DENVER — With anxiety sprinkled with a little optimism ahead of the growing season, there was plenty of agricultural innovation on display for attendees at Commodity Classic 2025.
The event broke previous records with this year’s 5,221 farmer attendees and 168 registered media. Additionally, 433 companies exhibited at the Colorado Convention Center, home of the 2025 show.
USDA Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins delivered a keynote on the first full day and outlined what her priorities would be in her first few months after taking office. (Click here to see No-Till Farmer’s coverage and listen to a podcast of Rollins addressing the farm media.)
There were perhaps dozens of firms promoting ag biological products this year, a major increase from what attendees have seen in the past. Below are highlights from No-Till Farmer’s conversations with key ag manufacturers present at Commodity Classic.
The Lowdown on Microalgae. One company making a big splash at Commodity Classic was PhycoTerra, which utilizes microalgae to offer a variety of products that can be used as a seed treatment, foliar application, soil amendment or organic soil amendment.
Microalgae are single-celled plants that form the base of the food system and produce half the oxygen in the atmosphere, the company says. Certain microalgae are an ideal food source for the soil microbiome, nourishing the bacteria and fungi in the soil that make plants grow.
Since it’s a non-living organism the products aren’t technically biologicals but are a natural way for growers to boost soil health, says Dr. Cassidy Million, vice president of Ag Science at Heliae, the parent company of PhycoTerra.
PhycoTerra mass produces the microalgae and then pasteurizes the product, which creates a shelf life of 2 years. “The mode of action is going to be very unique compared to other things in the market,” Million says. “We’re a food source to feed the native microbiome. So, we’re not adding any bacteria or fungi to the soil.” 
Million adds the product can be mixed with N, P and K, as well as herbicides, pesticides and fungicides. Because the product utilizes the whole entire cell of microalgae, they can also be frozen.
While the mode of action is the same across all the products, the benefit may be different depending on the scenario: “For our seed treatment product, it's getting that seed on the ground faster, helping support a more even stand early with bigger roots,” she says.
“The soil health product builds soil health over time,” Million notes, “so we’re going to see increases in water capacity, soil aggregation and the like. The foliar is more of a product for plant health abiotic stress.”
Longtime Presence in Burgeoning Market. Created early last year in a merger of Novozymes and Chr. Hansen, Novonesis was touting its experience in the industry as a distinguishing factor, rather than being a private equity startup.
Novozymes was involved in the production of enzymes in food products for stabilization and preservation naturally, and Chr. Hansen, specialized in the production of bacteria used in fermentation of milk products into consumables, as well as probiotics for both animal feed industry and human health.
The merger created a global bio-solutions company with a broad biological toolbox and a diversified portfolio in attractive markets. Half of the portfolio will focus on enabling healthier lives and producing better foods, and the other half will address reducing chemical use and targeting climate neutral practices, executives say.
“We have been in this industry specifically in the bio ag space for over 130 years,” says Adam Kayser, technical agronomist for Novonesis. “When you think of all of the production and advancements that have been made over the years — this entire biological space that we now find ourselves in — it utilizes the technologies and advancements we discovered 100 years ago and been developing ever since.”
Corteva Prepping Market Run for Biologicals. The farming industry has been watching with interest since Coretva acquired Houston-based independent biologicals maker Stoller Group, which had been operating in more than 60 countries with more than $400 million in sales. Corteva acquired Symborg, an expert in microbiological technologies based in Spain.
The company had some legacy biological products previously, but the acquisitions increase Corteva’s portfolio significantly, said Kevin Sheaffer, the company’s biologicals business development leader.
“Globally, I think there's a lot more receptivity to biologicals right now in the U.S. We're still obviously working on awareness and it’s also actually part of making sure we do have the right route to market to do that,” he says.
Corteva plans to work closely with its Pioneer dealers who want to be in the biological business so they can sell Corteva biologicals directly to growers. The company also plans to market its portfolio to other channel partners, as the company is hearing from distributors that competition is heating up between product makers.
“They're looking for really a one truth source, and I think we can provide that for them,” Sheaffer says. “We have a large portfolio where they can do business with us on multiple products. So, we’re using the distribution channel with private label sub-registration brands, and then we’re using Pioneer as our direct grower model in the U.S.”
Bayer Adds Reduced Tillage to Carbon Program. Bayer’s ForGround program this year will be very similar, except the company is adding a reduced-tillage category, “to continue to help growers that are on that journey towards a transition to no till,” says Alyssa Cho, Sustainable Agriculture Field Team Lead for Bayer.
Alyssa Cho, Sustainable Agriculture Field Team Lead for Bayer“We really are looking for reduced tillage with a cover crop added. Basically, we’re asking growers to go from a multi-pass to a single pass on their operation, and we have a set of eligible equipment that we’re allowing as part of that. And we’re also looking for a 30% residue at the time of planting as part of that offer.”
Bayer is asking interested farmers to utilize a single, full-width tillage system using a secondary or “one-pass” tool operating at a depth of no more than 4 inches.
Those tools are defined as vertical tillage, field cultivators, soil or mulch finishers or harrows. A single-pass of a subsoiler/in-line ripper would be permitted every other year. Fields must have a practice change date on or after Aug. 15, 2019.
