Product Intros Highlight The Future of Meristem Crop Performance
Meristem Crop Performance aims to partner with independent, locally controlled ag businesses.
“You have to be first, better or different. We’re different,” says Peter Rousonelos, VP Business Development at Meristem. “We’re a partner for locally-owned retail. We’re a competitor for distribution.”
Regarding two new concentrated products, Rousonelos says they are illustrating where Meristem is focusing its business for the future.
“This is an efficiency play. It’s a better way of doing it. It’s the future of Meristem,” he says.
Leaning on its structure of bypassing traditional ag retail distribution, Meristem is looking for further refine the movement of adjuvants. Specifically, with its Advanced Concentrate System from Meristem Retail Platform Services, Meristem is moving adjuvant manufacturing closer to the point of sale.
Think of it like Coca-Cola syrup, says Joe Gednalske, Senior Product Development Strategist at Meristem. Instead of shipping the bulk liquid (water), the two concentrate base ingredients are used to make finished products locally, which reduced the water volumes needed in freight.
“This takes a step out of the process and reduces the inefficiency,” Gednalske says. “It cuts the costs on adjuvants and passes the value on to the customers. It adds convenience and it’s a better system.”
The two “base concentrate” products are:
- Aquadraft C: a surfactant product made with spray-grade AMS and water. The finished product includes a 3.0 and 3.4 lb. AMS water conditioner with non-ionic surfactant for improved performance with glyphosate and glufosinate and approved for use with Enlist One and Enlist Duo.
- Trutrack C: an oil-based drift and deposition product to be mixed with to be used as a stand alone adjuvant or in conjunction with Aquadraft C.
The lowest quantity made using the Advanced Concentrate System is 2,500 gal.
The second new product in adjuvants from Meristem is the combination of the above---taking the Advanced Concentrate System to add spray-grade AMS, water, Aquadraft C and Trutrack C to formulate Aquadraft Extreme.
Aquadraft Extreme is being touted as an all-in-one AMS-based water conditioner and surfactant combined with an oil-based drift and deposition control. According to Meristem, it can reduce farmgate adjuvant cost of goods by 50%. It’s approved for use with Enlist One, Enlist Duo, Liberty and Roundup.
The third product Meristem is highlighting with its “better way” approach is the Bio-Capsule Technology, which delivers biostimulants at the planter.
“With other systems, you have to overtreat the seed with the biological,” Rousonelos says. “Instead, our system keeps the microbes separate from the talc/graphite until it’s time to plant. It’s the delivery mechanism that makes the biology work.”
The Hopper Throttle Corn product is an 80/20 talc/graphite packaged in its bucket with the patented capsules at the top of the bucket. Each capsule can be loaded with an additional product—for example, Terrasym biostimulant, bio-fertility and more. The Meristem team says additional partner products will be announced for this system soon.
“We’re a platform company, innovation follows market access. And we are growing to be a pathway to the farmgate,” Rousonelos says. “We’ve had significant year-on-year growth over the past three crop seasons.”