Interest in ag biologicals remains strong, as farmers seek products to manage residue and address pesticide and herbicide resistance. But this is not the first time the biological industry has been around the hype cycle.
Biologicals – whether they are biofertilisers, biopesticides or biostimulants – have been touted for decades as tools for sustainable farming, allowing growers to move away from synthetic crop inputs.
During the previous hype cycle, ag biological companies hit the market, but many failed to live up to their promise, Andy Rice, field marketing manager for row crops and Eastern sales strategy at Summit Agro USA, told AgTechNavigator.
“Historically, there have been fairly low barriers to entry in this space. And so it has allowed a lot of people and companies to bring things to the market that sound really good, but performance maybe was there and then dropped off, consistency was not there, or performance just did not come as promised,” Rice elaborated.
A changing ag biologicals industry
This dynamic changed over the years, as ag companies educated growers on how to use biologicals and their benefits, Eric Tedford, R&D manager for Summit Agro USA, told AgTechNavigator. Farmers “are accepting biologicals because they are playing a role in terms of resistance management and reduction of residues,” Tedford said.
Ag biological companies also improved their means of testing, ensuring products deliver a tangible on-farm benefit, explained Rice. “Ground truthing these products has never happened quicker in our lifetimes,” Rice emphasized.
“It is getting so easy to use some of these different tools ... and use products that are truly data-driven by companies that want to be in business for longer than five to seven years and just sell the company. These are products for folks that are really looking to sustainably push the future of ag,” Rice elaborated.
Summit Agro USA launches BioPowered portfolio
Summit Agro USA is tapping into the demand for biological crop inputs through the launch of its BioPowered portfolio, which leverages “the power of biological chemistries to achieve higher yields, reduce risk, maintain healthier fields and improve profitability,” the company shared in a press release.
“I do not think [biologicals are] just the flavor of the month. This is where we are going, and this is the way it will be. And certainly, California is a good predictor for that because they want to get rid of synthetic chemistry completely.”
Eric Tedford, R&D manager for Summit Agro
Currently, the BioPowered portfolio includes the company’s fungicides Regev and Regev HBX, as the company works to develop other products, Rice explained. Summit Agro USA is working to develop biologically derived actives, including for its fungicides Timorex Act and Aviv, insecticide Seican, and bio-stimulants Tarma and Spurt into BioPowered products.
“Our mission is to really try to drive this space with products that fit into that BioPowered strategy, and that is to take data-driven molecules and really combine them into effective tools that farmers and consumers and agronomists can rely on,” Rice elaborated.
Additionally, Summit Agro USA is expanding Reggev use to treat red blotch on almonds, powdery mildew and botrytis for grapes, and apple scab on palm and stone fruits, Robyn Lawson, field marketing manager for specialty crops and Western sales strategy at Summit Agro USA, noted.
What role do regulations play in promoting biologicals?
Beyond the benefits of ag biologicals, regulations are starting to pop up that are targeting synthetic pesticides, Tedford noted.
“I do not think [biologicals are] just the flavor of the month. This is where we are going, and this is the way it will be. And certainly, California is a good predicator for that because they want to get rid of synthetic chemistry completely,” Tedford elaborated.
Under the Biden administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed to ban most use of chlorpyrifos, excluding 11 feed and food crops, due to concerns around infant health. Hawaii was the first state to ban chlorpyrifos in June 2018, while California gave farms until the end of 2020 to give up their use of the pesticide, according to the non-profit advocacy organization Environmental Working Group.
Additionally, environmental lawyer turned Secretary of the Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) long advocated for restricting ag chemicals. However, RFK Jr. pulled back on restricting ag chemicals in the much-anticipated Make America Healthy Again report, as AgTechNavigator previously reported.
