As harvest draws to a close, famers are looking ahead to next season. This means choosing crops and inputs. In this week’s edition of Growing Possibilities we ask: Early ordering inoculants. Is there any benefit?
Historically farms that purchase chemical inputs early save money. But this past year due to the pandemic and supply chain issues that was turned on it’s head with prices going lower in the spring (1). However, supply chains are different in the inoculant industry and because of this securing your inoculant early can lead to better selection and pricing.
Biological inoculants contain living organisms that are produced through fermentation (2). “This is a careful and time-consuming process because it involves growing live bacterial cultures” says Jeremy Voth, logistics manager at XiteBio. “After they’re produced, consideration is also given to how they’re packaged and stored. Most inoculants only have a 1-2 year shelf life, so they cannot be made on demand or stockpiled like chemical inputs.” As a result, manufacturers can only produce a set amount of inoculant each year. This creates incentive for both manufacturers and retailers to have orders booked as early as possible to ensure that everyone can meet their needs for the growing season.
Buying early ensures that you can obtain your choice of a premium liquid inoculant rather than simply buying a generic. But why should I worry about buying a premium inoculant aren’t all inoculants the same? No, they are not all the same. When looking for a good inoculant it is recommended to focus on a couple of things: A good bacterial strain and a product that has been proven through years of testing (3).
At XiteBio we use premium strains of Bradyrhizobium japonicum in XiteBio® SoyRhizo® and Rhizobium leguminosarum in XiteBio® PulseRhizo®. Not only are our strains active and vigorous, but our proprietary inoculant formulation also contains our Advanced Growth Promoting Technology (AGPT®). This technology helps to create synergy between the introduced rhizobia and the native bacteria in the soil.
The advantages of this technology have been proven through over a decade of testing in which XiteBio SoyRhizo has shown in general that on average it produces a 1.4 bu/ac advantage over the competition and XiteBio PulseRhizo has shown in general on average a 0.6 bu/ac advantage on peas and a 1.2 bu/ac advantage on lentils (4, 5).
So, early ordering inoculants. Is there any benefit? For those growers looking to take their yields to the next level in 2024 placing an early order on your inoculant now provides peace of mind that they have bought cost-effective nodulation insurance with high ROI for their soybean and pulse crops. Together we can ring in the 2024 growing season with healthier plants and better yields.
References:
- https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/best-practices-for-buying-farm-inputs#:~:text=Historically%2C%20farms%20that%20prioritize%20purchasing,average%20lower%20total%20input%20costs.
- https://www.topcropmanager.com/the-science-behind-inoculant-manufacturing-1087/
- https://www.topcropmanager.com/what-makes-a-better-inoculant-1021/
- https://xitebio.ca/xitebio-soyrhizo-premium-liquid-inoculant/
- https://xitebio.ca/xitebio-pulserhizo-premium-liquid-inoculant/