Commodity Classic 2024: 7 product highlights for farmers

The Commodity Classic trade show is a launchpad of new agricultural products and innovations each year. This year’s edition of the show didn’t disappoint, with more than 15 companies announcing new products from the Successful Farming Main Stage on Thursday in Houston.

Here are seven of the products that caught our eye, from brand new machinery to advancements in digital farming equipment.

Digital farming

FieldView Drive 2.0

Bayer Climate FieldView announced Drive 2.0, its newest digital hardware for crop farmers. The offering will replace Drive 1.0 in 2024 and is aimed at improving the data available for farmers who want personalized precision data and insights.

It is the next step in the digital farming space for Bayer, with the goal of expanding Drive 1.0’s data-gathering features and adding cloud storage. It offers six new core capabilities and improved acre-by-acre precision technology, said Andy Folta, U.S. product marketing manager, Climate FieldView. 

• Secure data collection and Bluetooth capability
• Next-generation hardware with 12x more processing power
• Stable connection and 32 gigabytes of memory
• Prescription delivery and file transfer
• More compatibility with different equipment types and brands
• The future installation of fleet tracking

There are three subscription levels to FieldView: Prime, Plus, and Premium. Premium subscribers will get unlimited FieldView seed scripts for free and get enhanced scripting capabilities. Learn more here for pricing information. 

Arc farm intelligence technology

FMC’s new proprietary technology platform, Arc farm intelligence, is a mobile application that provides predictive analytics and predictive decisions on pest management. 

Taken from real-time in-field sensor data, Arc farm intelligence utilizes artificial intelligence and Smart-Trap technology to help farmers to predict pest pressure and  help control and manage pests, said Eric Castner, FMC regional technical manager.

Castner said the AI technology allows FMC to recognize pests through photographs and recognition software, as well as the population of pests in each visual Smart-Trap. He added that FMC is currently working with 10 different crops and is seeing benefits in managing cotton bollworms.

The Arc farm intelligence app is free to download in the Apple App Store and on Google Play. 

Soil sampling

EarthOptics

EarthOptics has built a  quickly rising soil sampling business with a focus on mapping soil using a smaller amount of land than other methods.

Founded in 2018, co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer Todd Martin said EarthOptics has prided itself on real-time mapping and measuring soil for farmers at a faster clip than other methods of soil sampling, in addition to the smaller amount of land sampled.

Using a proprietary technology that continues to evolve, the company currently conducts 60% of all U.S. soil carbon quantification and 90% of all U.S. soil carbon measurement for range land, according to research released by EarthOptics.

EarthOptics does not sell its machinery, instead serving as a direct-to-seller service. It has added nutrient levels and mapping of compaction data with SoilMapper to give farmers a custom tillage prescription.

More information can be found here.

Biologicals and biofungicides

biotrinzic Z15 

Indigo Ag has a new powdered bionematicide, biotrinzic Z15, on the market and available for farmers to purchase. Z15 is a powdered form of streptomyces bacteria used as a seed treatment. It is currently designated for use with corn and soybeans.

Biotrinzic Z15 is designed to enter the plant as a bacterium and use three unique modes of action to provide season-long protection in plants after germination. Matt Powe, senior agronomist, said the powdered state of Z15 provides flexibility in when and how it can be applied to plants.

The modes of action include induced systemic resistance, in which the hormonal balance of the plant is changed in order to improve immunity. Immobilization partially paralyzes nematodes, while the root colonization action is supposed to encompass roots as they grow and prevent nematodes from causing damage.

Powe said the bacterium has a “symbiotic relationship” with plants and said that Z15 has improved safety for crops and humans alike, compared with other bionematicides. 

More information and pricing can be found here.

Prephyte ST/Metalyxl ST

Meristem introduced its newest fungicide this week after it was approved by the EPA, and unveiled Thursday at Commodity Classic. Metalaxyl ST is controls multiple species of pythium and phytophthora fungi.

The crop performance company plans to use its patented Bio-Capsule Technology delivery system to pair Metalaxyl with a new biocontrol named Prephyte ST. Prephyte ST is still pending EPA approval.

Mitch Eviston, founder and CEO of Meristem, said in a press release that the company will be offering “a few thousand acres” of product with the new formula in the Revline Hopper Throttle brand through a select group of dealers in 2024 as part of a limited release.

"I've spent 10 years working with biologicals, and we have struggled for years to keep biologicals alive through the atomization process in conventional treaters, and some great biocontrol technology hasn't shown positive results," said Chris Thrasher, director of innovation and product management. "But now, Bio-Capsule allows us to use the fungicide and the biocontrol together to address the primary soil-borne diseases in soybeans and seedlings.”

Polymers

Soltellus 2000L

Lygos announced the new polymer Soltellus 2000L, a biodegradable, multifunctional, and water-soluble product available in liquid or powder form for farmers.

Soltellus 2000L can be applied by being put in a tumbler and sprayed over the crop, applied aerially, or co-applied with a liquid fertilizer. Soltellus 2000L is aimed at increasing crop yields up to 10% and producing a 3x to 10x return on investment, according to Lygos.

Chad Hoffman, company director of agronomy, said Soltellus is not an adjuvant polymer but one that binds to both fertilizer and soil particles before breaking down into bound nutrients before being consumed by soil microbes. It holds important nutrients in the root zone for a longer period of time, improving nutrient ability and uptake, according to the company.

“We’re creating this layer of molecules that are bound together, and this allows us to take advantage of some of those positive and negative charges like phosphates and nitrates as well,” Hoffman said. 

Also at Commodity Classic, Hoffman announced the Lygos 2024 Performance Guarantee program. Farmers or producers who purchase and apply 220 acres of Soltellus in 2024 will have the opportunity to get the full purchase price refunded if it fails to achieve a return on investment equal to or above 2x the cost of the polymer. It is available for as low as $8 per acre.

Machinery

Vector Energy Miser Mixed Flow Dryer 

The new grain dryer from Brock is named the Vector Energy Miser Mixed Flow Dryer. Fully available in the United States for the 2024 season and coming to Canada in 2025, it is the company’s latest grain handling device and comes with new technology for farmers who want a more intuitive drying process for their crops.

The Vector will use the company’s exclusive Intui-Dry dryer control technology, which is operated on a touchscreen and is supported by monitoring of ingoing and outgoing moisture. The modular design will allow users to run upper modules at a higher temperature than lower modules, if they choose, vice president of sales and marketing John Tuttle said during a presentation Thursday. 

For a list of Brock dealers, click here.