"It's time to take cost out of your synthetic fertilizer
and adjuvant spend now…"
COLUMBUS, Ohio, June 27,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Meristem Crop Performance® today
announced EXCAVATOR® AMS, a new, more convenient formulation of
EXCAVATOR powered by patented MICROBILIZE™ designed to break down
residue and cover crops faster, speed nutrient release, reduce
labor and improve the efficacy of herbicide applications. The new
formulation includes ammonium sulfate (AMS), making it the first
all-in-one surfactant, water conditioner, residue breakdown
and nutrient release product.
"We just put our MICROBILIZE Technology on steroids when we put
the AMS with it," explained Joe
Gednalske, Meristem's Product Development Lead. "And this
formulation has a duplicate of our best AQUADRAFT formula, so you
are truly getting it all: the best surfactant, water conditioner
and the nitrogen to speed decomposition."
Gednalske led Meristem's development of MICROBILIZE™ Technology,
and is credited with 41 US and international patents for adjuvants,
spray application technology and other crop inputs. He's spent his
lifetime helping farmers and applicators hit their target with
exactly the right surfactant, drift control and water conditioner
and says this new product has three key improvements:
- A more aggressive biological consortium to break down crop
residue faster than any other similar product,
- AMS and a non-ionic surfactant to make burndown of weeds and
cover crops more effective and more convenient, and
- EXCAVATOR® and AQUADRAFT® PREMIUM in one tote or jug, reducing
mixing hassles and opening more space on the spray trailer.
"It's time to fight back and take cost out of your synthetic
fertilizer spend by unlocking the plant nutrition you already own,"
said Mitch Eviston, Meristem Founder
and CEO in announcing the new formulation. "Additionally, we are
giving the farmer a best-in-class water condition and surfactant
system for free and a nitrogen kicker making EXCAVATOR AMS the best
residue breakdown product one the market."
In the past five years, one of the fastest growing practices
farmers have adopted is residue management with biologicals that's
paying out in plant nutrition, reduced tillage, improved stands.
"Many farmers we work with are seeing $60 to $80 of value
an acre by spending less than $15 per
acre," Eviston says. "EXCAVATOR AMS is another step-change,
allowing all those benefits, plus saving another $2 per acre on adjuvant and nitrogen with this
all-in-one product. It's what we're all about—more bushels for
less."
Better plant nutrition is why Iowa farmer Kelly
Garrett says he has made EXCAVATOR a standard practice in
his crop production systems. "After 230 bushel per acre corn,
there's over 200 pounds of potassium in that residue and that
potassium is so much better than potash you would apply," Garrett,
an XtremeAg farmer says. "And the phosphorus you get from that
residue is so much better than what you get out of 11-52-0. That's
the kind of nutrition that we want for our crops."
Peter Rousonelos, Senior VP of
Business Development for Meristem, who coined the phrase "Biology
Is Fertility™," wants farmers to understand that investing in
EXCAVATOR AMS is investing in better plant nutrition. "It's really
a fertilizer spend," he says. "Independent research shows that
EXCAVATOR releases 40 to 60 pounds of NPK from residue 45 to 60
days after application." He adds that the formulation with AMS will
work even better and be even more convenient to use. "We know our
farmer customers want to go fast," he smiles. "With EXCAVATOR AMS,
they can go even faster."
Josh McClain, farmer and
owner/operator of Firebolt Ag near Norton, Kansas, sees Meristem's products going
hand in hand with sequestering carbon and bringing farmers a
win-win: improved ROI and a better carbon score. "Reducing tillage
is a quick way to qualify every acre, and it pays out extremely
well in the carbon industry," says McClain. "So, if a farmer uses
EXCAVATOR® AMS and cuts out a tillage pass, that offsets the cost
of that product plus amps up their bottom line."
WATCH Josh McClain here
"Take $30 to $50 out of your fertilizer budget and use it to
ignite this 'biology-is-fertility' system," urges Rousonelos. "You
will improve your ROI (return on investment), and an added benefit
is how it meshes with the regenerative agriculture approach already
approved by many who are buying carbon credits from farmers."
Rousonelos offers a step-by-step plan:
1. Take Out Cost
and Make The Most of Nutrients You Already Own.
"Timely unlock and make available to the growing crop valuable
pounds of NPK bound up in crop residue and cover crops with
EXCAVATOR® AMS, powered by MICROBILIZE™. You can save fuel and
labor with one less tillage pass. This stuff works."
2. Manage
Nitrogen for Just-in-time Delivery.
"Meristem's MAINTAIN™ ELITE captures and maintains more nitrogen
in the upper root zone, increasing nitrogen uptake and utilization
by the plant and N-GEAR™ DUAL-ACTION provides the same benefits
paired with the additional protection of nitrogen from volatility
loss."
3. Boost the
Plant's Focus on Building Massive Root Systems.
"At planting, use REVLINE® HOPPER THROTTLE™, powered by ETHER™
Enzyme Technology, to deliver active, lively microbes to build
massive root structures and boost nutrient availability. Growers
that have liquid systems on the planter should use UPSHIFT® C
liquid fertilizer concentrate to dramatically reduce the cost
compared to traditional starters and jumpstart biologicals that
make nutrients available."
While Meristem's "Biology Is Fertility" approach is drawing
favor from many who are boosting their carbon sequestration and
adopting more regenerative agriculture concepts at field level,
Meristem Founder Mitch Eviston says
the mission remains clear: helping farmers raise more bushels for
less.
"We know our high-yield farmers are facing headwinds in the
coming year and we're doing everything we can to help them take out
costs and still swing for the fences," he says.
Meristem Crop Performance Group, LLC
(www.MeristemAg.com) is one of the fastest-growing crop input
companies in America. Meristem sources, formulates, licenses, and
delivers high-quality crop inputs to farmers at a price point
empowering them to gain real productivity by increasing yields and
lowering their per unit production cost. Meristem is building a
highly efficient channel to bring crop inputs to market, reducing
waste and accelerating access to farm-ready innovations, such as
their patented BioCapsule Technology™ and
Microbilize Technology™ biological delivery
systems. For more information, visit www.MeristemAg.com or follow
Meristem Crop Performance
on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn,
and YouTube.
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SOURCE Meristem Crop Performance