Gro is manufactured using a cold process rather than a hot process. This allows more nutrients and bacteria to survive the processing that in turn allows much quicker reactivity. (Almost immediate microbial activity within the soil resulting in quicker mineral uptake by the plant) Normal specific gravity of the product is >8.8 lbs/gallon. Our salmon have a normal NPK of 2.5-0.7 ?0.3. We are capable of blending if a customer wants to add ingredients and cost. For instance, fish emulsion (a hot process) marketed by many long time fish product companies is really a side product of fish meal/fish oil production. It usually has higher nitrogen content (up to 6%), and lower oil content, but is a product of evaporation-which needs high temperatures to concentrate the product. Hence, the reactivity when applied to the soil is slow, as some of the natural nutrients and bacteria have been killed by the heat.
5. Cold processing generally does not create an opportunity for the protein, or amino acid chains to break down. This allows a better assimilation of cold processed fish fertilizers into the plants and soil microbes
6. Pacific Gro does not extract the oils. Thus allowing the omega 3 complexes to be available to the plant and microbes. Thereby making a more healthy plant.
7. Pacific Gro has proven to be a very good organic fertilizer/soil amendment, but also has been used to assist conventional fertilizers by balancing the soil and allowing a more efficient uptake of the conventional fertilizer product. .
8. Pacific Gro can be applied in the fall for a ?just in time? fertilizer for the spring growth period without losing any nutrient values. This is in part due to the oils that lock the product into the root zone rather than allow it to gas off to the atmosphere, or leach through the root zone.
9. Pacific Gro has the lowest sodium content of 8 major brands used/tested by the fertilizer contractor. This helps control the salts going into the soil.
10. Pacific Gro has one of the lowest aluminum contents of 8 major brands. This helps control the metals going into the ground, which allows the microbes to better balance the soil.
11. Pacific Gro has high calcium content. This allows lower density soil crusting which in turn allows less sprout stress.
12. Pacific Gro has good conductivity while working in the soil. This shows energy that can be transferred to plants and soils.
13. Pacific Gro has shown an increase of brix levels in potato plants from 11 to 13.5 in 26 hours, and from 13.5 to 15.2 in 48 hours. This is directly related to the reactivity of the cold processed fish fertilizer. *Note-it has been found that many plants with brix readings in excess of 13 are more healthy and many of the small insects cannot, or do not ingest sugars well, thereby making the plant resistant to many harmful insects and many diseases. In other words, fish with some fish oil provides a better immune system for the plant.
14. Pacific Gro is not blended with any additives. It is pure fish with a sulfuric acid stabilization of + 3.5 pH. Straight fish allows quicker activity by not having multiple menu items for the soil/microbes to assimilate.
15. Pacific Gro is consistent and high quality as 90% comes from a year around single species source. (Atlantic Salmon)
16. Pacific Gro is listed as an Organic Fertilizer/Soil Amendment with WSDA. Washington State Department of Agriculture.
17. Pacific Gro has been chosen as the prime fish fertilizer to be applied by the Contractor. He uses it for Organic crops as well as in combination with conventional fertilizers. When fish is used with a conventional fertilizer, it allows the minerals to have a faster uptake, and a more efficient uptake. He is not applying it to the total acreage under contract, but has used up to 200,000 gallons per year and expects to increase that in 2009.
18. Pacific Gro can be stored up to 13 months (depending on extremes in weather conditions) with an occasional mixing.
19. Two basic ingredients necessary for plants to grow healthy are fish and a good compost. Since compost can?t be applied conveniently to large acreage, humic acid derived from compost and/or leonardite have proven to be an excellent fertilizer/soil amendment growth system. It has proven to be replicable year after year. By adding some specialized microbes, the system is even better. The fertilizer contractor has learned during the past 30 years that there is no silver bullet to proper fertilization, but the combination of the above 3 items have come very close to giving annual increased productivity/quality and increased income to his clients.
20. Remember, the Indians did not put a fish under their corn for just nitrogen. They knew a balanced soil was necessary. Fish is the most complete natural and affordable fertilizer known to this world.
21. During the production years of fall of 2004-to fall of 2008 Pacific Gro has processed in excess of 18 million lbs of fish waste into fish fertilizer products. During the month of August 2006, Pacific Gro delivered 110,000 gallons. Much of our deliveries were used as the main component by other organic fish fertilizer companies. They know it is very good. Pacific Gro has the supply to process up to 1.4 million gallons of fish fertilizer per year.
22. It was not uncommon for the Fertilizer Contractor to apply up to 17 gallons of humic acid @ $1.87/gallon, 3 gallons of soil microbes @ 1.50/gallon, and up to 30 gallons of fish fertilizer @ $ 1.97/gallon to potato, hay, and other row crops per acre. They normally shoot for <$100/acre for most crops. Lawn/Turf products received up to 50 gallons of fish fertilizer per acre. In all cases they would apply more fish if budgets allowed.
23. Specifically In potatoes they have found that their fish/humic/microbe plant growth system has consistently provided a more uniform growth of spuds. Less large (oversized) and small (undersized) resulting in higher values per unit. Other crops have similar performance.

1. The spike has fish, shrimp, crab, Mychorrhiza, kelp, algae, soft rock phosphate, humates, binders, and small amounts of alfalfa meal.
2. We are able to custom make the spikes for breakdown rates (dissolution into meal) by altering the binders. Some clients want a full growth cycle for plants (190 days), some want a shorter cycle to adjust to the changes during the growth cycle from plant to fruiting cycles.
3. We are also able to adjust the moisture content of the spike. Some growers want them to go to work immediately, therefore a moisture content of +/- 18% is good, some want shelf life, therefore a moisture content of <10% is required. Generally all spikes directed to retail will have a <10% moisture content.
4. We are able to customize the size of the spike. Our standard unit is 1? diameter X 6? long and is hexagonal in shape. We have made them ?? in diameter X 2? long for the household market. And, we have made some 1/5? in diameter X ?? long (wafer)
5. Our spikes are ready to go to work; therefore, it is best to get them in the ground as they do have a unique odor.
6. Our first negative experience was when the landscapers planted the spikes in various landscaped areas around homes and the homeowner?s dog, cats, squirrels, and raccoons dug them up and ate them. We are now investigating an odor product that will help eliminate the attractiveness for animals.
7. We can offer these products in small quantities 5 per vacuum packed package, small tubs 36 count, five gallon bucket approximately 300 count, and bulk by the lb... We are also getting some small diameter units in small packages for the home plant market.

• Our benchmark trial was with Wyomatoes, an organic tomato grower in Wyoming. His tomatoes, when fertilized with our spikes, were able to match the plant physiology of his standard fertilization program, with the extremely important fact that our Ca was able to satisfy the tomato plants requirement without constant feeding of a liquid Ca that was necessary in his normal fertilization program. All of this and he would have saved up to $8,000 per year on fertilization costs using our product.
• Rounding out the other trials/test showed our only negative complaint was for animals digging up the landscape applied units.
• Some of the Garden Centers suggested that the odor should be masked
• Across the board, the spikes performed beyond expectations. Most gardeners suggested their gardens and fruits were significantly better and larger.
• Most people who used them on ornamentals suggested that the plant physiology as well as the flower quality was much improved.
• People who used them on trees suggested that they were able to see significant changes in foliage.
• One farmer used them on new plantings of sweet cherry trees and found that by July he could prune the excessive growth, and then again in September he was able to prune again. He is wondering if he was able to get two years growth in one year. He is anxious for the next year to come.