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Today, World Food Day, is a good time to reflect on the roles each one of us plays in preventing hunger, whether by improving food systems to make them more sustainable (the theme of this year’s World Food Day), ensuring better, more equitable access to food, or simply reducing food waste at home.

Currently, food production is at a level that can meet the world’s needs, yet 842 million people around the world still go hungry. In the coming decades, when the world population is expected to rise dramatically it will take major commitment and innovation across industries and at multiple levels to make sure we all have enough to eat, and access to it.

As a manufacturer of sustainable biochemical crop inputs, our goal is to help growers increase production, while also producing more efficiently to reduce their environmental footprint. It’s the role Agricen is playing to help feed a growing world, and one part of the equation of helping to make the food system more sustainable. Watch the video below or view our resources page to learn more about how our biochemical technology is improving production agriculture.

As summer fades, many growers around the country are starting to think about how to best implement and manage their fall dry fertilizer programs. Before the spreaders take to the field, growers will need to answer a number of important questions, from “What type of fertilizer to choose?” to “Am I trying to maintain or build nutrient levels in the soil?”

The majority of growers who apply dry phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) fertilizers in the fall will also have two other major concerns:

• What amount of applied fertilizer will become or remain available to the crop in the following growing season?
• How can I get better first-year recovery out of my fall dry fertilizer application?

One way for growers to answer these questions and make management decisions is by understanding the efficiency of P and K fertilizers. In this blog, we will talk more about P and K fertilizer efficiency and about some ways to help growers get better first-year nutrient recovery.

Satisfying the Nutrient Demands of Hybrid Corn: Are We Doing Enough?

Even though the use of commercial inorganic fertilizers has risen dramatically in the past 50 years to try to meet the nutrient demands of hybrid corn, soil test information from the International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI) suggests that growers are not keeping up with P and K demands of new high-yielding corn varieties.

Today, a 200-bushel corn crop requires 256 units of nitrogen (N), 103 units of P, and 263 units of K (these units take into account NPK in corn residue).¹ But as grain production increases, the demand for NPK also increases. In spring and summer seasons with ample moisture, corn yields can surpass the 200 bushel/acre mark by as much as 20-50 bushels/acre, leading to a drawdown of soil P and K levels because the fertilizer application was calculated and applied for the 200 bushel/acre yield.

To illustrate this phenomenon, Figure 1 below shows the changes in P and K levels in the Corn Belt from 2005-2010.² All of the Corn Belt states experienced a reduction in soil P levels from 2005 compared to 2010, and most states declined in soil K levels as well.

Figure 1. Median soil P and K levels (50 percent of samples are above and below these levels) for the Corn Belt states and Ontario. The lower numbers in the maps are the changes from 2005. (Source: IPNI Corn Belt Fertility Study: 2010)

Another alarming issue is the inefficiency of our applied P and K fertilizers. Figure 2 below reveals the stark inefficiency of applied P fertilizers and the wide range of efficiencies for applied K fertilizers.

Figure 2. First-year nutrient efficiency/recovery. (Source: IPNI)

Many US growers make a dry application of P and K fertilizer in the spring or fall.

Unfortunately, because of the circumstances described above, many of these growers are not going to get the first-year P and K efficiency and recovery they need.

How can growers increase the availability of applied P and K to meet crop demands?

The Answer May Be in the Soil Chemistry and Biochemistry

To help answer that question, there are a few important points to remember about interactions that occur in the soil-plant system when dry fertilizers are applied:

• Essential crop nutrients are taken up into plant roots as positively charged cations or negatively charged anions (e.g., Ca+2, NO3-).
• The soil itself has a net negative charge and attracts or holds positively charged cations on cation exchange sites (cation exchange capacity, CEC).
• Negatively charged anions like nitrate have a high propensity to move below the plant root zone if excessive soil moisture is present.
• Chemical reactions (soil chemistry) also play an important role in the formation of compounds that are vital to plant growth.
• Strong attractions among cations, anions, and other compounds can prevent plants from accessing essential nutrients (e.g., when Ca⁺² & Fe⁺² bind to PO₄).

When faced with these interactions, we must rely on the biochemical compounds produced by microorganisms to react with and release the bound nutrients, making them available for plant uptake and utilization.

Titan, a biochemical fertilizer catalyst, can be incorporated into a grower's existing dry fertilizer program to increase P and K availability and improve plant uptake. The concentrated biochemistry in Titan works in the soil profile to aid the mineralization of organic nitrogen and phosphorus into inorganic forms plants use. It also helps to improve soil issues to allow the release of bound potassium from the soil layers. This means that more of the applied fertilizer will become or remain available to the crop in the following growing season, helping growers answer a crucial management question. Figure 3 shows some examples of the results of using Titan with dry P and K blends.

Figure 3. Results with Titan impregnated on dry fertilizer.

Conclusions

The days may be getting shorter, but with some simple planning, it’s easy to get more nutrient recovery from any fall dry fertilizer application. The end result is increased crop yields and total economic return from your growing program.

