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Biostimulantshave become increasingly popular amongst ag retailers and growers alike over the past few years. A biostimulant includes “diverse substances that enhance plant growth” or helps ‘amend the soil structure, function, or performance.’Simply put, a biostimulant is a non-living product that helps improve crop growth and/or yield through another mechanism apart from supplying nutrients (e.g., fertilizers) or killing yield robbing pests (crop protection). Another related popular category includesbiologicals, which include living organisms such as bacteria and fungi that provide a benefit to the crop. A challenge in the biostimulant/ biologicals space is understanding how the products work, their fit on the ag retail shelf or added value in the farm operation, andoutlining reasonable expectations of performance. This article offers candid advice on how to evaluate a new biostimulant or biological product before committing to a large purchase.
Challenges in Product Space
At the time of this writing, there are many products, active ingredients, and companies in this category (Figure 1). A few companies have been around for years while some are newly arrived a flush with capital and their logo unfamiliar. The underlined labels on the Venn diagram showbroad categories based on what is inside the product – the active ingredient. Productimpacts range from those that promote crop and soil health to those providing a biocontrol benefit (y axis). Furthermore, products range from the nonliving (Biostimulants) to living (biologicals), (x axis).Remember that the active ingredient is the part of a product that does the actual advertised work.
Figure 1 – The size and complexity of the biostimulant and biologicals product landscape has produced confusion in the marketplace.Source: (mixingbowlhub.com)
Not surprisingly, the overwhelming number of companies and products, coupled with the overlapping nature of how the products work, has produced confusion at both the ag retail and farmgate level. Ag retailers have struggled to fit new products into their existing portfolio and growers are not sure where to plug in the innovative technologyon their farm. Asking the right questions can help clarify a product that is under evaluation and help bring it to the field more quickly with increased confidence.
7 Crucial Questions to Ask
The biostimulant/biological product category offers up plenty of excitement regarding marketing claims for yield gains, improvements in soil and plant health, advertised reductions in fertilizer use, among others. However, it is important that modern technologiesbe vetted to guide expectations and avoid wasted input dollars. Below are seven questions worth asking when evaluating a new material:
1. Robust trial data? –New products require a significant investment in field trials and characterization by reputable scientists. Ask your product representative to show broad level trends across multiple years, crops, and growing regions in addition to the site specific studies shown in presentations. Early and ongoing investments in field data should help guide expectations on how the product works and, more importantly, how it does not.
2. Clear mode of action? –Greenhouse, lab, or field data should demonstrate the mode of action of the product, which will help you figure out the overall active ingredient fit in a portfolio.
3. Probability of positive ROI? –This is where additional scrutiny of these products is well deserved. Make sure your sales rep can talk about the profitability of a product’s performance (ROI >1) and what the probability is of achieving it (Win Rate %). Together, these two metrics can provide an estimate of confidence around the marketing claims. A yield gain or input savings from the product use needs to be profitable to make adoption more palatable.
4. Patents and intellectual property? –A quick discussion on this category can help you discern how unique a new product is in the marketplace or if it is a copycat of existing technology. The more intellectual property around a recent technology, the higher the chances ofuncovering a unique active ingredient.
5. Regulatory future? –This question requires a crystal ball, but you are asking the sales rep to identify if any ingredients could be possibly phased out due to regulatory concerns.
Figure 2 – A solid line of questioning and inquiry, from ag retailers and growers alike, can help clarify the biostimulant/biological product landscape and ensure the right active ingredient fit.
6. Portfolio fit? –This relates strongly back to questions 1 and 2. A well characterized product and polished technical presentation will allow you to figure out the correct place in the store inventory or on the barn shelf and prevent possible duplication.
7. Longevity in the marketplace? – This also requires a crystal ball and an examination of who is funding the company that makes the product. If you are worried about the “here today, gone tomorrow”reputation that persists in this space, then quick discussion about cash sources is warranted.Look for established players in the space if this is a concern.
Next Steps
The biostimulant product landscape offers an opportunity to provide new value to both ag suppliers and their grower customers. A careful review of recent technologies will be key to finding the portfolio fit on store shelves and, ultimately, for the field. Asking the right questions and demanding a complete story from suppliers is a surefire approach for bringing clarity to a muddied product landscape. Best of luck!
Asking the right questions can help clarify a product that is under evaluation and help bring it to the field more quickly with increased confidence.
Not surprisingly, the overwhelming number of companies and products, coupled with the overlapping nature of how the products work, has produced confusion at both the ag retail and farmgate level. Ag retailers have struggled to fit new products into their existing portfolio and growers are not sure where to plug in the innovative technologyon their farm. Asking the right questions can help clarify a product that is under evaluation and help bring it to the field more quickly with increased confidence.
7 Crucial Questions to Ask
The biostimulant/biological product category offers up plenty of excitement regarding marketing claims for yield gains, improvements in soil and plant health, advertised reductions in fertilizer use, among others. However, it is important that modern technologiesbe vetted to guide expectations and avoid wasted input dollars. Below are seven questions worth asking when evaluating a new material:
1. Robust trial data? –New products require a significant investment in field trials and characterization by reputable scientists. Ask your product representative to show broad level trends across multiple years, crops, and growing regions in addition to the site specific studies shown in presentations. Early and ongoing investments in field data should help guide expectations on how the product works and, more importantly, how it does not.
2. Clear mode of action? –Greenhouse, lab, or field data should demonstrate the mode of action of the product, which will help you figure out the overall active ingredient fit in a portfolio.
3. Probability of positive ROI? –This is where additional scrutiny of these products is well deserved. Make sure your sales rep can talk about the profitability of a product’s performance (ROI >1) and what the probability is of achieving it (Win Rate %). Together, these two metrics can provide an estimate of confidence around the marketing claims. A yield gain or input savings from the product use needs to be profitable to make adoption more palatable.
4. Patents and intellectual property? –A quick discussion on this category can help you discern how unique a new product is in the marketplace or if it is a copycat of existing technology. The more intellectual property around a recent technology, the higher the chances ofuncovering a unique active ingredient.
5. Regulatory future? –This question requires a crystal ball, but you are asking the sales rep to identify if any ingredients could be possibly phased out due to regulatory concerns.
Figure 2 – A solid line of questioning and inquiry, from ag retailers and growers alike, can help clarify the biostimulant/biological product landscape and ensure the right active ingredient fit.
6. Portfolio fit? –This relates strongly back to questions 1 and 2. A well characterized product and polished technical presentation will allow you to figure out the correct place in the store inventory or on the barn shelf and prevent possible duplication.
7. Longevity in the marketplace? – This also requires a crystal ball and an examination of who is funding the company that makes the product. If you are worried about the “here today, gone tomorrow”reputation that persists in this space, then quick discussion about cash sources is warranted.Look for established players in the space if this is a concern.
Next Steps
The biostimulant product landscape offers an opportunity to provide new value to both ag suppliers and their grower customers. A careful review of recent technologies will be key to finding the portfolio fit on store shelves and, ultimately, for the field. Asking the right questions and demanding a complete story from suppliers is a surefire approach for bringing clarity to a muddied product landscape. Best of luck! 