ForGround will continue to pay farmers per practice, rather than by per-ton of carbon sequestered, with $6 an acre for no-till, strip-till or cover crops, and $12 an acre for combining no-till, strip-till or reduced-tillage with cover crops.
Some observers have questioned how ongoing scrutiny of federal funding for conservation programs will affect the carbon markets. Cho notes Bayer’s program is voluntary and not federally funded, but there could be indirect impacts.
“I always say that farmers are affected and that’s what matters because if they’re confused or they’re losing funding in some way, shape or form, it affects how they see the market and they perceive the stability of it,” Cho says. “So, I think it will affect us maybe indirectly, but only time will tell what evolves in this space.”
Focusing on Fertility Uptake ‘Efficiencies.’ Many farmers at Commodity Classic were asking how to cut back on inputs without hurting yield. BW Fusion is working to provide answers through its Agronomy 365 crop management program that utilizes real-time tracking, data monitoring and soil and tissue sampling with guidance from agronomic experts.
“Universities have proven that for every dollar we spend on fertility, we’re only getting 25-30 cents back. What we’re seeing is over application to compensate for that and it’s making the system less and less efficient,” says Jason Schley, an agronomist at BW Fusion. Schley launched a new toolbox of soil extraction methods and biological measurements which became a soil and tissue testing lab which now powers Agronomy 365.
Agronomy 365 uses artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to analyze the results of soil and tissue tests and other variable such as soil types. The process starts with a soil test to set baseline numbers and allow for the creation of zones in a grower’s soil system.
The company’s reps take a high-resolution analysis of the soil and then work with growers to identify places to improve nutrient-use efficiency rather than just knowing what amount to apply where.
From there, BW Fusion develops strengths and weaknesses for every farm, including soil health parameters such as biological activity, amino acid pools and nutrient profiles.
“We’re looking at things that most labs aren’t, such as ‘When is that crop going to struggle on potassium? Is it going to be early season, late season?’” Schley says. “Instead of just telling you how many pounds you need, we identify when the best opportunity is for growers to cut to reduce the total amount applied but still get that maximum benefit.”
We’re looking at things that most labs aren’t, such as ‘When is that crop going to struggle on potassium? Is it going to be early season, late season?
For example, through categorizing soil types the company can identify which types are good or not good at releasing N. Or which soils aren’t healthy enough to add a biological product because there isn’t enough carbon to support them for food sources.
“We try to find the bottom two weaknesses and address them. We don’t try to address ten weaknesses,” Schley says.
Name for New Soybean Variety Launched. Asgrow made a big splash at Commodity Classic with the release of its new soybean trait, Vyconic. The trait stack will have tolerance to five herbicides — glyphosate, glufosinate, Dicamba, 2,4-D and Mesotrione-based herbicides to enable a broader suite of weed management options.
“It’s going to be the first soybean on the market that’s got five herbicide tolerances to bring the maximum amount of flexibility to our growers,” says Asgrow portfolio lead Ryan Goddard. “Giving our growers a maximum number of tools in the toolbox is the best thing that we can do in terms of enabling them and making sure that they're able to control weeds on their farm.”
Asgrow anticipates Vyconic hitting the market in 2027 after going through regulatory approvals, including getting the green light from major importers China and the European Union.
Asgrow also added 21 new products this year across all maturities that are bringing both agronomic upgrades and also yield upgrades, in addition to 13 more already selected for 2013. “So, we’re very excited about the future, but we also have a lot of momentum and solid products coming out these next two years,” he says.
Firm Plans New Research Facility in Southeast U.S. AgroLiquid, the Michigan-based maker of plant nutrients told No-Till Farmer a new research facility is being built in Florida to support the company’s work in the southeastern U.S., where soil nutrient needs tend to be very different than other geographies AgroLiquid serves.
Gaelyn Beer, national sales manager at AgroLiquid, says most of the soils in the Southeast are very weathered and have no store of nutrients to give back. Mother Nature challenges with high rainfall and heat that moves nutrients such as calcium and potassium out of the soil.
“We are trying to focus on coming out with nutrients that are kind of specific to a geography,” Beer says. “You come here to Denver, or you go to the San Joaquin Valley of California, and it tends to be a higher-potassium soil. So, phosphorus and sulfur become the focus. You go to Florida, guess what moves the top of the list? Potassium. We’re really trying to get more localized in our approach to crop nutrition.”
Beer adds that AgroLiquid had some business on specialty crops in Florida, such as cabbage and bok choy. “But more importantly,” he says, “when you get up into the Carolinas, we've got a pretty good business on corn and soybeans up there. So, the facility’s location is to service the Alabama, Georgia, Carolinas and Florida area.”
Beer doesn’t see growers cutting back on fertilizer application at this time, although he sees continued improvement in N-use efficiency, with the 1.3 pounds of N per bushel now being dialed back to 0.8 or 0.9 pounds. He doesn’t see a downturn in micronutrient use yet either.
“I always think when economics get a little tighter that people want to kick micronutrients out of the program but we're not seeing that right now. I think farmers have used micronutrients enough that they figured out how to adopt those in that program,” Beer says.
