Many U.S. farmers are giving ag biologicals another chance, as they search for solutions backed by science and industry standards to offset rising fertiliser prices, Colton Moon, president of Redox Bio-Nutrients, told AgTechNavigator.
Redox is a supplier of biostimulants, including a blend of calcium and silicon nutrition, Mainstay Si, and Mainstay Calcium 2.0, which are certified by The Fertilizer Institute (TFI), Moon explained. TFI is an industry standard that confirms the composition, efficacy, and safety of a product and has been awarded to Si earlier this month and Calcium 2.0 last year, as AgTechNavigator previously reported.
U.S. farmers are facing a challenging environment with high input prices and market volatility, as they seek to increase yields and reduce costs, Moon explained. Ag biologicals offer an opportunity for farmers to do both things, while also providing environmental benefits, he added.
“If a grower can go out with 50% less nitrogen and still maintain or grow yield with that same amount of nitrogen, ... that changes agriculture entirely. And you can be more efficient with trucks on the road. You can drive fewer trucks, [and have] less leaching and volatilisation because you are applying less ─ less nitrate is going into those water wells ─ because the plant is utilising the nitrogen it has more efficiently,” Moon said.
On a larger scale, countries that are dependent on importing fertilisers, like Brazil, can reinforce their supply chain and bolster food security by using biostimulants, Moon noted. Brazil is already a major market for biologicals.
“Brazil imports 90% of all its fertilizer. They want to be less reliant on that in the agricultural space. If you could be 50% less reliant on [importing fertiliser] and get the same yield or better yield, that would be something that, as a country, they would be excited about. And I know a lot of other countries, big [and] small, are in that same space,” he elaborated.
Biologicals’ demand grows globally
Looking ahead, Redox is working to expand its U.S., Europe, and Asia presence, the majority of its business, Moon explained.
To support growth, Redox will be opening a 1,700 square-foot lab in Burleigh, Idaho, that will research and verify more biostimulant products, he added. Additionally, the biostimulant company has two pending patents on products for nitrogen efficiency and optimization, he added.
While it is the largest market for many industries, the U.S. lags behind Latin America, Europe, and Asia in biological acceptance, Moon noted. However, this means the U.S. “has the largest upside,” he added.
“Bio-stimulants are necessary for agriculture worldwide, from a nutrient efficiency standpoint, from the very variability in weather standpoint, [and] from water efficiency, all those are very important for the future of agriculture,” Moon said.
