Washington-based Tidal Grow AgriScience launched its foliar-applied nitrogen technology — AlignN — that can improve nitrogen uptake for canola, corn, cotton, and wheat.
AlignN 18-0-0 is a bioengineered encapsulated urea fertiliser that bonds electrostatically to the crop, ensuring that nitrogen is not lost through leaching or runoff, the company shared in a press release. The fertiliser is designed for lower application rates and can be used in drones, ground equipment, and sprayers, the company added.
AlignN “is a very efficient way for farmers to apply nitrogen in season,” as the plant “does not require the energy to pull it up through the root system, then turn it into the right form of nitrogen,” Galynn Beer, VP of global sales for Tidal Grow, told AgTechNavigator.
Additionally, AlignN has “been put through its paces pretty heavily this year,” with Tidal Grow testing the product on 6,000 acres total as well as mixed with popular herbicides and pesticides, Beer noted. Testing how a fertiliser reacts with other products can be tricky, as farmers often mix multiple products into one jug and products can have different formulations depending on where they come from, he added.
“There is not even a set formula on some of these [products] because some of your chemicals come from other countries, like China, and some of them are produced locally. And so, some of the ingredients that go into those [jugs], they are just never all going to be the same,” he elaborated.
Tidal Grow is manufacturing AlignN as close to farmland as possible, with the product being available across the U.S, Beer said. Additionally, AlignN “is priced competitively with traditional nitrogen,” according to Tidal Grow.
The ag company is planning a global rollout of the product and will use the same tactics to launch the product in new regions, focusing on setting up manufacturing capacity close to farmlands, he added.
“We are not going to load our AlignN on a boat and send it over water. When we take that global approach, we are going to find where we are going, and we are going to make it there under this same type of model,” Beer elaborated.
He added, “Every step in transportation, you run the risk of a constraint, and to be quite honest, growers have experienced that the last few years. Last spring, there were some inventory issues and transportation issues with nitrogen. AlignN gives [farmers] a way to push that decision and that application in-season [and] spreads out that risk a little bit.”
Can crop input innovation provide relief for farmers?
Farmers are trying to reduce their input costs, given the “steady decline” in grain prices over recent years, which is pressuring operating margins, Beer explained. Spot corn and wheat prices are trading just slightly above their five-year low, closing at $4.25 and $222.67, respectively, for data accessed on Sept. 15.
“We are super good at producing supply, [and] the export markets have not kept enough demand in there to keep up. So, the consequence is fertiliser prices compared to the price of grains that farmers can market are really at historic high levels,” Beer said.
Nitrogen fertilisers are among the most widely used crop inputs, so reducing nutrient usage can save farmers money, Beer pointed out. This comes as U.S. trade policies are raising input costs due to U.S. trade policy and tariffs, as AgTechNavigator previously reported.
“AlignN will allow [growers] to say, ‘Hey, I’m going to do some soil-applied nitrogen, but I’m going to keep my working capital available. I’m going to keep the interest clock from running on me for a little bit here. I’m going to come back in season. I’m going to hit it with some AlignN in and at least a shift a little of that expense in season and see if these markets will correct a little bit,’” Beer elaborated.
