Enhancing microbial activity important

A fairly new company is focusing on sustainable agriculture, geared toward microbiology and soil health.

New Solutions Ag specializes in fertilizers which enhance microbial activity within the soil along with manure treatments utilizing biology to reduce the need for chemicals. Beau Popejoy of Fairbury is a partner with the company, which also has a presence in the strawberry growing areas of California.

Popejoy started working on fertilizers around five years ago, floating around ideas and teaming with chemists along the way.

“We manufacture several fertilizers and work with some biologicals and incorporation with the fertilizers,” Popejoy explained.

This isn’t necessarily organic or big chem but New Solutions Ag does sell both types of products. Strawberries are a high-end crop and there is little room for mistakes so the company has an agronomist in California.

“Then we worked into the corn and soybean crops as well as alfalfa and some things like that,” Popejoy adds.

The company went out on quite a few corn and soybean acres this year with foliar applications and straight biological work. Areas of focus include foliar feeding, pre-plant and a manure product which is a registered fertilizer.

“It’s an additive,” noted Popejoy. “Overall, it’s designed around microbiology. If you can increase microbiology in the soil, you can increase it in the pit.”

New Solutions Ag’s products are designed around yield and leads to the return of organic matter.

“That’s what everybody is looking for. If it doesn’t make the farmer money, there is no sense in trying to sell it.”

In these times of lower prices, growers can cut back on application rates if they get the soil into the right condition. Popejoy has observed the importance of foliar feeding on crops in California and has seen great results with that.

Several dealer networks are involved with New Solutions Ag, which works under a patent and is involved with a company out of Indiana which is the main distributor. The company has expanded into the swine and dairy industries in Wisconsin, Iowa and North Carolina.

“We are branching out looking for people who want to deal the product,” said Popejoy.

More information can be obtained at www.newsolutionsagllc.com or by looking at the company’s Facebook page.