Why it matters: Sencor’s portfolio products add more crop protection solutions for Canadian growers.

Sencor products have been used for decades on tough broadleaf and grassy weeds across a wide range of crops, including pulses, potatoes and soybeans. With the new integration of Sencor products, Sipcam Agro will expand proven herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and biostimulants.

Sencor products are a Group 5 mode of action, making them an important tool to help growers manage weed resistance.

Sipcam will soon begin managing all sales, marketing and distribution activities for Sencor 75 DF and Sencor 480 F in Canada.

Sipcam is headquartered in Durham, North Carolina. Since 2024, Sipcam Agro in Canada has focused on supplying crop protection products to Canadian farmers.

akienlen@fbcpublishing.com

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Called Crop Aid SS — short for “Saline Solution” — the product is designed to be sprayed directly on saline areas in the fall or early spring.

Darren Sander, Crop Aid’s owner and operations manager, said the product does not treat the soil directly. Instead, it’s formulated to treat water as it moves through the soil profile.

Sander said the product works by breaking the bond between water molecules and soil particles, reducing water’s surface tension. This allows water to move down through the soil more easily, carrying salt away from the root zone. Sander claims the treatment also limits the capillary action that can draw salt back up toward the soil surface.

“Everyone’s been trying to treat the soil, and it’s the water that’s the problem,” Sander said in an interview during the Langham, Sask., farm show held in mid-July.

Crop Aid SS is positioned as an alternative to traditional soil amendments such as gypsum or organic matter, which are often applied directly to the soil in an effort to address salinity. Sander said farmers using the product have seen some saline areas improve within one or two years, though more severe patches may require repeated treatments over several seasons.

The product is applied using standard sprayer equipment, and Crop Aid recommends targeting only the saline patches rather than full-field applications. According to Sander, typical treatment costs are less than $20 per acre.

He said the product’s effectiveness has been evaluated primarily through on-farm trials rather than third-party research. Participating farmers report positive results, but Sander acknowledged results can vary depending on factors such as water table depth and spot severity.

Crop Aid SS was launched alongside the company’s bio-stimulant product, Crop Aid Plus, which Sander said is designed to improve soil structure and reduce compaction across entire fields. Together, the two products are marketed as part of a “whole-field approach” to managing saline issues.

To date, Crop Aid SS has not been independently validated through formal research trials.

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Nutrien Ag Solutions and AdvancedAg were among the companies showcasing biological and biostimulant products at Ag in Motion 2025, the annual outdoor farm expo held near Langham, Sask. The show has become a key venue for launching new products and demonstrating field-ready innovations to Prairie growers.

Ask the right questions

When it comes to newer crop input technologies, University of Saskatchewan soil fertility professor Jeff Schoenau says farmers should go in with their eyes open. Whether it’s a biological, a biostimulant or some other non-traditional fertilizer product, Schoenau recommends treating claims with healthy skepticism — and trialing new tools on-farm.

“Sometimes it’s easy to dismiss these products,” he says. “And I think a person has to be asking the right questions. What kind of evidence do you have for the performance of this?”

When it comes to biologicals — living organisms applied to soil, seed or foliage — the performance can be especially variable. Environmental factors like moisture, temperature, and soil composition all influence microbial activity. That makes the products more finicky than traditional fertilizers, and the mechanisms behind the results aren’t always well understood.

“Sometimes maybe there isn’t even any kind of a reason put forward,” says Schoenau. “You like to see that something that you’re using does have some type of a basis in science; something that obeys the laws of nature. You’re not getting something for nothing.”

He’s not dismissing the category — just urging growers to dig deeper into the science behind it. Look for university trials. Ask to see all the data, not just the success stories. And don’t be afraid to test promising products on small strips.

“Seek out the evidence,” says Schoenau. “That’s very, very important.”

Know what you’re buying

Biologicals and biostimulants are often lumped together, but the difference matters. Biologicals are living organisms — usually bacteria or fungi — that interact with the soil or plant to support growth. Classic examples include rhizobia on legumes or phosphorus-solubilizing microbes. Biostimulants, on the other hand, are substances that help plants take up nutrients more efficiently or tolerate stress better. They might include hormones, amino acids, humic acids or microbial by-products — but they don’t contain live microbes.

In other words, biostimulants aim to enhance a plant’s performance, while biologicals try to shift what’s happening in the soil or on the root. That also means biologicals face more hurdles in terms of consistency, survivability and product handling.

Putting new products through their paces

Shelby LaRose, crop nutrition product manager for Nutrien Ag Solutions in Canada, says the company has taken a measured approach to the biostimulants it brings to market.

“We’re trialing on our own farms, with our own customers,” she says. “We really take pride in our team to help support and educate those growers.”

LaRose oversees Nutrien’s branded nutritionals and its proprietary Loveland products — which include several biostimulants currently sold in Canada. The newest of these is Radiate Plus, a canola-friendly blend of two plant growth hormones and a micronutrient package designed to improve early root growth and reduce plant stress. LaRose says it’s already shown bigger stalks and better root systems in plots across the West.

Another is Blackmax WSG, a granular humic acid derived from leonardite, a coal-adjacent layer in the Earth’s crust. LaRose says the product boosts water and nutrient uptake early in the season — a key advantage in areas that dry out after seeding. A liquid version is expected to hit the Canadian market in 2026.

