Latest News From Biological Advancements

As Rob Gibson, Certis Biologicals Global Portfolio Manager, says this partnership brings together the individual strengths, and the companies hope to have product approved in the market by September 2024.

Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists have tested a technology to make temporary genetic modifications in mosquitoes that may reduce risks associated with invasive genetic elements.

Bayer announced it will close the joint venture created between Leaps by Bayer and Ginkgo Bioworks in 2017. And moving forward, Ginkgo Bioworks will become a multi-year microbial strategic partner with Bayer.

Here is a guide to the products available in the corn and soybean markets.

This one-on-one with a leader in the biologicals industry details what's next for this growing market.

A non-selective contact herbicide, Harpe targets multiple sites of action including plant cell and organelle membranes. The products have multiple modes of action.

Before Bennett, the most successful heart xenotransplantation was an infant named Baby Fae who survived with a baboon’s heart for 21 days.

In the first quarter of 2022, Mosaic has a pair of announcements about its expanding biological product marketing and portfolio.

As Dr. Mike Canady, Director of Agronomy at Verdesian, explains, this is a unique product in the market with its combined components: 80/20 Talc and graphite blend, Micronutrients, and Biostimulants and metabolites

Delivering its biological payload via an easy-to-handle, single-liquid bladder, Lallemand’s LALFIX ProYield Liquid Soybean provides multi-action inoculation for soybeans.

Major investments are bringing more products to the field.

The 10 Row Crop Challenge startups were chosen by a panel of farmers that selected innovations based on their potential to address key problems in U.S. row crop agriculture.

Helm is highlighting three strategic product developments it has made that has it as a willing and ready supplier right now for ag retailers and farmers. 

With a focus on reducing environmental effects from nitrogen and phosphorous while maintaining or increasing crop yields, contestants were to formulate a concept and submit within a two-month window.

As CEO Amy Yoder explains, after striking a partnership with Novozymes, Anuvia’s SymTrx product will now be coated with Novozymes’ phosphate solubilizing microbial solution.

These biological products have the ability to increase germination, improve nutrient uptake, enhance nutrient-use efficiency and increase tolerance to and recovery from abiotic stresses.

“It’s early days for microbes to deliver on these promises, but we have set a product specification that we want to replace 40 to 50% of the nitrogen inputs,” says CEO Michael Miille.

Specific to row crops, biologicals have a 11% share of use in 2020 with sales of $400 million. By 2030, this is projected to rise to a 16% share and $1.9 billion in sales.

This upcoming season will be the first for Novozymes BioAg to return to a direct-to-customer relationship with retailers. The North American business results in almost 1/3 of the company’s sales revenues.

Pivot Bio introduces Proven 40, which is marketed to replace up to 40 lb. per acre of synthetic nitrogen. Also, the company closed $430 million Series D funding, to further expand its U.S. and international business.

“Our goal is to be the center of gravity for soil health. This is the beginning of a mega trend of a shift to regenerative ag and a focus on soil health,” says Peter Williams, MyLand CEO.

This year marks the company’s 20th anniversary as well as a rebrand from Certis USA to Certis Biologicals. Through its legacy companies, Certis traces its historic roots back more than 70 years.

In a partnership announced in mid-June, Alltech Crop Science and Helm Agro formed a new way to bring biologicals to market.

Lesaffre has a 160+ year history and is a key global player in fermentation. Since 2014, Agrauxine has been the business unit of Lesaffre focused on biosolutions for crops production and has built sales in 35 countries.

Gene Editing would help farmers manage and mitigate the risk of growing crops. Gene Editing tools aren’t new, they’re based on the same technologies that gave us COVID-19 vaccines.

With increasing resistance to pyrethroids, this bioinsecticide provides a new mode of action (Group 31) to control earworms. Its application timing is to target corn earworms at first appearance.

With the three-fold approach as a fungicide, CEO Darren Anderson says the product provides farmers with the confidence of a chemistry and the opportunities of a biological.

The past five years have been transformational for AMVAC, says Scott Hendrix, Senior Vice President, U.S. and Canada Crop Sales and Application Technology.

Mosaic announces two bio-based and microbe based projects with AgBiome and Sound Agriculture.

With a $2 billion euro investment every year in R&D, Bob Reiter provides these updates in key areas of Bayer’s pipeline and strategy:

Sam Taylor and Stephen Nicholson, both RaboResearch analysts, say while many would call these emerging technologies ‘disruptive,’ they prefer to think of them as evolutionary elements to agriculture.

Kenny Avery explains what its new investment partner in AEA Investors means for the business and what he wants ag retailers to know about working with Verdesian.

The company cites more than 90 Midwest field trials in 2020 showing Pacesetter plus fungicide out-yielding fungicide use alone.

Marjin Dekkers, former CEO of Bayer Ag and CEO of Thermo Fisher Scientific, joins AgBiome as the company chairman, effective Jan. 1, 2021. AgBiome develops products from microbes that target pest control.

While biologicals aren’t new to the ag industry, there is still trepidation about them. Farmers wonder if they work and what they actually do—all of which impacts their likelihood of trying these products.

One of the biggest goals for the Biostimulant Council will be to define and outline the needed process for the product category. 

“Every aspect of SCN works against you,” says Dair McDuffee, a seed treatment specialist with Valent. “Once you have it, take the bull by the horns.”

After joining Certis USA in February 2020, O’Shea became CEO in July. Here she shares insights on the biologicals market growth, and why now is a great time for retailers to engage.

There’s no silver bullet, but there's one key to unlock the sustainability journey with farmers—listen. That’s the lesson shared by Becky Jo Smith and Gibbs Wilson, sustainable solutions specialists at Valent.

AMVAC has acquired Agrinos, a privately-owned group of companies focusing on biological crop inputs, as well as received EPA approval for biological fungicide product.

Industry investment and scientific breakthroughs could help close the yield gap

Industry investment and scientific breakthroughs could help close the yield gap

For the past six years CNBC has created a “Disruptor 50” list, that features private companies with innovations changing the world. This year, three agricultural companies made the list.

For the past six years CNBC has created a “Disruptor 50” list, that features private companies with innovations changing the world. This year, three agricultural companies made the list.

Jimmy Frederick attributes 163.9 bu. soybeans to seed population, spacing and biologicals. Essentially, he says the booming yields were established when the planter rolled.