What's your #1 profit limiting factor?

How Do You Know?

For the last fifty years, farmers have relied on many of the same methods—and in fairness, those methods have served us well. There’s no denying the Green Revolution’s profound benefits to humanity. However, we’re beginning to see diminishing returns: increased pesticide and fertilizer use no longer guarantees better profits.

Some argue that higher yields today prove our management is effective. We believe, though, that these increases stem more from improved genetics than better farming practices. Fertility recommendations based solely on nutrient removal rates often favor fertilizer companies rather than growers. Alarmingly, fewer than 25% of farms conduct annual soil testing, despite volatile and rising fertilizer costs. With efficiency hovering around 30%, why apply fertilizer blindly? And if most soil tests focus only on chemistry, are we missing the bigger picture—especially when soil structure is often the real limiting factor? When industry groups influenced by vested interests label certain approaches as “best practices,” it’s no wonder so many things seem off.

External Pressures on Profitability

Since the 1930s, farm profitability has never been under as much strain as it is today. Input costs keep rising while commodity prices often fall. As a result, farms must grow large enough to benefit from economies of scale or diversify to stay competitive.

A Balanced, Systems-Based Approach

Our philosophy merges traditional agronomy with modern, science-backed techniques to make the best use of every tool available—while preserving long-term soil health. By focusing on the entire system, we can rethink crop production and capture emerging opportunities for improved profitability.

Think of Cropping Systems Like Engines

The plant-engine analogy is surprisingly apt: just as tractors require water, air, spark, oil, and fuel, crops depend on water infiltration, soil gas exchange, sunlight, carbon, and minerals. Too much or too little of any component restricts growth, and if one part fails, the entire system suffers. True efficiency means doing the right thing at the right time within a systems framework.

• Weak Spark? Cloudy days reduce a plant’s energy intake, thus lowering its nutrient demand.

• Flooded System? Applying all your nitrogen at planting—when there’s plenty of water but less sun—saturates the system. This delays beneficial microbial activity, promotes luxury nutrient consumption, and reduces root exploration (essential for drought tolerance).

• Thinning Out the Oil? Excessive tillage depletes carbon reserves and undermines aggregate stability, a discovery that supports reduced-tillage practices.

• Overworking the Engine? Solely relying on synthetic fertilizers is like running your engine at 7,000 RPM. It might work in the short term, but it accelerates wear and lowers long-term performance.

• Integrated Components: Soil and crops work synergistically, much like an engine’s parts. Why not treat them that way?

Don’t Throw Out the Baby With the Bathwater

Fertilizers are effective, and crop protection matters—weed pressure alone can devastate yields. But the details are everything. High rates of soluble fertilizer at planting can inhibit soil microbes, reducing both drought and disease tolerance. Young plants don’t need large doses all at once, which often only feeds weeds and boosts herbicide use. Meanwhile, active soil microbes secrete compounds that improve soil structure, encouraging better water infiltration and gas exchange in a beneficial feedback loop.

That’s why limiting soluble fertilizer and adopting split applications—both soil and foliar—during critical growth stages can be so impactful. From a systems perspective, it just makes sense.

Smart Chemistry, Smart Timing

Organically chelated or complexed synthetic fertilizers, applied foliar or banded at the right time, can often correct in-season deficiencies more effectively than organic forms alone. We advocate using efficient chemistry precisely where and when it’s needed, guided by science and evidence—not by blindly following any single ideology.

Our Biological Method

We combine proven traditional practices with modern insights to cultivate resilient soils while also achieving strong yields today. The core of our Biological Method is a three-pronged strategy:

1. Enhance Soil Structure: Optimize physical properties to create the ideal environment for roots and microbes.

2. Farm the Microbes: Encourage beneficial microbes that unlock nutrients and suppress disease.

3. Supply the Right Nutrients at the Right Time: Deliver nutrients in the right form and at critical growth stages to maximize efficiency and boost biological processes.

We Know Change Isn’t Easy

Reimagining yourself as a microbe farmer and applying minerals more thoughtfully—using slightly less, more frequently—can be your first step toward regenerative farming and sustainable profitability. It requires both physical and mental effort. There’s no magic bullet in a jug. But the feedback we hear most often? Growing this way makes farming fun again. You can decide what that’s worth.

Ready to explore how our Biological Method can transform your farm? Let’s make regenerative agriculture both profitable and enjoyable—together.

Launch Pad to Learning

Explore these summary articles in our 'Launch Pad to Learning' filled with links to expand your knowledge base. Here you'll find easy-to-digest topic overviews about implementing sustainable agriculture, investing for future profits with soil health, possibilities around direct marketing, and the 'HOW' of Regenerative Agriculture. We're always adding to the list, so be sure to come back and check out the latest developments in Crop Growth Sciences.

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