Then there’s Atlas XC, a fertilizer treatment that helps release phosphorus for early root development — especially important in cold prairie soils. Atlas isn’t new, but LaRose says it’s still a strong performer, backed by over 200 trials since its Canadian launch in 2018.

All of these are biostimulants — not biologicals. They don’t contain live bacteria. But they still require careful testing, and LaRose says that work has become more rigorous.

“Over the last couple of years, the regulations behind these products have significantly increased. You have to do more testing behind it to prove that these products do what they say they’re doing.”

She also sees a generational shift in attitudes.

“The younger generation is more willing to try the products,” she says. “Realizing they might not see results in the first year, but willing and understanding that there’s more to these products.”

From wastewater to farm fields

Not all companies entering the space come from the big corporate world. In fact, one of the fastest-growing biologicals outfits in Canada started as a family operation.

“My mother started the company in 2001,” says Joshua Day Chief, CEO of AdvancedAg. “She was using bacteria to break down sludge and organic matter in wastewater systems, which then evolved to treating lakes and ponds.”

It was only in 2015 that they started looking seriously at agriculture. Farmers they were helping with dugout treatment started asking whether bacteria could help in their fields too. At the time, fertilizer prices were climbing, and producers were looking for ways to improve soil health and reduce inputs.

“There was a lot of interest from farmers,” Day Chief says. “And at that same time you started to see a shift toward this regenerative ag movement.”

At first, Day Chief says, they focused on plot work and applied research. “In 2015 we did 50 acres of peas in southern Alberta. Now in 2025, we’re probably on half a million acres across Canada.”

And the acres aren’t limited to cereals and pulses. The company is active in vineyards, orchards and vegetable operations too.

“If you drink a bottle of organic wine, there is a good chance the grapes were grown with our bacteria,” he says.

Even as the company has grown, Day Chief says their approach remains hands-on. They work directly with growers, helping customize programs based on specific goals. Some are cutting fertilizer rates by 30 per cent without losing yield — and some are just starting the conversation.

“There’s a lot of excitement around these products,” he says. “But these are living organisms and every farm is unique. Every challenge is unique. So, we work directly with our farmers.”

Day Chief also encourages growers to keep asking tough questions. “The skepticism should be there,” he says. “Ask for the label. Ask for the university studies. Ask for the raw data.”

Building a toolkit, not selling a silver bullet

AdvancedAg’s current product suite includes three main offerings — all biologicals, all CFIA-registered, and all designed to work within a broader crop fertility plan.

The most straightforward is A*Live Seed, a powdered biological seed dressing that adds beneficial bacteria directly to the seed. These Bacillus strains help ward off pathogens and promote early root growth by producing hormones and enzymes. The product is widely compatible with crop types and doesn’t require brewing or special equipment.

The second is ACF-SR, a liquid biofertilizer containing five different strains of live bacteria. It can be applied in-furrow or as a foliar spray and is designed to fix nitrogen, solubilize phosphorus, and even help with carbon sequestration. Product manager Jeff Goodwin says it’s the company’s most powerful tool for reducing synthetic fertility.

“Our products aren’t a fertilizer replacement,” says Goodwin. “But they certainly help fertilizer become much more efficient.”

The final product is SRP, a phosphorus-targeted blend that also supports late-season plant health. Goodwin says they’ve seen reduced fungicide use in some crops — not because the product kills disease, but because the plants stay healthier in the first place.

“It’s CFIA registered as a biofertilizer,” he says, “but we’ve just seen some really amazing things in terms of plant health and cost savings.”

Goodwin said every farm they work with starts with a soil sample and a consultation — and every program is customized. First-time users often see an immediate ROI just by trimming 10 to 15 per cent from their fertilizer budget. More aggressive users have gone much further. One potato grower cut back 40 per cent and dropped fungicide entirely.

That kind of performance depends on proper management — and that, says Goodwin, is what sets the company apart.

“If what we’re doing currently wasn’t scalable, we wouldn’t be able to compete. But we’re not just selling biologicals — we’re selling the knowledge that comes with it.”

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“YieldON amplifies the grain-filling processes that crops naturally do when they transition from the vegetative stage to the reproductive stage of their life cycle,” Chris Dumigan, biologicals technical lead with Syngenta Canada, explains. “It improves plant cell division and the flow of nutrients from leaf tissue to seeds, which, in turn, can increase crop yields.”

According to Syngenta’s announcement, YieldON is enriched by naturally derived ingredients meant to improve uptake and transportation of sugars throughout the plant and ultimately improve crop productivity.

The liquid foliar application combines plant- and seaweed-derived molecules with trace elements of micronutrients manganese, zinc, and molybdenum. Syngenta says the combination of ingredients will also help improve plant cell division and expansion.

Syngenta recommends YieldON for use on corn, wheat and other row crops. However, it is registered for use on a much wider variety of crops, including barley, canola, pulses and sunflowers.

The product is used on a broader array of crops in other countries, Dumigan said via email, but Syngenta’s research in Canada has primarily focused on corn in Ontario and Quebec, and on wheat/durum in the Prairie provinces.

“We have chosen to be specific with the crops we recommend. These are the crops that we have confidence in here in Canada,” he says. “We will continue to investigate other crops relevant to Canadian growers in the coming years.”

Syngenta has already had strong preliminary performance data from soy and canola, he adds.

