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Agriculture Technology

kannar's pop increases corn yield

Kannar’s All-New, All-Natural Seed Safener Helps Seed Reach Its Full Potential

Researchers proved long ago that adding pesticides and other chemical treatments to seed can overload the seed, causing germ delays or even some phytotoxic side effects. Because the benefits of seed treatments still outweigh those negative effects, growers have accepted the seemingly necessary consequences. That won’t have to be the case much longer. Kannar Earth Science, Ltd. is on the cusp of introducing a new patent-pending technology they call Pesticide Overload Protection (POP!™), a game-changing, natural seed safener technology that allows seed all the benefits of seed treatment, while simultaneously promoting uniform germination and enhancing the early seed vigor.

What is POP!™

POP reduces seed overload

POP! is a non-selective, seed-applied safener that helps the seed withstand common phytotoxic side effects stemming from the application of chemical treatments. Further, POP! allows seed the much-needed early vigor that is vital, especially to large acre, modern agricultural crop establishments. Kannar has found that POP! benefits crops exposed to abiotic stressors at planting such as moisture stress, temperature extremes, high salinity, and suboptimal soil pH.

“I like to describe POP! as being like an electrical surge protector… but for seed,” says Ahsan Habib, Crop Input Specialist at Kannar. “Also, by enabling the crop to establish more rapidly and uniformly, POP! promotes more predictable and consistent productivity: benefits that a grower can take right to the bank. POP! is truly amazing in that it promotes both seed safety and vitality, naturally,” he adds.

POP! is not just for the seed, but also supports soil health, creating a protective layer from pesticides for the critical, beneficial microorganisms that cycle nutrients, build soil structure, and support plant health.

Habib says that, to his knowledge, POP! is the first broad-spectrum seed safener that is free from hormones and derived purely from natural and plant-based ingredients. POP! has shown to be especially effective on wheat when Imidacloprid is applied to the seed.

Kannar also has field trials underway testing if POP! will also benefit crops when applied in combination with herbicides and pesticides.

Join Kannar and Discover the Next POP!

Kannar is keen to share developmental field trial results and partner with companies that also believe that environmental sustainability remains the only future of agriculture. “If you, like us, believe innovation is the path to better agriculture, let’s talk!” says Habib. You can reach Kannar at 678-475-1155.

*POP!™ is a trademark belonging to Kannar Earth Science, Ltd.

Kannar exists to promote ideal agriculture through designing and manufacturing innovative seed coatings, synergistic fertilizer technology, and related crop inputs. We continually strive to find economical and practical ways to bring successful technology to growers.

Modified from June 2022 SeedWorld Magazine article

Pop technology innovation

2022 promises to be a very exciting year for Kannar.  Various patents are in the process of being finalized. Then we will officially announce a handful of new, truly ground-breaking, innovations and technologies that will dramatically improve seed treatment and agricultural crop production, naturally.

innovations for the Earth

This is just the start of our company’s journey with a focus on intellectual property protection by way of patents. Our strategic business plan supports the development of multiple patents around a theme of innovation. It’s exciting to be part of a team that dreams big and global! We only undertake patent efforts once we are assured of a significant positive contribution to crop production. We expect to continue to license these technologies to partnerships that are dedicated to delivering the value of these inventions.

How is Kannar able to successfully bring to the market so many innovations?

I truly believe it is because Kannar has an entirely different way of operating. Many innovation companies define each scientists’ role and confine their efforts within the ‘box’ of that role. Despite company size, that confinement can be suffocating and stifle innovation. At Kannar, however, our team operates on an open platform: we’re free to innovate and brainstorm – this often leads to discovery of even better solutions. As a scientist, I deeply appreciate that Kannar offers me an opportunity to free my mind, allowing me room to pursue fulfillment and true innovation.

– Ahsan Habib, Ph.D., Agricultural Input Specialist & Lab Team Lead

Kannar has a passion for finding real solutions to real problems

Our solutions are developed through curiosity, tenacity, and humility. Although the company started with – and still focuses on – the manufacturing and toll blending of seed treatments as well as lab services, we acknowledge and embrace the fact that we’re very good at innovating, patenting those innovations, and licensing new technologies to strategic alliances who in turn are committed to communicating and delivering the invention value. Our innovations focus mostly on promoting crop establishment and yield, by way of seed treatment technologies that incorporate beneficial microbes, synergists, and microplastic-free solutions. Partners can expect a lot more of that to come as we further embrace our increasing core competencies in innovation, patenting, and licensing.

While Kannar’s offerings continue to grow, our core values remain firm. We are guided by integrity in all we do. From the boardroom to the sale, integrity is our compass. We are committed to caring for everyone:

  • for ourselves
  • our fellow co-workers
  • our families
  • this generation
  • generations to come

Finally, we’re dedicated to and entrusted with the responsibility of sustainability. By providing real solutions to real problems with a focus on environmental stewardship, we make sure all parties along the value chain can sleep well at night, knowing that enduring value is created to last well into the future.

We would love to talk with you about what makes Kannar different and how YOU can be a part of the future!

Modified from publication in Seed World January 2022

seed world top 10 most innovative product badge

Seed World Magazine Recognizes Kannar for Agriculture Innovative Product Award

Applicants from across the seed industry recently jockeyed to gain the inaugural honor of being named a Seed World Most Innovative Product of 2021. Those selected will be honored with a badge for their websites that describes the win, an article online and in Seed World print, and the opportunity to describe the innovation on the weekly video series Seed Speaks.

Seed World Group editors selected winners based on the following criteria:

  • Related to seed
  • Commercial launch between Nov. 1, 2020 and Nov. 1, 2021
  • Is unique and a potential game-changer for the sector it impacts
  • Market potential (given its sector)
  • Impact on grower/ROI
  • Societal Impact
  • Scalability
  • Overall innovative qualities

To see the full list of winners, click here.

