This webinar covered Soileos product performance from our replicated small plot and large strip trials on soybeans, wheat, and corn. Our Chief Product Officer Jason McNamee and our Research Agronomist Laura Jefferies hosted it. You can watch the whole thing here:
Following the webinar, we have had some great questions, and in line with transparency, we want to share our answers. Read on to see our responses:
Our Answer: If farmers were making decisions today, these would be the prices they could lock-in. We considered the daily reports in Ontario as our reference price for this.
For pricing on our product, thanks to some improvements in the synthesis and scale of the manufacturing process. We recommend a 10 lb/acre application and a cost per acre of 10$/acre.
In wheat, this year, despite the drought, we saw 2-3 bu/gain on 3 of 4 sites in a drought year, at 10$/bu and 10$/acre, ’s in the right ballpark for a 2X ROI.
In corn, we saw 4-5 bu/ac increases on multiple sites, with 7/9 trials resulting in a win for Soileos. Across all our trials from all years, this is more like 8 bu/ac. At 4-5 bu/ac, we're still talking about an extra 30-40$ acre for a product that costs 12$.
In terms of buyer perception, it is an expensive price point but not unachievable. EDTA liquid starters for zinc are typically in that 10$/acre range for a .25 lb of actual zinc, where a 10 lbs. application of Soileos - Zn delivers 1.0 lbs of real.
Because of the nature of cellulose decomposition in different environments (micro and macro), we think the Soileos 1.0 lbs actual could build the soil Zn profile in some regions/parts of fields resulting in multi-year efficacy and field-specific variable rate applications resulting in an overall lower application rate and hence lower cost to the farmer. There may also be a carbon play with the product, which could improve the ROI. This is ongoing research for us.
Here is the table we shared during the webinar:
|
Crop |
Commodity Price (CAD) |
Expected Yield Advantage (bu/ac) |
Potential Net Gain (CAD/ac) |
|
Corn |
$ 6.60 |
7 to 10 |
$ 34 to $ 53 |
|
Wheat |
$ 9.60 |
3 to 4 |
$ 15 to $ 24 |
|
Soybean |
$ 15.80 |
2 to 3 |
$ 20 to $ 35 |
Our Answer: On SWAT maps, we saw some interesting variations, but one year of data in a drought is not enough to make any evaluation. We’d be happy to share some more interesting observations, but we need more data over time and in more environments.
In terms of identifying where it didn’t work as well, we did see a strong correlation between early season moisture and yield response. Over the past three years, we’ve also seen great results on various pH, OM, and micronutrient levels. We think there could be a few reasons for this performance improvement in multiple conditions.
One reason is the product's novel mode of action which results in “on-time delivery” of nutrients, which we think could promote an epigenetic effect on a plant. Another is that the product works independently of environmental factors such as pH and OM, which seem to impact traditional micronutrient products. Another could also be that current soil testing technology overestimates the concentrations of bioavailable micronutrients. Our data shows that our products perform well even when traditional soil tests show high or even elevated levels of micronutrients.
We also think that where Soileos works (seemingly in most environmental conditions) is not as important as “where does, Soileos offer the most advantage” to the grower. We see excellent results on higher pH soils that typically limit micronutrient availability and where traditional products do not work well. For example, in the Indiana corn trial, where we saw the great result, the soil tested at low Zn (1 ppm zinc test via a mehlich-3 extraction). We may find that the product provides the most significant ROI on more marginal farmland/fields as we move forward.
3. There was a mention of performance guarantees; what are they?
Our Answer: Check out our crop performance guarantees here:
4. You guys allude to seed coating. I am all for seed coating, but does that not get outside your guy's core value prop and message?
Our Answer: We have done preliminary research on seed and fertilizer coatings, and we are confident this is something we can accomplish. We are looking at providing bioavailable nutrients for seed coatings to get the crop off to the best start - not necessarily giving the whole season’s worth. If we look at lower-use micros, like copper/molybdenum or even some of the non-essential but linked to soil nitrogen cycling like cobalt, vanadium, etc.. we could be providing much more of a whole-season need with the seed dressing.