While YieldOn could offer a yield boost for growers, Dumigan cautions the product isn’t intended to save a bad crop or even improve a mediocre one.

“YieldON is really for a grower who is already doing things right, has a good crop, and is looking to get those next few bushels by mixing it with their planned fungicide application,” he said. “For growers with a crop under stress, I would instead recommend our abiotic stress biostimulant Megafol.”

YieldON can be tank mixed with a wide variety of fertilizer and registered foliar pesticides and will be sold in a 2 x 10 L case and 450 L tote.

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There’s a lot of noise around biologicals, and for good reason. Soil contains millions of bacteria, fungi and other microbes that perform vital functions for plants.

As a result, global agri-science firms and dozens of start-up companies are trying to harness those biologicals and develop products that farmers can use.

Maybe a unique bacterium could be added to the soil that would increase corn yields by five per cent in Iowa, or a microbe could control soil diseases in a Saskatchewan canola field.

These biological products have potential, but the noise and hype may have got ahead of the science, says a plant scientist and soil microbiology expert from the University of Kansas.

“We’re at this really interesting point where we have all these results coming out of the lab that are extremely promising and tell us that the potential is there for products like this to make a huge difference,” said Maggie Wagner, who specializes in the interaction between plant genetics and the community of bacteria and fungi in soils — sometimes called the soil microbiome.

Unfortunately, when that unique species of bacteria is applied to the soil in real-world conditions, its performance often disappoints.

“The products that focus on addition of microbes into the (soil) system tend to have inconsistent results,” Wagner said.

Field trials on nitrogen-fixing biologicals conducted by Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers from 2019-23 found that the commercial products were not effective on peas, dry beans and soybeans.

“So far, we’ve tested 12 products over 28 trials in three different crops…. We’ve not seen a yield increase with any of these products that we’ve tested,” said Laura Schmidt, a production specialist with MPSG, who is 99 per cent confident in the results.

“I’m leaving that one per cent of the time where we might find this biological product that’s actually going to perform. That is something we would like to find.”

The effectiveness of biological products is likely higher than one per cent, but there’s a list of reasons why a single species of bacterium, added to the soil, fails to deliver results:

• The pH of the soil is too high or too low for the bacteria to survive.

• It’s too dry for the microbe.

• There’s too much competition from other microbes in the soil.

• Too much variability exists in the established community of microbes.

“The microbiome in the soil is going to vary quite a bit (within a field and from field to field),” Wagner said.

“We think that has a big impact on whether these (added) microbials are able to persist or not.”

A different approach

Instead of adding another bacterium to the soil and hoping it can outcompete the other micro-organisms, Wagner has proposed another way to improve the relationship between crops and soil microbes.

In a paper published in 2021, Wagner suggested that scientists could change the crop’s genetics so the plants work in synergy with the life in the soil.

“One potential method … is to alter host (plant) genetics to promote the recruitment and growth of beneficial microbes,” she wrote in a paper titled Plant Genetics as a Tool for Manipulating Crop Microbiomes: Opportunities and Challenges.

As an example, there could be a bacterium that helps wheat use nitrogen in the soil. Maybe it’s possible to breed the crop so it supports and assists that species of bacteria.

“Imagine you have a particular beneficial microbe … that has an ability to (consume) some chemical that the plant can produce,” Wagner said.

“If the plant is optimized to produce that chemical, that would set up a situation where … that beneficial microbe will have a competitive advantage.”

In addition to that genetic change, farmers could add the microbe or bacteria to the soil to achieve the desired result — in this hypothetical case, deliver more nitrogen to the crop.

This scenario is comparable to bacterial inoculants for soybeans, which help develop nodules on soybean roots and fix nitrogen for the crop.

Wagner admitted that this research is in the conceptual phase. Plant breeders are not developing new varieties of wheat and corn so that they promote the growth of certain bacteria in the soil.

The science isn’t ready for that.

“There is a ton of evidence that plant genes do matter for the microbes that associate with their roots,” Wagner said.

“I don’t think the basic research into understanding what those microbes are doing for the plant… and which plant genes would make a difference … (it’s) just not there.”

Early days

Wagner is just one member of a much larger community of scientists who are trying to comprehend the soil microbiome and what it means for crop production.

Dozens of researchers are studying soil — in Saskatchewan, Nebraska, Illinois and elsewhere — to understand how soil bacteria and fungi differ from one region to the next.

“The vast majority of microbes in the soil have never been grown in a lab…. We don’t know what they do. There is a whole lot of research going into that,” she said.

“We have barely scratched the surface of understanding and possible functions of all these microbes. That is a massive area of research.”

There could be a scenario, three years from now, where a scientist discovers a unique soil bacterium in a North Dakota field.

That bacteria could help cereal crops use nitrogen more efficiently or maybe protect canola from a disease such as blackleg.

It’s still early days, but the possible outcomes and benefits of soil microbes could be substantial, Wagner said.

“The rate of which the basic research is (advancing) on this topic seems very promising.”

Biological boom

Agricultural biologicals are a group of products derived from naturally occurring microorganisms, plant extracts and other organisms. They are typically placed into two or three categories:

• biostimulants (plant growth products)
• biopesticides (plant protection or biocontrols)
• biofertility (plant nutrition products)

The research firm Marketsandmarkets.com has predicted the global market for agricultural biologicals will reach US$28 billion by 2028, up from $14.6 billion in 2023.

