A deep dive with Jacob Parnell, director of Agronomy at Biome Makers, into the evolving world of soil biology and biological inputs. Soil biology is the answer—no matter the question. While this may sound black-and-white, it is safe to say that soil biology holds the potential to resolve many global issues. So, where do we currently stand with soil biology research, and, more importantly, what does it mean practically for farmers? Many farmers are eager to transition away from heavy chemical inputs to biological alternatives. But, how do you know which ones work in your context?
Jacob discusses how the “black box” of biological inputs has disappeared in recent years. We now have enough trails and data to say to a farmer after done a soil biology test, this range of biological inputs will likely—up to 80% of the time—work well in your soils, providing specific, beneficial effects. This shift is revolutionary not only for farmers but also for the manufacturers of these products, who have historically marketed their products to work everywhere ( which obviously disappointed many farmers when they tried and product X didn’t perform). Now, companies can say “please don’t buy this product which likely won’t work in your context; try this one instead”.
LISTEN TO THE CONVERSATION ON:
THE UNCERTAINTY ON SOIL BIOLOGY AND BIOLOGIC INPUTS ISN’T NEEDED ANYMORE
We’ve opened the black box to understand what’s happening inside, allowing us to make more informed decisions about soil health practices.
”So, what we can do now versus what we could do then is just phenomenal. A lot of that uncertainty is way, way, lower, and at least now there isn’t a black box anymore where it was just kind of like saying, okay, we make a decision and we hope for the best. We’ve kind of removed that black box, opened the black box to show you what’s going on inside, so that at least you’re making more informed decisions.’’ Jacob Parnell
”We’re able to look at, for example, what practices actually do end up building up soil health. We’re able to say, okay, we’ve seen this happen, but basically, we need to see that happen in a lot of places in order to say, oh, look, here’s a place where it doesn’t quite work. But instead of in the past, where we would say, okay, we’re just going to accept that risk and say, okay, there are places where it doesn’t work, and we’re going to say, no, we want to see why it doesn’t work there and what does work there instead, and be able to provide recommendations for that.” Jacob Parnell
WE CAN PREDICT PRETTY WELL WHAT PRACTICES AND BIOLOGIC INPUTS HELP SOIL HEALTH
Predicting which practices and biologic inputs will benefit soil health is now possible. By leveraging data from various locations and soil types, informed recommendations can be made with a high level of confidence.
”So once that one product had enough different locations where we could say we’ve had a lot of different soil types, and we’re able to see how that one product interacts with the biology of a lot of different systems, we can then use AI to kind of predict how it’s going to work in other conditions. And so, it’s only been recently that we’ve really been able to get enough products, enough locations, and enough different biology, that we’re able to start to kind of put that picture together, and it’s still at a fairly high-level resolution, but we’ve shown that we can do that.” Jacob Parnell
”At this point, we’re getting to where we can actually predict, so we’ve done enough sampling or enough trials of products in different locations that we can say, Okay, this farmer’s field that we’ve never tested before has very similar biology to where we’ve actually tried this product, or, we’ve tried it at enough places, and we find that it works 80% of the time, and it’s because of these factors that it’s actually working, and those factors match with this farmer’s field. And so, we can kind of give you a recommendation by saying we’re fairly confident that this product will benefit you somehow in your field.” Jacob Parnell
BIOLOGIC INPUTS WORK, JUST NOT EVERYTHING ON EVERY FARM
Understanding why certain products don’t perform in specific areas allows for the identification of alternatives or adjustments to make them effective.
”…to give them ideas of, maybe also why, why doesn’t it work here? And since it doesn’t work here, can we find… So, I did spend some time at one of those biological companies, and it was a noble endeavour, and we were really trying to find good products that would help be sustainable and help increase yields. And so, one of the issues was, as you said, we know our product doesn’t work everywhere. So, it’s like, well, can we find a product that, you know, if we can find out why it doesn’t work in these places, maybe we can find either something that does work, or else we can start to try to figure out, how do we make it so that now our product actually can work there?” Jacob Parnell
”We know that’s going to happen, and we just kind of accept that risk, and I don’t think we need to accept that risk anymore. And that’s what Biome Makers kind of really saw: that we should be able to have that information; we should be able to know enough about the biology to say, how does this product work in the field? And then, if we test it in enough places, we can now start to say, we know where it does and doesn’t work. And then we can kind of bring those two sides together, the manufacturer and the grower, to say, we know where this product works, as far as what biology and what soil systems it benefits, and we know your soil system. And so, we can kind of put those together and say, will this biology work in your field? And we can kind of give them a, yeah, we’re confident that will or it probably won’t.” Jacob Parnell
OTHER POINTS DISCUSSED
Koen and Jacob also talked about
- the link between soil biodiversity and human health
- the role of soil in tackling global issues like desertification, biodiversity loss, and climate change
- how technological advancements are reducing uncertainties in agricultural practices
LINKS:
LINKED INTERVIEWS:
- Adrian Ferrero on how giving farmers insights into the soil microbial community is key to regenerative agriculture
- Henry Rowlands – Listening the world’s soil heart beat cheaply, audibly, in real time
- Kat Bruce – Going from putting insects in a food processor to raising $27M in 10 years and building the biggest eDNA biodiversity monitoring company
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The above references an opinion and is for information and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Seek a duly licensed professional for investment advice.