As Florida and the nation adapts to the COVID-19 pandemic, Florida Grower magazine is recognizing the important role businesses play in serving specialty crop producers in the state. This month, we are featuring David Carson, President of Plant City-based Chemical Dynamics.

Can you tell us a little about Chemical Dynamics history?

CARSON: Chemical Dynamics was founded in 1973 by my dad, W.B. Hap Carson, out of his home in Plant City. The company opened its first office on Reynolds Street in 1976 and later moved its offices and warehouses to the Plant City Farmers Market. Unfortunately, when the farmers market burned down in 1983, their operations were destroyed, but fortunately production was not. In October 1983, the company moved to its current 7-acre location in the industrial park near the Plant City Airport. I was named President of Chemical Dynamics in 1990 after 10 years with the company.

From a leadership standpoint, Hap was elected Chairman of the Board of the Florida Fertilizer and Agrichemical Association (FFAA) in 1990, a position I was elected to in 2000.

My son, Nathan, is joining the company this summer after earning a degree in agricultural economics at University of Florida, an MS degree in international agricultural economics from Purdue University, and a second MS degree from the University of Chicago in international relations. Nathan becomes the third generation of Carsons involved in the company.

David Carson

Chemical Dynamics does business not only in Florida, but in 12 Southeastern states including Maryland, and supports its products performance claims through considerable independent research from state universities and private researchers.

With all the attention on minimizing nutrient runoff, are you seeing an uptick in the types of products you offer that can help in that regard?

CARSON: Florida growers already are using best management practices, and that includes timely and a minimal volume of nutrients. Growers are very conscientious. Vegetable growers are applying nutrients through drip irrigation, using 60% to 80% split applications of nitrogen throughout the growing season. This eliminates leaching and runoff and gives the plant better utilization of plant food. Orange growers take a similar approach using microjets to keep nutrients in the zone with a balance of core nutrients and micronutrients to give the tree what it needs when it needs it.

An example of a nitrate-balanced soil amendment product manufactured by Chemical Dynamics and developed by American Ag is Citra-Guard, which can be a key part of a management strategy to overcome deficiencies due to HLB.

We also offer Dyna-Gro Citrite 779 foliar nitrate to the citrus industry. It has become the go-to foliar fertilizer for fast uptake of critical micro-elements to prevent and correct nutritional deficiencies.

How has COVID-19 impacted your operations and your customers?

CARSON: COVID-19 has impacted the Plant City Chemical Dynamics facility in terms of limiting the number of visitors. Weve set up many hand sanitizer stations and practice safe distancing.

Our customers felt the impact at vegetable harvest in late March and April when they were forced to dump their crops. Since then, our customers are working hard to bring things to some degree of normalcy and attempt to predict what production activities might look like in the future.

One good outcome is that consumers are drinking more orange juice, so volume and pricing have risen, which really helps our citrus growers.

How do you work with customers to fine-tune their nutrient programs on their farms?

CARSON: Possibly the most valuable service we can provide our customers stems around our absolute commitment to quality control at our plant. We have a long-standing reputation for delivering the product to exact specifications, and we achieve that by testing incoming materials and outgoing products. We also provide customer support through consulting, recommendations for soil and plant testing, and ongoing research of our products. Thats why we say Our Business is to Help You Grow.

Giles is editor of Florida Grower, a Meister Media Worldwide publication. See all author stories here.

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Chemical Dynamics Digs in to Help Others Keep Growing - Growing Produce