That $14.6 billion figure could be an over-estimate. Other research firms say the market was worth $7 billion in 2023.

Source: WP staff research

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The afternoon temperature was also on the minds of growers across Saskatchewan and Alberta, worried about heat blast in their canola crops.

In mid-July, some of those farmers were texting or calling their ag sales reps to ask about products that can minimize the damage from heat stress.

“At this time of year, we get a massive amount of e-mails on the website, and phones (of sales reps) are blowing up the last few days,” said Bonnett, the Canadian commercial lead for biologicals at Corteva AgriScience.

“We get (phone calls and texts) the day before it gets hot.”

Many of those farmers want information about X-Cyte, a growth hormone product from Stoller, a company Corteva bought last year.

“When temperatures rise in your crop, the growth hormone cytokinin begins to degrade within your plants, often resulting in flower abortion and pod loss,” says the Stoller website.

“X-Cyte is a foliar application of cytokinin designed to restore the hormone balance within your crop and safeguard your yield during the hot summer months.”

Something that reduces heat blast and preserves canola yield sounds great, but farmers lack information on when to apply the product.

At AIM, a canola grower asked Bonnett about X-Cyte and wanted to apply it the next day.

The interest from farmers is great, but the middle of a heat wave is the wrong time to apply the foliar product, Bonnett said.

“We need to get it on before (the hot weather).”

Bonnett’s story represents a larger challenge within Canada’s crop sector. Dozens of new products, such as biostimulants and plant growth promotants, are now available to growers. However, most farmers don’t know when, or how, to use them.

“The biggest knowledge gap is, ‘Where do I put these, when are they going to work well?’” Bonnett says.

“Transparently, I don’t think we have enough people out there to educate guys…. Here’s a tool that you use for this particular problem… (but) you’ve got to know when to use it.”

Not the same

Another issue is definitions and how the products are described.

Most growers are familiar with plant growth regulators, but biostimulants are not the same.

“Plant growth regulators are defined as synthetic compounds … that mimic naturally occurring plant hormones,” says a 2023 paper in Frontiers of Plant Science.

“Biostimulants usually are complex mixtures containing organic (example, extracts of seaweed) …. microbial (fungi and bacteria)…. They enhance plant growth and health by stimulating natural processes at a minute quantity.”

Grower education remains a challenge, but sales data indicates that farmers are curious. They are experimenting and want to know if these products will work on their farm.

“In a year like this year, we have excess moisture in some areas and a lack of moisture in (other) areas…. The one thing that really matters is root growth,” said Jesse Hamonic, vice-president and country head for Nutrien Ag Solutions.

Speaking also from the shade at AIM, Hamonic said his company is seeing strong sales of Radiate.

“It’s a growth stimulant for the roots. It’s been around for several years now,” he says.

“This year, we’re going to set a record on Radiate.”

Corteva is also enjoying a period of strong growth for biostimulants and other products that preserve plant health.

“Year over year … it’s in the double digits,” Bonnett says.

“Guys are interested in trying it. Once they figure out the value proposition and what problem they’re trying to solve, I think it will grow even more.”

Corteva and Nutrien Ag Solutions were just two of the firms at Ag In Motion promoting plant health stimulants to Canadian farmers.

The market is busy and may soon get busier, because companies expect to launch more products.

From Corteva’s standpoint, Bonnett says several are in the pipeline with prospects for commercialization in the years to come, “all attacking a different problem we have out here (in Canada).”

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Shaun Sharpe, a weed researcher with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) in Saskatoon, may have discovered the right substance to accomplish this: wood vinegar, otherwise known as pyroligneous acid or liquid smoke.

Although the results of the 2021 greenhouse study were moderate (wild oat emergence was around 10 per cent greater than wood vinegar compared to the untreated control), it’s given Sharpe a greater confidence in both the compound’s potential and the prospect of waking weeds up just in time for Mother Nature to kill them.

“These experiments kind of confirm that wood vinegar is active and it is able to stimulate germination and emergence of wild oat. And it’s able to act on a process that keeps them dormant. And it’ll work effectively after the seed has been produced.”

Attempts to use wood vinegar as a biostimulant aren’t new, Sharpe says. The research dates back to the 1980s but has been largely lost in limbo since then, at least on the Prairies.

“With the onset of a lot of our herbicides coming to market this kind of experimentation stopped because of how effective those herbicides were. So I’m pulling back an old idea to see if it’s going to be able to be used in our production systems now.”

Wood vinegar — generally known to the public as a flavouring agent, under the title “liquid smoke” — is a byproduct of making biochar. It’s been known to break seed dormancy in many plant species.

Potassium nitrate (KNO₃) was also tested as a stimulant because it’s widely available to producers, Sharpe says.

The study was conducted at AAFC’s Saskatoon Research and Development Centre. Its objective was to measure the ability of the two agents to stimulate germination and emergence in target plants, including wild oat and volunteer wheat, volunteer barley and oat.

“We did some work in petri dishes with seeds directly. And then we also did some work in pots in an incubator to try spraying through a conventional sprayer…so that it would be a spray pattern akin to how a producer would do it,” Sharpe says.

The compounds were placed with the seed in the petri dishes while — for the potted work — seeds were deposited in the soil and sprayed with KNO3 or wild vinegar at 200 litres per hectare.

