Episode 188: Eliminating Ground-Applied Urea with Mike Omeg

Mike Omeg is a fifth-generation farmer who grew up on a diverse family farm in Oregon, initially producing cherries, hay, cattle, apricots, apples, and wheat. Over time, he honed in on fresh cherry production. He is currently the Director of Orchard Operations at Orchard View Cherries. Drawing on decades of tree-fruit experience and driven by a vision to keep his operation thriving for the next 100 years, Mike has spent the last 13 years collaborating closely with Advancing Eco Agriculture to challenge the conventional .

Currently, Mike is implementing management practices to maintain high cherry yields while drastically reducing input costs . He has completely eliminated dry nitrogen ground applications, shifting toward targeted fertigation and carbon-based energy sources to optimize tree metabolism . By focusing on biological precision and custom blends, he is growing firmer, higher-quality fruit while successfully testing new methods to control severe powdery mildew pressure without relying on conventional fungicides .

In this episode, John and Mike discuss:

How eliminating dry nitrogen ground applications improved overall tree health and nutrition .

Boosting calcium absorption by 45% using Advancing Eco Agriculture custom blends .

Turning large cherry crops into high-yield, premium-sized fruit while lowering harvest labor costs .

Utilizing carbon and targeted sugars as energy sources to expand leaf size and drive tree vigor .

Testing AEA's Pinion to manage severe powdery mildew without applying conventional fungicides .

Maintaining a strict twenty-dollar-per-acre budget for foliar applications .

Supporting multi-year crop loads without sacrificing branch strength or tree vitality .

Additional Resources

To listen to the podcast episode featuring Jim Dunlop, please visit: https://advancingecoag.com/podcast/episode-183-overcoming-the-ammonium-death-spiral-with-jim-dunlop/