Buyer beware – question the value of add-on products
Crop heavy global markets and a less than positive outlook for cereal returns mean Irish tillage farmers need to refocus firmly on costs, especially add-on costs that add very little value to the bottom line of their business.
Bringing an international flavour to a recent episode of the Tillage Edge podcast, Professor Andrew McGuire, a research agronomist at Washington State University, joined Michael Hennessy to share some of his learnings from over 25 years of working at the coal face of science in US cropping.
In Ireland, there’s a growing interest in products such as bio-stimulants and biological soil amendments. Given this and speaking from his experiences across the Atlantic, Professor McGuire urged tillage farmers to critically assess the value of these supplemental crop products, a point extremely pertinent in today’s challenging tillage economic environ.
In the US, he explained, the market for these products remains largely unregulated, often leading to questionable claims about their effectiveness.
Using biological soil products as an example, Professor McGuire explained that many fail primarily because the soil conditions do not support the survival of introduced microbes. Native microbial populations often outcompete or consume these additions, limiting their impact.
“Even when products claim to deliver billions of microbes, that’s usually only a tiny fraction – less than 1% – of what’s already in the soil. It makes more sense to improve the existing soil environment than to try to replace it,” he explained.
Cautioning farmers against being swayed by marketing, Professor McGuire stressed the importance of examining the science behind so called product claims, noting: “A major red flag is when a product claims to do what only physical farming practices can achieve.”
You can’t buy your way to soil health, he explained, focus on proven practices first. If you want to try new products, have a clear problem you want to solve and a way to measure results, Professor McGuire advised advisors and tillage farmers.
For full insights from Professor McGuire’s interview with Michael Hennessy, listen to the Tillage Edge podcast below:
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