As it turned out, all the species in the petri dishes germinated with KNO₃, but there was no stimulation to increase germination — although higher doses promoted inhibition.

Plants sprayed with KNO₃ in the pots saw some emergence — but again, there was no stimulation for further growth.

Sharpe said other, similar studies have seen a stimulating effect from KNO₃ but it tends to be inconsistent. In this study there also appeared to be a resistance issue.

“I think what happened here is these wild oats we were using were already adapted to its stimulation and it wasn’t effective anymore. So it’s maybe not a reliable option for a producer to try to stimulate that weed out of the soil.”

The petri dish experiments with wood vinegar saw no germination at all unless the researchers used very low doses (less than one per cent) on wild oat. “It was only with the wood vinegar when sprayed on pots where we saw any stimulation to promote their emergence,” said Sharpe.

Those wild oats were sprayed with wood vinegar at 200 litres per hectare.

The pot side of the research on wood vinegar was divided into two separate treatments. One increased emergence by about 10 or 11 per cent compared to the untreated control using 50 and 100 per cent solutions of wood vinegar.

The second treatment also saw emergence grow by 11 per cent using a 10 per cent solution.

The pots and petri dishes were well-watered, creating an ideal condition for them to grow. The results have caused Sharpe to wonder if there would have been a greater effect if water was more limiting.

“That’s kind of an area I want to touch on as we go forward,” he says.

And Sharpe is going forward. He hopes to test wood vinegar in the field, in the process observing whether it can control weeds post-emergence.

“So it could have a dual use pattern where when the plants are emerged, it can potentially be used as a herbicide to burn that.”

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Ukraine’s agriculture was hit very hard by the war. Most of the country’s farmers were on the verge of impoverishment and were forced to learn how to survive. From these farmers you may learn which lessons are better to learn in peacetime, to better be ready for possible shocks.

Farmers usually follow recommendations when planting and growing crops or raising livestock. A farmer knows that for best results, he should apply a certain amount of fertilizer and spray the plants with the necessary pesticides to protect them. Careful cultivation and preparation of the field are also necessary.

But in the past two years, Ukrainian farmers were forced to learn to grow grain with minimal budgets. If they used to apply 600 kilograms of fertilizer to a hectare of land, today they grow a crop using 150 or 200 kg.

This forces them to look for other ways to nourish their crops. It also changes how closely they sow seeds and the spacing between rows. In many cases it has promoted wider use of inexpensive biostimulants, though it’s not proven they will help.

As I have observed farmers throughout the war, I have seen that the best results come from farmers who actively experimented before the war, and sought to reduce their cost of production even in peacetime.

While storing grain on the farm may be commonplace in Canada, it’s more limited in Ukraine. If a farmer doesn’t have a place to store the grain they grow, this can become a serious problem during wartime.

Overloaded regional elevators may refuse to accept crop for drying and storage. Grain can spoil. Due to the instantaneous increase in energy prices, the cost of grain elevator services may increase several-fold and it will be unprofitable for the farmer to use.

Therefore, it is better to have their own storage, even if it is primitive. This will give the farmer time to make the best decision.

During the war it is almost impossible to sell grain at a normal price, while the cost of fuel, animal feed and various food products is high. Many Ukrainian farmers began to process their produce and sell finished products to earn additional money. Farmers’ interest in animal husbandry has also increased. But it is clear it was better to start doing all this long before the war, in order to have the opportunity to perfect production processes.

In times of war, banks and supply companies have limited resources and lend money and resources only to guaranteed reliable customers. If a farmer has such a reputation, they have a better chance of finding financial support to grow a crop.

Ukrainians have a good saying: “Friends are known in trouble.” A farmer must have many friends and good acquaintances, including other farmers, managers of supply companies and neighbours. In times of war and other disasters, this makes it possible to get quick support and coordinate efforts to overcome a problem.

For example, overcoming the consequences of rocket fire or clearing snow after a heavy snowfall.

It is worthwhile to create regional farmers’ clubs and communicate regularly to know everyone personally. A farmer will not survive apart from other people.

Before the war in Ukraine, some financially secure farmers believed it was not necessary to own their own seeders, high clearance sprayers or combines.

They thought this machinery could be easily rented and the farm wouldn’t have to own and maintain it.

Today,  agricultural companies that have their own agricultural machinery have the greatest chance of survival. It is more profitable, because the operating costs are lower than renting.
When there is a war in the country, all industries suffer, especially the provision of services. A farmer may simply not find a sprayer or combine in time.

So, if they have such an opportunity, they should buy their own agricultural machinery. It is also very useful to have their own excavators and trucks – especially trucks – because one of the biggest problems in wartime is logistics.

A farmer should try to buy fuel, fertilizers and pesticides for the next season as soon as they can afford it. This is what saved many farmers I know, when there was nothing to buy in the first months of the full-scale war.

Over time, the market normalized, but before that it was necessary to survive during four or five months of acute shortage of fuel, pesticides and spare parts, all during the spring sowing season.
No farmer should completely rely on third-party companies. If they have reliable and qualified employees, they should try to keep them at work.

In times of upheaval, it is better to have people around who know how to repair agricultural machinery and have a good knowledge of agronomy. A farm should have a few people it can rely on who are professional in their field.

