WINNIPEG — There are dozens of choices in the vitamin and supplement aisles at grocery and drug stores, to the point where consumers can be overwhelmed by the options.
What is ginkgo biloba and what does it do? Is it better than beta carotene?
The world of biological products in agriculture is similar. With hundreds on the market, growers may not understand how Product A is different from Product K.
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The people who provide advice to growers may also struggle to know the difference, so Corteva AgriScience is stepping forward to fill the void.
“I can’t speak for everybody, but I can tell you that Corteva is launching a biological certification system for 2025 and beyond,” said Ryan Bonnett, Canadian commercial lead for biologicals at Corteva. “We want to bring people in and educate them on these products.”
The training will be directed at agronomists and retail representatives who are face to face with growers.
Most agronomists understand the details of fungicides, fertilizer and other cropping decisions, but for many, biologicals remain a black box.
“How do these things work the best? Where do I use them? What do they actually do? What’s the difference between this product and this product?” Bonnett said, listing some of the basic questions.
A certification program won’t answer every query, but more knowledge should shed some light.
