b'NEW EDGEADVERTORIALMICROBIALSAustralias legume inoculant specialists.T he ability of New Edge MicrobialsThis unique formulation is highly solu-(NEM) to meet the needs of Austra- ble and ideal for water injection systems lian & New Zealand farmers with ni- or traditional slurry inoculation methods. trogen-fixing, legume inoculants has seenYear on year, there is growing adoption of them emerge as the clear industry leader.EasyRhiz in the farming community as NEM Sales and Product Developmentit stays in suspension and flows through Manager, Daniel Zinga said the companyspray nozzles without blocking. has been built around market knowledge,Other products in the NEM range client support, technical service and theinclude NoduleN, which is a legume ability to supply the products to theirinoculant in peat, that can be applied with customers.water as a slurry directly onto the seed. We are a smaller company competingNoduleN legume inoculant is broad-against some industry giants and wevely used by farmers throughout Australia been able to carve out a niche to be the& New Zealand as a cost-effective and major inoculant supplier in the country.reliable product to fix nitrogen to benefit Australia has a wide range of crops thatcurrent and future crops, Mr Zinga said. benefit from inoculants including pasture &The peat option is particularly useful as legume crops across twenty million hect- it contains moisture and nutrients to help ares of area.the rhizobium bacteria thrive and improve Crops such as lucerne (alfalfa), medicsits survival. and clovers are commonly used in the pas- All of our rhizobia cultures are sourcedWith our research partners, NEM is also ture industry, Mr Zinga said. Australia alsofrom the Australian Inoculant Researchexploring a range of beneficial microbi-has around two million hectares of pulseGroup (AIRG) and are quality assured, Mral strains to improve plant and nutrient crops that include chickpeas, faba beans,Zinga said.uptake.field peas, lentils, lupins & vetch. OtherWe are confident of an 18-month shelfIsolates are continually being assessed legume crops such as peanuts, soybeanslife with our premium products, ensuringfor targeted crops, including formulation and mung beans are also grown.growers get the maximum benefit fromperformance, application method, be it NEM inoculants are also utilised bythe inoculants.biological seed treatment, soil or foliar Australian & New Zealand pasture seedThe business is based in Albury, south- application, with the goal to reduce the companies. Seed companies are respon- ern New South Wales, and was estab- reliance on traditional chemical and fertilis-sible for applying inoculant in the coatedlished 20 years ago by the founder Sandyer applications. These new solutions will pasture seed segment, which is quiteMontague, and has seen continual expan- provide an option in the growing area of different from the broadacre crops wheresion from those early days, Mr Zinga said.regenerative systems. growers generally apply on-farm.Our current fermentation capacityThe success of the business is based Inoculants play a major role in theis approximately 46,000 litres of liquidaround quality products, knowledgeable success of legumes in Australia & Newculture at any one time, with fermentersstaff, technical service and a great capac-Zealand with many growers relying onranging in size from 200 litres through toity to meet the demands of the Australian our products to aid plant growth, improve10,000 litres.& New Zealand market. yield and to add nitrogen to the soil, MrThis capacity gives NEM productionThe NEM team are passionate about Zinga said. The use of inoculants in thethe ability to respond quickly to fluctu- our products and our role in helping farm-legume phase of the rotation can provideating pulse crop sizes in the Australianers and we also have a strategic plan to gross margin benefits for up to two years.marketplace.take our skillset and unique formulation to A major part in the success of the busi- For instance, in 2017 there was unprec- the global market ness is the ability to provide crop-specificedented demand for chickpeas through-inoculants, in a proprietary form, that canout Australia as a result of good seasonal be easily utilised by their customers.conditions and high commodity prices. EasyRhiz The production facility was running 24/7is a water-soluble legume inoculant that is being widely used byin the pre-season in order to meet the de-farmers. It is in a compact 30-gram vial,mand & ensure Australia farmers maximized easily transported and excellent to use.the opportunity that was presented.www.microbials.com.auINTERNATIONAL EDITION 2020SEEDWORLD.COM /51'