References:

1. Sutch R. (2011). The Impact of 1936 Corn Belt Drought on American Farmers’ Adoption of Hybrid Corn. In: Libecap GD and Steckel RH, eds. The Economics of Climate Change: Adaptations Past and Present (p. 195 - 223) Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press.
2. Mosaic Company's Nutrient Removal App. Available at: http://www.agprofessional.com/news/Mosaic-introduces-new-nutrient-removal-data-app-135169923.html.
3. IPNI Corn Belt Fertility Study: 2010

Growers on California’s central coast have recently faced the challenges of a depressed grape market, but, fortunately, that market is now returning to better days.

As the market improves, growers are looking for new technologies that can help them cost-effectively improve production. Accomplish technology is playing a role, with more and more grape growers in central coast areas like Santa Maria and Paso Robles seeing the efficacy of Accomplish as they incorporate it into their plant nutrition programs. Some of the benefits they are seeing include:

• Larger, more developed roots
• Better heat stress tolerance
• A more vigorous growing vine

Most experts estimate that the global population will exceed 9 billion people by the year 2050. That’s over 2 billion more people on the planet than there are today. Meeting the huge increase in global demand that comes with this population growth will put a tremendous strain on agricultural production. 

In fact, it is estimated that the agriculture industry will need to increase production by over 70% to meet this demand. This is no surprise when you consider all of the things agricultural products are used for: from food and clothing to fuels, plastics and many other everyday products.

Along with the world population, median income is also growing, especially in developing countries. Think about India, many African and South American countries and, especially, China. In all of these geographies, people are making more money, and so they are spending more on clothing, automobiles, and diets that increasingly include more meats, fruits, and vegetables, rather than traditional diets based on cereals and rice.

As population increases, more and more production acres are also getting planted. However, at least in developed countries like the United States and many Western European countries, growers will have to help meet food demand on 10-15% less arable land than is currently used for production today. At the same time, growers will have to face increased regulation at the local, state, and federal levels, as well as pressure from consumer and advocacy groups who want to influence how growers produce their crops.

Although some may see this as a negative environment in which to live and work, we see the future of agriculture as one of the brightest out of all the industries out there.

Is it even possible to more than double our production per acre? Absolutely! Look at corn production over the last 40 years. With the advent of corn hybridization, optimization of fertility practices, and use of biotechnology, we have more than doubled corn production per acre. More recently, we have increased national corn production per acre by an average of 16% in just six short years.

No one sector of the agricultural industry alone will be able to take production to the levels needed to meet future food demands. It will take a combined effort, ingenuity, and the focus of all agricultural sectors to help our growers meet these demands. New plant varieties, equipment, cultural practices, and innovative technologies will help us get there.

At Agricen, we are helping growers with biochemical-based technologies that help maximize nutrient availability and plant uptake. This, in turn, helps growers increase their yields and improve their crop quality, while also addressing environmental concerns. Our relationships with growers and partnerships with both Loveland Products and Nutrien Ag Solutions help us better understand the challenges that the agricultural industry faces every day. They also provide direction for our ongoing research and development efforts, which are focused on commercializing solutions to help the industry meet the demands of a growing global population.

Yes, the challenges are big, but we believe that we have the right tools, technologies and, most importantly, the right attitude to ensure that the future is a bright one

At our world-class biochemical production facility in Denton, Texas, we make some of Loveland Products’ fastest growing brands—Accomplish, Extract and Titan—as well as Agricen’s SoilBuilder, SoilLife and NutriLife brands. Completed in September 2011, the Denton plant was built to accommodate growing demands for these products, which were formerly only produced at our Pilot Point, Texas location.

At Denton, our products are produced through a patent-pending fermentation process using a new, state-of-the-art manufacturing platform. This process yields a highly concentrated extract that contains a diverse community of naturally occurring microorganisms and their biochemical byproducts (e.g., enzymes, organic acids). The end product is a biological and biochemical product that can be used as part of an integrated nutrient management program to improve plant nutrition.

Learn more about our products and their role in sustainable agriculture by downloading our Growing for the Future Booklet.

Agricen’s sister company, Agricen Sciences, today announced the hiring of Maud Hinchee, PhD, as Chief Science Officer (CSO) of that company.

Formerly of ArborGen and Monsanto, Dr. Hinchee brings over three decades of experience in plant biology and biotechnology to Agricen Sciences, with specific expertise in functional genomics, collaborative research and development and related product development.

As CSO, she will lead scientific development activities focused on understanding how plant-soil interactions influence plant nutrition and health, and then guide her team on how to harness those discoveries to develop effective solutions that increase nutrient availability and uptake, improve agricultural sustainability and increase crop yields.

Please read the full press release here.

Today, we are proud to begin introducing ourselves as Agricen, a Loveland Products company. As Agricen, just as when we were Advanced Microbial Solutions (AMS), we will continue to provide growers with innovative plant nutrition technologies to increase nutrient availability and uptake, improve sustainability and increase yields—technologies that are helping crop producers feed a growing world.

Why have we changed our name?

