As humans we have an innate need to categorize things. We’re constantly making judgements about everyday items based in part on what category they belong to. Say fine dining or fast food, and you’ll conjure up two totally different images in your mind. As farmers, we do the same thing with the products and practices that are marketed toward us. In this spirit, we asked Andy Dardini to break down the biologicals marketplace. What exactly is a “biological” product? And what are they supposed to do for your farm? 

Two Broad Categories of Biological Products

I always break the marketplace down into two basic categories: biologicals and biological stimulants. Biologicals are essentially “bugs in a jug.” The purpose of biological stimulants is to feed or enhance the biology already in your soil. When it comes to the biologicals, it really doesn’t make a difference if we’re talking about live bugs or freeze-dried bugs. The important distinction is that we’re either adding new biology to the soil or stimulating the biology that is already there.

Of course, with the biological products, where you’re introducing new biology to your soil, you have to further define what you’re trying to accomplish with the product. Are you looking for something targeted toward enhancing plant growth through nutrient conversion? Or do you need a residue digester or something to help relieve disease or stress pressure? 

On the biostimulant side, we break it down to providing either energy or a food source (or both) for the biology. Anything that has the intent of enhancing the biologicals or their functions could be considered a biostimulant.

How do You Find Legitimate Products? 

One of the things that farmers ask me a lot is, “how do I know what’s good, what’s legitimate?” I tell people number one to investigate the company. And then look at what’s actually in the product you’re considering. Let’s say you find a product that has one particular bug in it. That bug may have a purpose, but as we’ve talked about here today, it’s probably not likely to bring much success. 

Number one, it may be a bug that’s already fairly dominant in your soil. So applying more may not help you with whatever situation you’re dealing with. And number two, remember that it’s an entire ecosystem down there—balance and the food chain are critical. So, by applying one single bug, you’re probably not going to get the same response as you would if you’re using a combination of different bugs. 

Reach out for the Answers You Need 

When evaluating any biological product, you have to find the answers to several questions: How many colonies are in the product? What’s the vigor and the life expectancy? What’s the shelf life of the product? How is it produced? This is where you may have to go beyond the label to find the answers. You can either talk to the company directly or network with other farmers that have used the product that you’re considering. 

Read Product Labels Carefully

I want to showcase enough information on my labels to cover the things I’ve just talked about. But at the same time, we want to protect our proprietary information. However, you can protect your trade information without being mysterious or deceiving. People should realize that any counts we list are regulated, and that quantity of a particular organism has to be there by law. So you can’t be deceiving about that. If a label says six million CFUs per milliliter, a third-party lab has to be able to verify that. If they can’t, the product is at risk of being pulled. 

From the FCLG: By definition, a CFU or colony-forming unit, is measure used in microbiology to estimate the number of viable microbial cells in a sample that can multiply under controlled conditions.

If you look at some of our Physagro product labels, you’ll see that I list several species, but not every species I include is listed. Some of them I have cultured and grown specifically because I have found them to be very helpful at certain remediation-type work, and that’s not something that we’d want to disclose and give to another company to market. 

[ADD SAMPLE LABELS HERE]

Research Biostimulants Carefully

The regulations on biostimulants are a lot looser. Remember that, with this category of biological, we’re talking about anything that has the intent of enhancing the biologicals or their functions. For this category, you really need to do your research. Talk to farmers who have used the product(s) you’re considering for your farm. Look for products that have been part of independent research trials. The best place to start may be to reach out to the company and ask them to point you toward the research and any customers that might be willing to share their stories with you. 

Funny Business: Learn to Recognize Fishy Claims  

Besides doing your research, there are some claims in the biologicals industry that you have to watch out for. Above everything else, if something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. 

If you find a product that guarantees a certain performance, it’s probably fishy. For example, a product might specify a certain number of pounds of nitrogen being released for plant consumption. That’s a really, really tough thing to measure and verify. And, obviously, everyone’s soils and farming practices are different. Therefore, no product can guarantee a certain level of performance on every farm.  And, because of the lack of regulations, someone could technically take a scoop of dirt, add water to it, and call it a biological because there is soil biology in it. 

In my own business, I try to be very transparent with people and explain how the products work, why we’re doing what we’re doing, and why we’re intentional about including certain strains. My goal is to encourage farmers to give a product a trial and give them confidence that it’s the right thing to do. The education side of the industry is very important, and any company worth considering should be very open about how their products work and how you have to use them. 

As I’ve said, we can’t put every single detail on a product label because of the proprietary information, but any biological company you investigate should be able to walk you through the information I’ve just mentioned. Someone at the company should also ask you questions about your farm—your land and what you’re looking to accomplish. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach in farming, biologicals included. 

The Power of Sharing Knowledge 

As a researcher and former educator, I’m passionate about encouraging farmers to do their own investigating. What’s great about the FCLG is that it provides a platform for us to share with each other. It’s good for everyone in the industry—those of us selling products and those of you out in the field each and every day—to understand and learn from each other.

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