Audio Clip
Have you ever wondered how crop protection products make it to market? At Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥, the research and development process to find innovative solutions to agronomic problems starts and ends at the farm.
In this episode of the It Takes a Co-op™ podcast, Steve Carlsen, director of proprietary products with Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥; Alissa Geske, research lead at the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Crop Science Research and Development Center; and Dale Madsen, a grain farmer based near Casselton, N.D., discuss how crop protection products are developed and tested.
“As a farmer-owned cooperative, it’s pretty simple,” Carlsen says. “We go out to the country and ask our agronomists that are serving growers what agronomic issue they are having. Then we come up with a solution in product form to solve those issues. It’s really a grassroots effort.”
High-powered research
The Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Crop Science Research and Development Center in Randolph, Minn., opened in 2024 to speed evaluation and commercialization of agronomic products and technologies. The center includes a state-of-the-art greenhouse, which is split into six climate-controlled bays to replicate a range of growing conditions.
Carlsen says thousands of product concepts may be considered every year to earn a place in the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ agronomy portfolio. Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ researchers test a wide variety of products from seed treatments and miconutrients to adjuvants and biostimulants.
The center allows researchers to more efficiently test products year-round for consistent performance and agronomic benefit without worrying if the weather will cooperate.
“It’s a powerful tool for us and for growers. It streamlines product development,” Carlsen says.
“Product evaluation is no longer limited to the growing season,” Geske adds.
Applying grower input
Madsen says he talks with his Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ agronomist almost daily about agronomic issues and strategies for his North Dakota farm. He’s a firm believer in field research and collaborates with companies and land grant universities to test new technologies and validate agronomic practices to help bolster profit potential.
“A person learns a lot from having yield and other trials like [testing] adjuvants and different nutrients,” Madsen says. “I wish more people would approach me to do more trials on my land.”
Each month on It Takes a Co-op, we introduce you to people working in agriculture and energy, inside and outside of Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥, whose ideas and insights will help you, and your cooperative, succeed.
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