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70 SEEDWORLD.COM DECEMBER 2015 MIDCO GLOBAL INC. 145 GRAND AVENUE KIRKWOOD ST LOUIS 800-264-8785 314-965-6300 midcoglobal.com PACKAGING SOLUTIONSFOR AGRICULTURE RESEARCH AND PRODUCTION INDUSTRIES STOCK AND CUSTOM SEED PACKETS MONOFILAMENT MESH BAGS P4 PACKET PRINTER P4 UPGRADE TO GARDEN STAKE PRINTER SEED TREATERS SEED COUNTERS TISSUE PUNCHES CUSTOM BOXES nitrogen by 20-30 percent with a microbe that would have a huge environmental impact. Microbials then become a key part of environmental stew- ardship something that has always been important to farmers and is now coming in the form of government regulation. If you look at government regulation in fertilizers and there has been so much pressure on chemicals used farming does not always have a good public image on sustainability but microbes can help Bletsky says. For us to maintain food production with a regulatory environment and public perception it will be impor- tant to have biological agents replacing chemistries. Concerns about the effects of phosphorus and nitrogen find- ing their way to water decrease as growers need to use less of the fertilizers. Its also a cost-savings to those farmers who would need to use less on their fields. The bacteria is a cost-efficient and good way to capture nutrients necessary for those plants Doering says. Microbials also may cut into the need to spray as many pes- ticides which is both a cost-savings and helps with agricultures public image. If you got back to our grandparents chemicals these were broad-spectrum. As pesticides evolved they became more and more specific Shortell says. Over time we see a decrease in toxicity and an increase in specificity. Microbials are a step in that direction he says. Big Players While agriculture is experiencing the infancy of microbial prod- ucts there are signs that the industry could grow up quickly. Bayer CropScience purchased California-based biological pest management company AgraQuest Inc. in 2012. The com- panys CEO at the time Meadows-Smith was for a time Bayers head of biologics. That same year Syngenta purchased Florida-based Pasteuria Bioscience Inc. a company that Syngenta had been partner- ing with to develop and commercialize biological pest-control products. And the following year Monsanto purchased California-based Agradis Inc. a company focusing on microbial products for crop improvement. Monsanto is also partnering with Novozymes in the BioAg Alliance. The alliance pairs Novozymes expertise in microbial discovery and development with Monsantos research testing and commercial abilities. Bletsky says these partnerships and acquisitions give some lesser-known companies doing groundbreaking work the reach and credibility of the largest players in the agricultural world. The microbial industry had a big impact before the big com- panies came in but there is a lot of ways for these larger com- panies to help educate the public and deliver products that can make a change globally Bletsky says. The pace of discovery also stands to benefit from the inter- est microbes have drawn from the large players because of their research and development budgets as well as their expertise. Youve now got companies with big RD budgets look- ing into microbials. Were at the beginning of this process Meadows-Smith says. The potential over time is huge. SW