Motivated by the scale, scope and sophistication of what we are doing now and the expansion we anticipate in the future, the new name reflects our transition and growth as a leader in the delivery of innovative, effective and sustainable plant nutrition tools. One example of that growth: Five years ago, we were producing just 130,000 gallons of Accomplish LM per year. Today, we produce 3 million gallons annually, and that number just keeps growing. The name also better reflects our relationship with Loveland Products, a strategic partner since August 2012. Agricen currently produces two of Loveland Products’ fastest growing plant nutrition brands, Accomplish LM and Titan PBA.

As Agricen, we will continue to innovate new, effective technologies that enable growers to adapt to the rapidly evolving requirements of modern agriculture, including the demand for more efficiency and sustainability in plant nutrition programs.

Along with the name change, we are also marking our first commercial product shipments from our new, state-of-the-art production facility located in Denton, Texas, which began this winter.

You can read the full press release here.

We recently presented product chemistry and efficacy updates on Accomplish LM and Titan PBA to several Turf & Ornamental (T&O) teams.

The teams were very receptive to learning more about this plant nutrition technology and the different protocols for diverse T&O markets—from greenhouses, hydroponics, nurseries, and flowers, to turf, sod, golf courses, parks, homes, and cities.

Many members shared encouraging data they are getting from current test plots, as well as the favorable feedback they are hearing from their customers. The positive attention and willingness to start using this plant nutrition technology is very encouraging. Many have had some kind of experience using Accomplish and were interested in doing more. We’ll be working with them to get local data by putting out trial plots with Accomplish and/or Titan.

Learn more about the benefits of biocatalysts by viewing our T&O studies.

By David G. Beaudreau, Vice President of Environmental Policy, DC Legislative and Regulatory Services

Last week, I attended the First World Congress on the Use of Biostimulants in Agriculture. Over 700 people from more than 30 countries were also in attendance, all of whom seem to have a strong interest in and energy for this emerging field. Being an attendee offered a preview into what will likely be an expanding market and larger long-term issue in the agriculture industry.

Presentations focused on the scientific, technical, and legislative issues related to the application of biostimulants in crop production. Presenters ranged from representatives of biostimulant companies to academics who have done studies on numerous materials they consider to be biostimulants, including amino acids, humic acids, microbial inoculants, plant-derived extracts, and seaweed extracts, among others.

I was particularly interested to hear from the European regulatory officials who, along with the European Biostimulants Industry Consortium, have made fairly significant progress in their efforts to define "biostimulant" in Europe. This is a model that I hope is replicated in the US. It is clear that there is an intense focus within Europe to define what biostimulants are at the governmental level, as well as for industry to provide additional research funds to continue to demonstrate the benefits of biostimulants in agriculture. Bringing this message back to the US should help those in the emerging biostimulant industry gain further attention and recognition of the benefits our products bring to U.S. agriculture.

In my keynote, “The Legislative and Regulatory Approach to Biostimulants in the USA,” I discussed The Biostimulant Coalition, which was formed in 2011 to address the regulatory and legislative issues involving biological or naturally-derived additives and/or similar products for crop production. Agricen is one of the founding members of this effort.

We are actively working with state and federal regulators to coalesce around a definition of “biostimulant” in the US. Such a definition might include any material that, when applied to a plant, seed, soil, or growing media in conjunction with established fertilization plans, enhances the plant's nutrient use efficiency, or provides other direct or indirect benefits to plant development or stress response.

Our US regulators, which include the Association of American Plant Food Control Officials (AAPFCO), the EPA, and the USDA, are interested in learning more about this category and, we hope, in addressing the patchwork regulatory structure that currently exists. The Biostimulant Coalition will continue to work with them to establish a category that accommodates this technology.

The interest in this topic and the well-attended biostimulants conference are both indicators to me that a similar conference would be well received here by US regulators, researchers, and growers.

by Steve Sexton, Director, Eastern Region, Agricen

There has been a lot of discussion with respect to nutrient utilization (or lack thereof) during the drought this past summer and the amount of nutrients that are tied up or bound in crop residue. What percentage of these nutrients will be available for next season's crop growth?

Below is a nutrient removal chart for 200 bushel corn, tracking what is removed by the grain and what is left behind in the stalk/residue. Typically, there’s a great deal of potassium (about 80% of the applied K) left in the crop residue after harvest, along with 40% of the applied nitrogen and 25% of the applied phosphorous. At today's prices, these tied-up nutrients have a value of over $125 per acre!

Corn at 200 Bushels

Chart produced using The Mosaic Company’s Nutrient Removal App.
For more information and resources, please visit their “Back to Basics” soil fertility site.

What options are available to growers who want to access these nutrients?

One accepted practice has been to apply 10-15 gallons of UAN after harvest in the fall to assist with microbial decomposition of crop residue and to accelerate nutrient release. The downfall of this approach is that microbial decomposition slows and eventually stops as soil temperatures drop below 40° F.

Today, we also have a biochemical fertilizer catalyst, Accomplish^® LM, which works to release tied-up nutrients (regardless of soil temperatures) and increase crop yields—all for a lower price than a fall UAN application. (See 2012 Jacksonville, Illinois Corn on Corn Trial).

Mid-Vegetation Stages – 2012 Jacksonville, IL Continuous Corn Trial

Please call your Crop Production Service (CPS) retail representative or Loveland Products representative for more information on Accomplish LM.