After attending several field days this summer as well as our own National Strip-Tillage Conference that just took place in Iowa City, I can confidently say that biologicals are as hot of a topic as ever in the regenerative ag community right now.
Questions about biologicals came up at Jim Hershey’s field day in Elizabethtown, Pa., in July as the Pennsylvania No-Till Alliance celebrated 20 years of existence with on-farm learning. And even more questions rolled in during the Strip-Till Conference when the “godfather of biological farming,” Gary Zimmer, spoke to the crowd and mentioned that while biologicals can be helpful, it’s important to know just what you are putting onto your farm.
But all these questions farmers have about biologicals seem to boil down to one main topic: are they really worth it? It’s no secret that most farmers do not have a plethora of time to research and look into new topics, especially this time of the year while harvest season approaches rapidly for many regions of the country.
But according to a recent report from Practical Farmers of IOWA (PFI), new farmer-led research exploring the effectiveness of biological products led to some very interesting results.
Here is a snippet of what was concluded from the research:
Since 2019, seven farmers in Practical Farmers of Iowa’s Cooperators’ Program have conducted 16 on-farm trials testing various biofertilizer and biostimulant products. These products, derived from living microorganisms or natural substances, are marketed to benefit soil nutrient cycling, enhance soil fertility, stimulate plant growth, improve plant stress tolerance and more.
While these products are promising in theory, the trial results were mixed. Most of the trials (81%) showed no benefit to the use of biological products on the farms that tested them.
The trials included:
- MycoApply Soil Inoculant for Corn and Soybeans – 2019
- Holganix Bio 800+ Compost Tea for Corn – 2023
- Utrisha N Biological Nitrogen Supplement for Organic Corn – 2023
- Biostimulant Effects on Corn – 2024
- Biochar Seed Treatment Effect on Corn – 2024
- Sulfur Fertilizer and Humic Acid Amendment for Soybeans – 2024
However, the report also notes that it’s worth pointing out the unofficial PFI Cooperators’ Program disclaimer: What works for one farmer may or may not work for another farmer. In other words, testing practices, strategies or products with on-farm research is a time-honored way for farmers to see things for themselves and make informed decisions.
This of course does not mean that biologicals have no value whatsoever. But it is nonetheless an interesting piece of knowledge in this ongoing biologicals puzzle that farmers continue to try to piece together.
If you’d like to see more details from PFI’s biologicals research or other PFI research trials, it can be found here.
