The founder of Imio says some farmers are turning to biologicals to manage residue and reduce fertilizer costs.
Charles Smith says some products that enhance microbial activity can free up nutrients.
“A lot of farmers recognize their crop residue can have value.” He says, “With a group of microorganisms, we can unlock that nutrient value for them, and in doing so, help them to get more from what’s already out there on their land.”
He tells Brownfield unlocking those nutrients not only reduces input costs but can also reduce tillage passes and boost yields.
“Particularly in high residue, high productivity areas, we’ve seen farmers get as many as 20-bushel yield bumps on corn.” He says, “In soybeans, it’s more like 5 bushels per acre is kind of the average.”
However, he says not all biological products are created equally, so working with a trusted supplier is key, especially in today’s tight margin environment.
“There has been a reliability gap for a lot of biologicals.” He says, “We’re really focused on solving that reliability issue in biologicals. We use a freeze-drying methodology we’ve developed for each of the organisms in our Regen product. It’s much gentler for the microbes, so more of them wake up.”
Smith says any steps farmers can take to boost microbial activity should increase their soil health and have positive results for the bottom line.
