After a lifetime under the Californian sun, Andrew Blume, Business Development Manager at Ceragen, has taken a bold leap across the country to Michigan, a move both personal and strategic. "After spending nearly my entire life in California, my family and I are thrilled to relocate to Michigan," Andrew shares. "We were ready for a change of pace and excited to experience the rhythms of all four seasons." But beyond the lifestyle shift, the move signals a deeper alignment with Ceragen's operational goals: "Professionally, the move strategically places me closer to Leamington, Ontario, arguably the most important hub for commercial greenhouse production in North America."
Andrew's enthusiasm is unmistakable when discussing his new role closer to the field. "Getting more practical field time is one of the things I'm most excited about. There's no substitute for being in the greenhouse, seeing the crop, and talking directly with growers. This hands-on approach enables Ceragen to respond quickly, build deeper relationships, and better support the complex needs of advanced greenhouse operations."
Building relationships and seeing results
And those grower relationships are already bearing fruit, literally and figuratively. "Nearly 20 growers are applying our microbes on about 55 acres of commercial greenhouse production," Andrew explains. While still in the trial phase, these early partnerships signal strong momentum.
One standout example is Ceragen's own 2-acre greenhouse in Elmira, Ontario. "There we are running trials, selling tomatoes under a large marketer, and most importantly, learning every day. Ceragen's demo greenhouse helps us think like operators and better align with growers' day-to-day realities."
© Andrew Blume, Ceragen
Going into more detail
A big focus of Ceragen's innovation is its flagship product, ACCelerate. "It's a microbe that produces an enzyme called ACC deaminase," he explains. "This mode of action helps regulate the plant's ACC ethylene stress pathway so the plant can keep production up after stress events like heat, cold, salinity, or other hardships. Interestingly, Ceragen's best results come when growers are facing greater challenges."
Navigating the biologicals market comes with its own challenges, though. "While many growers intuitively understand the importance of plant-microbe interactions, there is a lot of justified skepticism in the marketplace around microbial products. Growers often tell me this category has over-promised 'silver bullet' solutions that ultimately under-delivered."
Business moves
That skepticism has shaped how Ceragen approaches new relationships. "What I'm seeing is a 'show me' situation," Andrew says. "Growers are genuinely open to biologicals and are willing to run a trial, but before they will make a purchasing decision, they need the real data generated at their farm to support ROI calculations."
Looking ahead, the Ceragen team isn't slowing down. "We also have a product for leafy greens which focuses on nutrient uptake," he reveals. "And a new cucumber product that will be available in the US later this summer." Early results have been promising: "We are particularly excited about the cucumber product as it substantially increased the yield and count of cukes in our small-scale trials."
For more information:
Ceragen
Andrew Blume, Business Development Manager
andrew.blume@ceragengrow.com
www.ceragengrow.com