The Crane Friendly Trial 2026: A Season Update from Ivanhoe Farms

Background

The Crane Friendly trial has been running since Spring 2021 at Ivanhoe Farms in Impendle, KZN. Ivanhoe is a leading seed potato producer with an excellent reputation for the quality and vigour of their seed. The stated objective of the trial when we established it is as follows: "Running for several years from September 2021, the objective of this experimental trial is the research and development of methods for the production of high-quality certified potato seed using Regenerative Agricultural principles and minimal to zero inorganic/synthetic inputs."

The primary method by which we are trying to reach our objective is through the development of a nutrition and crop protection programme that prioritises soil health and plant health and significantly reduces the application of synthetic fertilisers and harsh chemical pesticides. The programme is built around our range of organic and biological soil and crop nutrition products, and Real IPM's microbial and organic biopesticides and crop protection products.

On the nutrition component, key products include SeaBrix, SeaBrixNPK, RealCal and MicrosZ to supply the soil biology and the potato crop with their needs, while on the crop protection side, products such as Real IPM's Real Bacillus, Real Trichoderma and MET69, among others, form the backbone of the pest management strategy.

There are other methods we would still like to explore for the remaining three seasons/plantings that are scheduled to run over the next three years, including the use of cover crops and managed intensive grazing (Ivanhoe runs a significant beef cattle herd as well), but we are aware of the importance of remaining focused and controlling the variables that we can without causing too much disruption to Ivanhoe's operations.

The 2025/26 Trial Block and Harvest

We planted Mondial for this season's trial. Mondial is a particularly susceptible variety to late blight and so provides an excellent test case for the methods we are trying to develop, as this disease is typically controlled through intensive chemical fungicide applications. It is important to note that over the course of the trial, we have never asked Ivanhoe not to spray fungicide on the Crane Friendly treatment if doing so would lead to a loss of the crop. What this has resulted in, though, is that over the years, the Crane Friendly block has received a much smaller application of chemical fungicide than the farm standard treatment, with a focus on using soil health and biological approaches to prevent and control the impact of late blight.

While not achieving the same total yield as the Farm Standard treatment over the course of the trial, the Crane Friendly treatment has consistently achieved excellent seed yields at a high quality and competitive cost. Part of what we believe explains the yield difference and cost benefit is the fact that the Crane Friendly treatment typically consists of a far lower application of synthetic fertiliser to the crop.

This trend was borne out again this year, where the farm standard treatment achieved a higher overall yield and greater percentage of large tubers than the Crane Friendly treatment, but the Crane Friendly treatment achieved a higher seed yield than the Crane Friendly block by both weight and count. The total yield, while less than the farm standard, was still acceptable.

Looking Ahead

We firmly believe that the most important figure is not yield, but profit, and we are excited by the idea that this trial is building a pathway towards profitable commercial potato production using more regenerative and ecologically sensitive methods. There is still much to learn, and we are excited by what we can still achieve and discover over the remaining years of the trial.