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Innovation in agricultural chemicals
Staff Writers
Today we focus on innovation in agricultural chemicals, and what the agricultural industry can learn from outside thinking and the R&D and scientific work done in other industries. One such innovation common in other industries which is currently in the formative stages of being applied to agriculture is inorganic chemistry.
As opposed to organic chemistry, which creates molecules containing carbon compounds and forms the basis of the majority of agricultural chemicals, inorganic chemistry creates molecules that do not contain carbon compounds (containing instead silicon or other metallic compounds). Inorganic chemical products have much higher boiling and melting points, and – unlike organic chemical products – are largely not soluble.
In terms of suitability for agricultural purposes, inorganic chemical products have the potential to change the way we farm in many ways. Unlike the standard soluble solutions that are the result of organic chemistry, inorganic chemical products do not need to dissolve to do their job and can thus attach to the soil rather than move with the flow of water and get flushed out.
Applied correctly, inorganic chemical products can improve soil drainage, assist with soil amelioration and help pesticides and herbicides penetrate to a plant more effectively. They can also have health and safety benefits for those using them.
“The very powerful wetting ability of inorganic chemistry will find greater and greater applications in agriculture as existing toxins being used in the agricultural market – many already banned in Europe and parts of the USA – are phased out,” says John Saad, Managing Director of chemical company CHT Australia. “There will be a transition from the organic chemistry to the inorganic chemistry because it is inherently safer for the environment.”
CHT Australia is one such company working in the inorganic chemistry space, currently challenging pre-existing thinking in agriculture. The Australian arm of a German parent company, CHT is relatively new to the agricultural space but has a long history of involvement in industrial chemical solutions.
“We’ve been involved in the textile industry for 50 years, and our strength is controlling the movement of moisture through fabric and other membranes,” says John. “We took the same approach and applied it to the soil market.”
Using inorganic chemistry, the company is developing a wetting agent that can increase the water storage capacity of soil and thus improve plant root structure and lessen water usage. It’s an Australian innovation, applying global chemistry to solve a uniquely Australian problem.
“Everybody in agriculture is trying to achieve the same thing in terms of improving yield, but from different perspectives,” says John. “Our difference is we are not agronomists or soil scientists, we are application chemists. And what we’ve established through inorganic chemistry is a better mechanism to achieve the changes farmers are looking for when they apply vast tonnes of gypsum and organic material.”
While it is early days for inorganic chemical products in the Australian agricultural market, it remains to be seen if general market conservatism and a lack of scientific knowledge prove to be obstacles. Regardless, inorganic chemistry has the ability to change the way we treat crops and manage our soils and the next few years will undoubtedly uncover many new and exciting inorganic agricultural chemical products.
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Trace minerals are required for optimal growth, reproduction, and immunity. Optimising trace mineral status relying solely on oral supplements across a herd may fail because of variation in individual intake and reduced absorption due to antagonism of other ration components and minerals. The use of injectable trace mineral supplements has been associated with positive reproductive outcomes including improved conception rate, increased odds of pregnancy and greater final in calf rate. A study conducted on 2,168 dairy cows, administered injectable trace minerals, four weeks prior to calving and again four weeks prior to the start of mating showed treated animals had a 3.3 per cent greater final in-calf rate, and a reduced time from start of mating to conception, compared to control animals 1 . The Importance of B12 Dr Carl Eden, Technical Services Veterinarian with Boehringer Ingelheim says “Vitamin B12 is sometimes referred to as a ‘super vitamin’ because it is only required in very small amounts but vital to many essential metabolic pathways. However, demand for B12 can vary considerably during the year and we see serum levels of B12 fall at critical times, such as the first few months after calving.” Vitamin B12 contains cobalt, so deficiency in cobalt can lead to deficiency in vitamin B12 because ruminants get most of their B12 as a byproduct of ruminal fermentation where the bacteria in their rumen assemble B12 from cobalt for use by the cow. Sub-optimal trace mineral and vitamin B12 status at calving, mating, and drying off has been shown to negatively impact growth, reproduction, and immunity. Using a trace mineral injectable containing vitamin B12 can improve trace mineral and vitamin B12 status at these critical times. Marks-Min with Vitamin B12 – The Evidence In the largest trace element study to date, Marks-Min Injectable Trace Mineral with Vitamin B12 demonstrated remarkable results when compared to a reference trace mineral injection. “Given the differences between Marks-Min and other products on the market, we wanted to generate a compelling data set to demonstrate how effective it was compared to the pioneer product. We entrusted this work to a third-party research company” says Dr Eden. “We chose farms that were at the top of their game from a reproductive perspective. We made sure that the farms had no evidence of trace element or vitamin B12 deficiencies or excess.” Across all outcomes of interest, Marks-Min demonstrated clear non-inferiority when compared to the reference product. Outcomes measured included submission, pregnancy and conception rates, and six week in-calf rate. Marks-Min demonstrated it is highly suited as an alternative treatment to the reference product. Reference: 1. Hawkins, D., and B. V. S. Franklin. New Zealand Dairy Veterinarians Newsletter 24 (2007): 12-16 Company website: livestockfirst.com.au Company email address: CustomerCare.Australia@boehringer-ingelheim.com Company video: https://vimeo.com/1138807630?fl=pl&fe=cm
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