Unlocking Plant Potential: A Conversation on Micronutrients
August 22, 2025 Parents wonder what their newborn baby will one day become, and they work hard to maximize that potential. So, too, do farmers surveying their crops. There are many factors that influence the success of their fields. One thing growers can do is deliver the right micronutrients to their soil. CropLife interviewed Brooke Pfarr, Marketing Manager – Seed Treatments, Micronutrients and Fertilizer Additives, WinField United to learn how micronutrients can improve the chances for crop success.
Brooke Pfarr, Marketing Manager – Seed Treatments, Micronutrients and Fertilizer Additives, WinField United
CropLife: What were your expectations for micronutrients in 2025 and were they met?
Brooke Pfarr: WinField United is committed to the long-term success of our retailers and growers. We anticipated that low commodity prices would create headwinds for our owners in the micronutrient category in 2025. Our goal was to provide our retail owners with product options, return on investment information and strong agronomics to support continued micronutrient recommendations to growers in a pressured market.
Despite the anticipated challenges, we and our system have continued to deliver quality agronomic-focused products that yield results for growers.
CL: What factors influenced how the micronutrient segment faired this year?
BP: The three areas of influence we consider are agronomics, economics and externalities/weather. Economics played a key role in the segment this season as continued low commodity prices drove delayed decisions or skipped purchases in some cases.
Despite some areas being affected by a wet spring, there are many areas with a good, quality crop that are making investments in quality micronutrients. Growers continue to invest where crops are thriving. Incorporating proper nutrient recommendations is crucial for a high yield management plan.
CL: How has the role of micronutrients changed over the past couple of years?
BP: Micronutrients are an integral part of a systems approach to deliver the best yield in a grower’s crop. Adoption continues to grow as growers look to push yields and understand micronutrients being a key part of the nutrient hierarchy. Tissue samples have guided our system to identify local trends in geographies so that we can take advantage of any potential yield lift if the deficiency was prone to occurrence.
CL: How has science/technology behind micronutrients changed over the past several years?
BP: There aren’t any new nutrients, but we do continue to get better and better in products ability to provide efficient, quality nutrition to the plant. WinField United has seen greater adoption and promotion on the importance of micronutrients as part of a systems approach.
We’ve seen increased demand for combination products that provide convenience to our owners and growers from an inventory and tank mixing perspective. One of our recent innovations, MAX-IN Ultra ZMB Plus, provides a high load zinc, manganese & boron in a single solution with our patented CornSorb technology. While these types of formulations are complex from a chemistry perspective, we were able to deliver a single formulation that provides exceptional results and convenience to growers. We will continue to work on new ways to deliver differentiated, quality micronutrients that drive results for our retail owners and growers.
CL: Has artificial intelligence had an influence on the micronutrient segment, and if so, how?
BP: The increased adoption of drones within the industry has opened up a variety of opportunities for in-season management decisions, including in the micronutrient segment.
Artificial intelligence tools can analyze the data captured by drones to assess the field for deficiencies and make timely, agronomic recommendations for in-season applications. We recommend that this is augmented by a trusted agronomic advisor, as some deficiencies can look similar and may require historical tissue sampling information to augment the recommendation.
CL: What trends are currently driving the micronutrients marketplace?
BP: We’re continue to see more combinations and crossovers between biostimulants and micronutrients. While the segment holds exciting promise, it’s important to understand how a product works and understand the testing that has been done to verify claims. It can be difficult to navigate the crowded market and know which products out of the thousands will work.
That’s why we created the WinField United BioVerified designation to help retailers sort through the options and jump straight to a short list of products selected based on reliable product research and data. We test, we learn, and we figure out what works so farmers don’t have to spend their limited seasons sorting it out on their own.
CL: What are the biggest challenges to growing the micronutrient market?
BP: There are a few challenges we have as an industry:
- A need for more retail seller education and tools to be able to position agronomically sound products with their growers. We understand the challenges of being a retail seller today, so our goal is to enable sellers to be the hero at the farmgate by providing them the tools, products and education to best meet their growers’ needs.
- Cutting through the noise to provide the best agronomic recommendation. It’s a crowded market, especially in the adjacent biostimulant marketplace. We’ve created the WinField United BioVerified designation to help retailers sort through their options. We believe in a systems approach where macronutrients and micronutrients are addressed before chasing the yield promoting stimulants.
- Economics play a tremendous role in the micronutrient category. The University of Missouri published a survey in May 2024 that behind equipment and tech, specialty products were next be impacted by cost cutting (including biologicals, micronutrients). Removing a micronutrient may be a bigger detriment than a grower thinks if that is a deficiency they’ve been building on. We work hard to ensure retailers are armed with the right information to help their growers make the best decision for their fields. As an example, we have been monitoring corn that appears to be showing manganese deficiency in the late vegetative and reproductive stages. Our tissue samples identified this trend a few years ago and we are working to create a dataset that could support the recommendation.
CL: What are the biggest opportunities for the micronutrient market?
BP: The biggest opportunity is retail seller education. There is a long runway to develop in-depth knowledge in our industry to place “enhancement” type products. It’s not as simple as “see a weed, control a weed.” Combined with the many complexities and demands of retailers and high seller talent attrition, it’s a challenge to maintain the optimal agronomic recommendation to the farmgate.
WinField United’s goal is to be a partner and to enable the retailer to be the local, agronomic expert with their growers.
CL: What are your expectations for the 2026 season?
BP: We expect commodity prices to continue as a headwind when it comes to value-added products. However, our local retailers are unmatched in providing the best nutritional recommendations. We feel confident in our cooperative system and the local retailers’ value to their growers during both up and down cycles.
CL: What else do our readers need to know about the micronutrient market?
BP: The micronutrient market is dynamic, and each year brings new challenges for what growers need or where deficiencies reside. If you don’t already, make sure you have the agronomic support to provide the best recommendations to your growers. Between tissue sampling, understanding how weather will impact each nutrient, field trends, and more, ensure you’re providing the right value-added product at the right time for maximum impact.
Subscribe Today For
