Neal Wagar with EcoTea and Mary-Jane Orr, general manager of Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives, test soil treated with EcoTea during a field day at the organization's Brookdale farm on Aug. 12, 2025. Photo: Miranda Leybourne

EcoTea microbial soil treatment gets stress-tested at MBFI

EcoTea biostimulant was applied to cereal forage crops at Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives north of Brandon this year, with some initially good results

Plot research on a microbial biostimulant at Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives’ farm points to modest yield advantages for growers, though field variations may sway the data. Further study is planned.

A biostimulant that reduces heat blast and preserves yields is one of the many products on the market that are piquing producers’ interest.  |  File photo

Farmer interest grows in plant biostimulants

Companies that make these products say more education is needed as producers continue to explore products’ potential

LANGHAM, Sask. — At 2 p.m. on July 17, Ryan Bonnett and many other people at the Ag In Motion farm show near Langham were seeking a place in the shade. The temperature was around 30 C and the word “hot” came up in most conversations at the show. The afternoon temperature was also on […] Read more

Global investments in crop biostimulant and control products more than doubled in 2021 from the previous year, but microbial fertilizers are largely unregulated, with few studies onhow effective they are at boosting yields. | Getty Images

High tech sector thinks small

(Reuters) — Tech companies are raising hundreds of millions of dollars, including backing from agricultural heavyweights like Bayer, in developing farm products that use living things like microbes and seaweed to nourish crops and lessen the need for synthetic fertilizer. Microbes, including fungi and viruses, have been available for decades as treatments to protect plants […] Read more