Manitoba Rural Adaptation Council

BrettYoung Seeds Ltd. is building better crops with its new biological agriculture products. Research and development on the BioBoost line of seed inoculants began eight years ago, however it was only in 2007 that the Canadian company applied to the Manitoba Rural Adaptation Council (MRAC) for funding to proceed with the pre-commercialization. 

“We had developed some products and before we could go to the commercial production we needed to scale up the process and so with MRAC’s funding we developed that pre-commercial process. MRAC supported us in this very important part of the project,” says Dr. Manas Banerjee, director of regulatory affairs and business development for BrettYoung Seeds.

The pilot project fit into Pillar II – Capturing Market Opportunities by Advancing Research Results of the Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food (ACAAF) program, which was funded by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and ended in March 2009.

BrettYoung Seeds currently has three BioBoost products on the market: BioBoost for canola, BioBoost Plus for soybeans (formerly SoySuperb), and BioBoost Foliar for canola. BioBoost for canola is a peat formulation while BioBoost Foliar is a liquid formulation.

BioBoost for canola is registered in Canada, the United States, Europe and Australia; while BioBoost Plus and BioBoost Foliar are commercial products in the United States. BioBoost Foliar is currently under Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) review, notes Banerjee.

The biological products were developed through the use of the patented plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), which is a bacteria from the root region that colonizes plant roots and stimulates plant growth. 

“There is definitely a need for these products. Farmers and the general public are looking for biological alternatives compared to the agri-chemicals, and environmental concerns are rising,” says Banerjee. “And generally these products are not that expensive either. So if you can give a good return on an investment using environmentally friendly products that must be the way to go for the future.”

And sales indicate Manitoba farmers see the BioBoost products as a wise investment. According to Banerjee, sales continue to increase every year.

“If you look at the whole global picture of our food security, declining food, increasing populations, we can’t increase the land mass anymore so we need to increase the yield, and here’s an opportunity to enhance the yield using naturally occurring bacteria,” he says, noting there was an approximately six to 10 per cent yield increase in canola using BioBoost.

Soon producers may be seeing a yield increase in other crops with the use of BioBoost products. Banerjee says the PGPR technology can be tailored to crops, such as corn, cereals and turf. The company has already done a limited launch of BioBoost Plus for alfalfa.

For more information on BioBoost products visit www.brettyoung.ca.

~ Teresa Falk, MRAC Communications Officer

 Photo: Dr. Manas Banerjee, director of regulatory affairs and business development for Brett Young Seeds, holds two boxes of BioBoost. Photo by Teresa Falk.