WinField United Launches BioVerified Program
February 7, 2024 The biological age of agriculture is well underway — the U.S. market expected to double within five years to surpass $2B — and entities all along the supply chain are exploring the most effective and efficient ways to find and implement these products.
“The biological market is crowded, and it can be hard to know where to begin,” says Jeff Carr, Biologicals Marketing Manager, WinField United. “Our agronomic experts have been closely monitoring and testing biological products to help the growers and retailers in our system understand which products to trust and how to use them. Now, we’ve consolidated that effort into an identifiable brand and systematic rating scale to make the vetting process easier for our partners.
In just announced news, WinField United has developed what it’s calling the WinField United BioVerified designation program.
“The WinField United BioVerified designation helps retailers identify potential product recommendations by highlighting biological products we have thoroughly vetted based on four key criteria,” the company says. “This designation was created to give you a clearer reference point when selecting and recommending biologicals.”
Those criteria include four components:
- Uniqueness compared to other products on the market.
- Agronomic considerations including identifiable mode of action, performance and placement.
- Operational compatibility with standard application methods, products and inventory.
- Economic return for growers and retailers.
“The WinField United BioVerified designation helps simplify the biological category by highlighting biological products we have thoroughly vetted,” Carr say. “This designation was created to give you a clearer reference point when selecting biologicals.
“The WinField United BioVerified designation is not limited to WinField United products,” Carr continues. “Sure, we test proprietary products and some of them, like Ascend2 plant growth regulator, make the list. But spotlighting our own products is not the focus. As a distributor, we’re looking across the market to be a transparent and trusted resource.”
The entire agriculture supply chain has experienced increased investment and innovation across a broad range of biological categories, the company says. The designation is designed for retailers looking to support their biological recommendations to grower customers.
Products approved through the United BioVerified designation go on a list of approved biological products. “Biologicals from the WinField United product list are selected for review based on their potential within their sub-categories,” the company says. “The highest rated products are given the WinField United BioVerified designation to make it easy to identify timely, transparent recommendations.
“Any product we stand behind must have data to prove it works and brings value to the field,” the company says. “This could mean we’ve looked at it internally in our Answer Plot system or that we’ve analyzed broad data from a third-party vendor using the same protocol and rigor we use for our primary research. Our team at the Innovation Center in River Falls, WI, has also started using their 3D imaging equipment to help identify product impacts faster in a controlled environment.”
The program provides three advantages:
- Product Confidence: When you recommend a WinField United BioVerified product, you can feel confident knowing it is backed by the agronomic experts at WinField United.
- Simplified Selection Process: The market is so crowded it can be hard to know where to begin. The WinField United BioVerified product list gives you a sound starting point.
- Latest Innovation Updates: The WinField United BioVerified product list will evolve along with technology releases. If a new product comes out with stronger performance, it could edge out others on the list.
“Products on our radar were on the bubble for inclusion on the WinField United BioVerified list, but we still have questions to be answered and testing required before we provide your exclusive designation,” the company says.
In addition to rolling out the verification designation, WinField United also provides a guide for retailers about how they can “focus your biologicals product message.” That process involves considering eight questions:
- How does the product work?
- What is in the product to make it work that way?
- Does the product have a robust data set to support the sales claims?
- What specifically does the product do to create more yield potential? Is it a stress mitigator? Yield enhancer?
- Does this product solve an issue on their farm?
- How variable will the results be?
- Are there certain agronomic requirements that need to be considered prior to applying this product?
- What operational requirements does this product have?
Currently there are 11 products that have earned the verified designation.
- Ascend: For use on in-furrow corn
- Ascend SL: For use on corn, foliar; soybean R1-R3; cotton, match head square through boll
- CeraMax: Soybean, seed treatment
- Heads Up: Soybean, seed treatment
- Seed + Graphite: Corn, cotton and soybean, planter box seed treatment
- Ion Stryke: Corn, in-furrow, foliar, and soil-applied
- Source DC: Corn, V4-V6, VT-R1; Cotton, squaring-mid-bloom
- Vault IP Plus: Soybean, before planting
- YieldON: Corn, V10-R2; Soybean, R1-R2
- Voyagro: Corn, V8-V11 or V15-VT; Soybean, R1-R3; Cotton, early bloom
- Zume: Corn, in-furrow
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