Planting a seed in the ground, tending the plant and harvesting it for food is something people have been practicing for generations. As the agriculture industry has been around for some time, it has seen its share of innovation throughout history. From equipment to practices to inputs, many farmers’ great-grandparents wouldn’t recognize some aspects of the industry today.
“We’re in a new frontier of potential with crop nutrition now as we’re learning more about how microbial interactions affect plant growth and health,” says Ross Bender, Ph.D., Director for New Product Development at The Mosaic Company. “The crop nutrition industry needs to continue to push itself to offer new products that help farmers meet their production and sustainability goals.”
Farmers are hearing demands everyday to grow more crops with fewer resources. As farmers look to answer the continually increasing demand for more food, new products are available that can help them get more out of their soil and more out of the nutrients they apply throughout the season — biologicals.
“With biologicals, we’re looking to help farmers be able to improve their nutrient use efficiency,” says Bender. “You have to have the nutrients the plant needs in place and available when it needs them.”
By supporting and amending the microbes already found in the soil, biologicals help to unlock nutrients and improve plant uptake. Bender adds that while biologicals and the results coming from their use are exciting, The Mosaic Company is continually looking for new opportunities to help farmers with research information, new resources and reliable tools.
While innovating and finding new products and updating practices is important, Mosaic works to ensure there is scientific data and research behind this work. Through the TruResponse™ global trials and testing platform, Mosaic provides detailed reports on varying conditions to show retailers and farmers how biological technologies work in the real world.
“We have a robust field trial program for all of our products — including biologicals,” says Bender. “And we’re always working on R&D to find the next thing that can bring the potential for more and better back to the farm.”