Always keep in mind the possibility that electricity and natural gas may be out for extended periods of time. It is very good to have solar panels and wind generators and definitely diesel generators. Their power should be enough for basic life needs and to ensure the minimum functioning of a livestock farm.

It is very good if a farm can heat its buildings with firewood. This is an excellent backup option.

One of the biggest problems during the war is sudden disappearance of mobile communications and the internet due to missile attacks. A farmer can instantly lose touch with other people and won’t know what’s happening in the country or on the next street.

Therefore, farm workers must have wireless walkie-talkies and equipment that allows them to connect to the internet in the absence of electricity. Some farmers found that their traditional land lines worked best in these conditions.

A farmer who hopes to survive should not be paralyzed by fear, and should be ready to take control of their own destiny.

In times of wars and natural disasters, state bodies cannot save everything and help everyone at once. It makes no sense to sit back and wait for someone to come and solve problems.

Under such conditions, each farm turns into an island of stability for the surrounding residents. Farmers immediately take the initiative into their own hands. They provide people with food and organize people’s self-defence to maintain order. They solve infrastructure problems and organize support for the army. 

This makes it possible to prevent social upheaval, because all people receive the necessary means of living and see that law and order has not disappeared.

These are hard lessons, learned over the past two years, and I hope Canadian farmers never have to learn them first-hand.

—Ihor Pavliuk is a farm journalist based in Ukraine who has filed regular contributions to Glacier FarmMedia publications over the course of the war. 

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Companies offering new biologicals are claiming these products increase root mass development and structure, enhance root and plant growth, improve plant establishment and yields, increase nutrient use efficiencies, allow better tolerance of plants to environmental stressors, and control of diseases, insect pests and weeds. The following is a roundup of some new products already on the Canadian market as well as a few coming down the pipe.

Lalfix Start Spherical Granule

Lalfix Start Spherical Granule from Lallemand is a new inoculant that combines two unique rhizobia strains with a plant growth-promoting bacterium, which increases root mass and enhances phosphorus solubilization.

The inoculant is now available for application in peas, lentils, soybeans and faba beans. The high-porosity granule structure makes it dust-free, with no bridging and reduced bulk density for better soil coverage.

Amalgerol Essence

Hechenbichler, based in Austria, has a new formulation of its well-established product Amalgerol, which has been available in Canada and Europe for decades. Amalgerol Essence, is currently being trialled in several crops (canola, peas, lentils and soybean) in Canada. It’s used as a foliar application that can be tank mixed with in-season herbicide and fungicide products.

The ingredients in Amalgerol and Amalgerol Essence help plants combat stress by promoting root growth and reducing the production of molecules following exposure to environmental stresses that cause damage and reduce plant productivity, according to the company.

There are seven major active ingredients in Amalgerol Essence — amino acids, which help activate stress responses and induce antioxidant defence systems inside plants; antioxidants, which help destroy harmful molecules that cause plant cell damage following frost, drought and heat exposure; naturally derived potassium and nitrogen; herbal extracts that promote plant health; plant hormones derived from seaweed extracts that help induce growth of crops particularly in root tissue; alginate derived from seaweed, which has water retention properties and functions as a soil conditioner; and organic carbon, a source of nutrition for soil microbes that are responsible for breaking down straw and converting it to organic matter.

EnVoy biostimulant

From the Acadian Plant Health Division of Nova Scotia-based Acadian Seaplants is a new highly concentrated biostimulant called EnVoy. According to the company, this product supports improved yield and defends against yield-robbing factors by supporting root growth and plant establishment, boosting nutrient use efficiency and helping plants increase tolerance to environmental stressors like drought, heat, chill and salinity.

Specifically, EnVoy improves plant establishment, root structure and mass and optimizes plant nutrient availability throughout the growth cycle. It also contains natural chelators that bind to micronutrients leading to improved uptake and translocation within the plant. EnVoy also promotes antioxidant production, which aids in stress tolerance and improves photosynthesis by increasing chlorophyll production for better vegetative growth, helps regulate water loss through stomata in times of drought and increases plant salt tolerance, says the company.

Envita and Utrisha N

*Envita from Syngenta is a nitrogen-fixing bacterium that was launched last year. Corteva Agriscience’s Utrisha N is a new nitrogen-fixing bacterium that was launched in 2022. For detailed information on these products, please see the features in Grainews called “A new source of nitrogen” and “Can biological crop inputs for cereals and oilseeds work?”

Coming to market

KGS Group of Winnipeg, Man., in collaboration with University of Manitoba researchers, has developed two bio-inoculant strains of bacteria that make soil phosphorus more available to the crop and stimulate plant growth. It will be for use in canola, wheat, corn and perhaps soybeans. The product in development, KGS-3, also shows some antifungal properties.

In the pre-registration phase is TerraMG, a patented liquid product that will help control key diseases, insect pests and weeds. It was developed by MustGrow Biologics in Saskatoon, Sask., and has a two-part formula derived from food grade mustard seed.

The company says there is potential for this technology to be applied globally as a pre-plant soil biofumigant to treat soil-borne diseases and insect pests, and as a post-harvest biopesticide for storage and food preservation. The technology is safe and not hazardous as the two key components are separated and not active until combined in the field. This makes storage, shipping and use safe, but also extends shelf life to more than three years.

*Update: NexusBioAg was changed to Syngenta.

