The Nuance of Biostimulants

Index:

1. Overview

2. Like Seed?

3. Like Crop Protection?

4. Like Inoculant?

5. The Sweet Spot

6. The Four E’s of Biostimulant Positioning

7. Final Thoughts

8. Bonus: The Biostimulant Playbook: The Definitive Guide to Winning in Biostimulants

Overview

Last week, I highlighted data from Stratus Ag Research’s 2024 Biostimulant Survey of American Growers. One area worth expanding on is how biostimulants differ from traditional inputs and why that difference demands a unique approach to marketing, positioning, trialing, and product strategy.

Biostimulants continue to grow across North American agriculture, but they remain broadly misunderstood— by farmers, by ag retailers and even by manufacturers themselves.

There are multiple challenges, including the unique nature in trying to make results tangible. But there is one core issue: we all want to put them into a familiar “input box”— like seed, fertilizer, or crop protection.

But none of those frameworks alone fully capture what it takes for for broad scale success.

Like Seed?

Some argue biostimulants are like seed. There’s merit to this. Like seed, biostimulants require a consultative, operation-specific selling process— one that accounts for the nuance of the specific operation. But, using the Hierarchy of Agronomic Needs, seed is a foundational input that is the most tangible of all inputs, with clear performance metrics, different than biostimulants.

Like Crop Protection?

I have frequently suggested they should be positioned like crop protection. I believe this analogy holds value. Crop protection products are positioned for a specific problem— such as a weed, disease or insect. Biostimulants are best positioned by honing in on one or two well-defined functions— whether it’s a specific abiotic stress reduction or nutrient uptake, for example. This allows the specific problem a biostimulant is solving for to be made top of mind and tangible to the farmer which can align value to the problem and anchor their focus on a specific outcome. It gives the product a distinct place in the crop planning, or problem identification aspects of farming. This builds a good foundation, but is not the only answer.

Like Inoculants?

The next consideration is in overcoming the operational and logistical challenges in dealing with an additional product, especially microbial or living products— which brings in complexities that are like inoculants and mirror perishable goods. They require placement consideration throughout the value chain and application process, shelf-life considerations, and handling practices that ag retailers and farmers are less equipped for.

The Sweet Spot

Biostimulants, then, aren’t just another product to bolt onto existing practices. They require a holistic integration into agronomic systems and a recombination of capabilities from various other input segments to ensure “biostimulants” as a category are successful:

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