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Producers are aware of biostimulants, some have dabbled with a few, but others are still in that wait-and-see frame of mind concerning the industry that has an estimated world market today of about $2.5 billion in sales, which is expected to grow to $4 billion over the next four years.

Producers still have some big questions — do they work, is this snake oil, if this product is so great, why can’t you tell me what’s in it, or why don’t you give me a free sample and I’ll try some test strips on my farm?

Some producers are waiting for more independent, third-party product evaluations by government, college, university or applied research association researchers to provide objective feedback on how crops treated with biostimulants performed.

Ernie Nycholat, manager of agronomic services for Nutrien Ag Solutions in north-central Alberta, says in a blog that “biostimulants are substances or micro-organisms whose function, when applied to plants or the rhizosphere (soil zone directly surrounding the roots), is to stimulate natural processes to benefit nutrient uptake, nutrient use efficiency, tolerance to abiotic stress and/or crop quality, independently of its nutrient content.”

The terms “plant biostimulants” and “agricultural biostimulants” encompass a diverse group of product technologies, including bacterial or microbial inoculants, biochemical materials, amino acids, humic acids, fulvic acids, seaweed extracts and more.

Biostimulants and the larger category of agricultural biological products certainly aren’t a completely new idea. Going back to the 1980s, a new Saskatchewan company called Philom Bios introduced JumpStart, which was the application of a naturally occurring soil fungus that improved phosphate uptake, followed by TagTeam, which improved both nitrogen and phosphate uptake. And researchers and farmers have known for more than 100 years by inoculating pulse crop seeds with specific strains of rhizobia bacteria it helps those crops to convert nitrogen from the air in the soil around the roots to nitrogen the plants can use — nitrogen fixation.

The concept of using biostimulants on crops isn’t new, but farmers appear to be cautious, realizing all that glitters may not be gold. Here is what Grainews farmer panel members had to say about agricultural biostimulants.

Steve Snider

New Norway, Alta.

As a certified organic grower in central Alberta for the past 30 years, Steve Snider has seen a lot of biological products come and go. He says it doesn’t matter if a farm operation is organic or conventional, the bottom line with the use of any crop input is there needs to be some return on investment.

“There are a lot of products that may have some effect but you need to be able to get your money back,” says Snider, who operates Little Red Hen Mills at New Norway, about 20 kilometres south of Camrose.

“The challenge for farmers as well as the marketers of these products is the variability of the year. If you apply a product during a dry growing season, there is a good chance you’re not going to get much response. There may or may not be some snake oils out there, but I think the bigger thing is some products work with certain soils and some don’t. So, a lot depends on the soil biology on each individual farm.”

Snider says he has tried different products over the years and found some work and some don’t on his farm. The first hurdle with any new product for his operation is it has to meet certified organic standards, which means the manufacturer has to reveal their formulations, “and that eliminates a lot of products right there,” he says.

“The other default position I have with new products is to tell the salesperson, ‘If you believe in your product, give me a sample to try,” he says. “And some of them will do that. And if I find it is an effective product, I don’t mind saying so.”

Snider says he has had the most consistent results by using seaweed products as a seed treatment. It helps with fast and even crop emergence and root development.

“The key with any product and particularly biologicals is to find something that works on your farm,” he says. “Again, there is so much variability with soil types and soil biology on each farm that some products may work and some won’t. And it also helps to talk to other producers to find out if they use products that work for them.”

Greg Stamp

Enchant, Alta.

Southern Alberta farmer Greg Stamp considers himself one of the sceptics when it comes to biostimulant products that claim to benefit crop production.

Stamp, who is part of the family-run Stamp Seeds at Enchant, north of Lethbridge, says he has tried some products over the years but generally never saw any yield improvement.

“And sometimes you hear another farmer say they used a product and they sort of believe in it, they say it works, but then when you ask a bit further they rarely leave any check strips,” says Stamp. “They never really did any actual testing or comparison.”

Stamp says they often do on-farm trials on their farm with treated versus untreated test strips to evaluate any type of product, which gives them some idea, “but even that is only a guide, it isn’t very scientific.”

Stamp figures there is probably room to improve crop yields just by fine tuning their existing production practices — more balanced fertility or adjusting seeding rates — “and maybe there are some soils on the farm that could just benefit from an application of manure,” he adds.

Even if a biostimulant product improves root development as claimed, he wonders if that actually translates into improved yield or yield stability. “How consistent are the results?” he asks.

Stamp is also leery about the idea of changing production practices and eliminating use of crop protection products such as seed treatments in favour of a so-called natural “moose juice.”

“People resist the idea of using chemical seed treatments and they might luck out and get away with it for a year or two, but what happens when the crop is infected with bunt or smut or flea beetles or wireworm?” he says. “Is whatever they are doing going to protect their crop from those pests?”

Charles Schimdt

Davidson, Sask.

Charles Schmidt says he believes there is a role for biostimulant products in crop production, but a well-balanced fertility program is important as well.

Schmidt, who produces hard red spring wheat, peas and canola near Davidson, Sask., which is about halfway between Regina and Saskatoon, says crops were challenged during a dry growing season, so it’s not always obvious if treatments make a difference or not.

For the 2021 growing season, Schmidt applied humic acid to the seed of all crops. “It is a treatment that works with the natural biology in the soil to improve root development,” he says. “Even in a dry year, or especially in a dry year, I believe it made a real difference. Whether I will see that difference on the yield monitor this year I don’t know. But it is definitely something I will keep trying.”

Along with humic acid, he used a couple of ATP Nutrition products to improve nutrient levels and crop performance this past growing season.

“I used a phosphate product that I applied during the herbicide application,” says Schmidt. “Particularly with something like Viper herbicide on peas, it can be a bit hard on the crop but if I top dress with the phosphate then it helps to minimize any setback. I also applied it on some test strips in the canola and wheat, and hopefully I’ll be able to see a difference at harvest.”

Schmidt also applied an ATP potassium top dress product particularly to peas and canola as those crops were about to set seed.

“On both crops I noticed the bottom leaves were turning yellow, which is a sign that the top of the plants are scavenging potassium from the lower leaves,” he says. He applied the potassium top dress with about 15 gallons of water per acre.

“I applied that top dress and it made an immediate difference,” he says. “The plants greened up overnight. If we’d had rain, the roots could have drawn potassium from the soil, but it was just too dry. The treatment is only effective for about a couple of weeks, but it gives the plants time to produce seed pods.”

Schmidt says good root development and a proper well-balanced fertility program is needed for optimum production, with top dressing of nutrients as an option as needed. “With the potassium top dress, for example, if it produces a five per cent increase in yield, which may be two to four bushels, it more than pays for the $10 per acre treatment.”

Corey Loessin

Radisson, Sask.

Corey Loessin, who produces grains, oilseeds and pulse crops near Radisson, Sask., northwest of Saskatoon, says he’s waiting for more independent research on biostimulants before he gets “excited” about trying the products.

“My general sense is that many of these product claims have been oversold by quite a margin,” says Loessin. “They make a lot of claims and they have anecdotal results, but they don’t have replicated research trials to support claims of improved yield or quality.”

He says he is waiting for independent research from a university, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), provincial government or other independent organization before he’ll pay them much attention.

“I think another tell is that different companies make a number of claims, but if you ask them to provide product for a free trial they are not interested,” says Loessin. “So how confident are you in your product if you won’t even make it available for research trials?”

Loessin says there are different areas of the agriculture industry that make some pretty wild claims with little to back them up. He says changes in soil quality and water holding capacity, for example, don’t happen overnight.

“We’ve had 30 years of zero-till farming and it has helped to improve soil quality but it takes a long time,” he says. “A company comes along with a product that claims it will eliminate drought stress. Well, the only thing that relieves drought stress is water. Farming practices such as regenerative agriculture and cover crops, for example, have their benefits but they aren’t going to change soil quality in a couple of seasons.”

Fred Greig

Reston, Man.

In southwest Manitoba, Fred Greig says he is willing to try some products to see if they make a difference. As a board member of the Manitoba Crop Alliance, he does try to do some field-scale trials on his farm near Reston, not only for his own benefit but hopefully the information helps other producers.

“Over the years, I think some of the earlier products were basically just micronutrients,” says Greig. “But in more recent years, there have been more biological products and I believe there are some good ones, but they tend to get lumped in with products that aren’t that great and that tends to make a lot of growers hesitant. If members of the crop alliance and other organizations can do some on-farm research, hopefully that helps people sort things out.”

For instance, Greig says he has seen good results from the Yield+ product, which improves phosphorous availability and is produced by the Manitoba company XiteBio Technologies.

Yield+ is a biological inoculant that can be tank-mixed with a herbicide application for the first pass at the zero- to six-leaf stage or applied in-furrow. Greig has used the product with soybeans and canola. However, XiteBio now has a granular formulation he is hoping to use with a wider range of crops.

Yield+ is a product based on a naturally occurring PGPR (plant growth promoting rhizobacteria) platform, Bacillus firmus, which can improve phosphorus availability and increase yields in oilseeds, cereals, legumes and tuber crops.

On the other hand, some work was done last year with a compost tea-type product that didn’t produce any obvious results. “I know one year of test results isn’t necessarily an indicator, but I think I might be further ahead to increase fertilizer rates, if I want to increase yields,” he says.

Greig says another measure of what products can be trusted depends on the willingness of the company to supply a product for testing. “If they won’t make products available to the crop alliance or our regional diversification centres, or they won’t participate in any trials at all, I think that tells you something too.”

Kendall Heise

Beulah, Man.

Kendall Heise, who farms in the west-central area of Manitoba, north of the Trans-Canada Highway, says he is in the “wait-and-see camp” when it comes to applying any biostimulants to grains, oilseeds and pulse crops on his farm in the Beulah area.

“I don’t doubt they can measure some responses in a controlled research environment, but I would like to see what these products do on a field-scale level,” says Heise. “I have gone the route of trying some of the fertility-enhancing products over the years and I haven’t seen much benefit, so with the biostimulants, I will wait and see.

“Actually, I am hoping a neighbour will do a field-scale trial and then I can learn from them,” he laughs.

Heise says he would like to see the results of field-scale trials along with independent research from organizations such as AAFC or a university.

“Sometimes when crop prices move toward the high side, we tend to see more of these products come along,” he says. “It would be good to see some research that helps sort out which products have the most potential and then I would be inclined to try some trials of my own. I have done field-scale trials over the years and they take a fair bit of work.

“Maybe it has to do with my age, but I have seen a lot of products come and go over the years.”

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