Amino-Acid Complex and Chelated Iron Make KAN-7 Unique

KAN-7 is an amino acid complex containing chelated iron. This innovative product is optimized for promoting root growth and vigor, resulting in better crop establishment. As a seed treatment or in-furrow application, KAN-7 aids in more uniform emergence.  KAN-7 is compatible with all types of seed treatments, whether it be pesticidal, microbial, or a combination.

roots before and after Kan-7 applicationPotted plants shown more growth with Kan-7

KAN-7 is a liquid amino acid product that was initially developed as a seed treatment, but we have found that it can also be applied in-furrow and as a foliar spray with added contribution to yield.  A lot of hard work went into developing this product and we’re appreciative to Seed World for helping more stakeholders in agriculture know about this versatile and effective product. — Sam Cloete, Kannar President

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Kannar Earth Science exists to promote ideal agriculture. We do this through designing and manufacturing innovative seed coatings, synergistic fertilizer technology, and related crop inputs. We also offer blending and distribution services from our 60,000 sf facility. Learn more about our toll manufacturing here.

Once upon a very recent time, there was a company that invested many millions into developing a new seed treatment. They were (and are) rightfully excited about their product, as it is a major step forward in innovation and efficacy. Yet they’ve had challenges bridging the gap between developing the product and getting it to market.

It’s a story we hear all the time. There are often very big gaps between the developers who create new seed applied technologies, the manufacturers that commercialize those products, and the seed companies that actually use the treatments.

Identifying & Bridging the Gap

There are all kinds of reasons for bumps in the road to market. In some cases, companies develop a product that works incredibly successfully in a lab, but there’s an application, residue, or another challenge they can’t overcome to make the leap to real-world, field-scale application. In other cases, it’s about relationships. A developer might have an ideal product, but they aren’t able to connect to a manufacturer with the right equipment, know-how, or capacity. In still other cases, it’s about chemistry. A product might be fantastic on its own, but it has negative interactions with other products that need to be seed applied.

This is Our Why

We are huge believers in teamwork in business and in life. Kannar was created in 2007 with the idea of bridging the gaps in getting products to market. We got excited about making positive changes to agriculture by being the missing link in the innovation and production chain. Fourteen years later, we’re the go-to ‘conduit’ to the marketplace. We translate great new crop establishment technologies and seed treatments into commercially applicable forms. Our expertise is in knowing everything related to successfully treating seed – from application equipment to all seed-applied technologies, from hard chemistries to life sciences, and nutrients.

picture of kannar team bridging gap on zoom
Kannar employees are bridging the gap for all crop establishment stakeholders.

A big part of what we offer is our reputation. By the time we bring a product to a manufacturer, we’ve done the legwork to know not only that it works, but also how it works, why it works and how to manage it for commercial scale. It also helps that we know the capabilities, limitations, and needs of various seed production and treatment plants. This includes their available equipment, their storage capacity, and even their appetite and enthusiasm for innovation.

Kannar is grateful for the collaborators and alliances who entrust their technologies to our expertise. It is for the grower and for them that we wish to always make it happen. Click here to submit a request to speak with a member of our team about your crop establishment and market needs.

Modified from Seedworld August 2021 article.

microplastic free seed treatment success
Kannar successfully develops environmentally friendly seed finisher free of microplastics

Seed companies seek peace of mind and confidence when switching from a high-performing hydrocarbon-derived seed treatment solution to a natural alternative. The challenge with natural alternatives is that nature does not always deliver products with the same high consistency achieved through chemistry. Kannar is thrilled to have found a solution. The new microplastic free seed finisher, SlipShine, is a success!

Urgently Needed Technology

Kannar listened to seed companies’ desires and developed a microplastic-free seed lubricity agent. It was important to get ahead of impending EU regulations banning the use of microplastics in seed treatment formulations. In 2020, Kannar Earth Science, Ltd. introduced SlipShine, a high-performing, dry seed finisher. Now any wet seed treatment is confidently applied dry, trouble-free.

Early in SlipShine’s development, Heather Lewis, Kannar’s seed lab lead, studied many natural, microplastic-free candidates to evaluate their performance when used in a dry product.  Some essential requirements were to provide lubricity on the seed surface, reduce dust-off, and improve seed appearance and safety.

“We looked at how the ingredients come together by testing from many different angles,” Lewis says. “We wanted to make sure that the finished product performed well and that the elimination of microplastics would not come at the expense of something else. We always want to make sure the seed’s look is as enhancing as the technology itself. To accomplish all these different factors, we examined quite a few different possibilities.”

Meanwhile, in Kannar’s microbial lab, Justin Kwiatkowski evaluated the product’s compatibility with various seed-applied microbes. These could be gram-positive or gram-negative. Kannar’s agronomy team studied various products’ effects on crop establishment, germination safety, the impact on the rhizosphere, on the roots, etc.

The agronomic development of SlipShine was guided by one of Kannar’s core values: promote ideal agriculture. “Our decisions were made for us as we selected whatever was best for the environment, best for the growers, best for the workers, and best for our company,” Kwiatkowski explains. “We are always looking to grow, to make additions with biologicals or additional chemistries.”

First-Year Success

Kannar was pleasantly surprised with the seed industry’s initial adoption of SlipShine 6300 dry seed-finisher. As the world’s first microplastic-free, dry seed-applied technology, SlipShine promotes on-seed drying of seed treatments and increases seed integrity and handling speed. In the 2020-21 crop year, SlipShine was applied to about 50 million lbs. of peanut seed. It was also well-received by field crop seed companies globally.

Seed processors immediately noted stunning performance improvements concerning the speed of seed handling. “The seed just bags faster,” was the frequent feedback. Once SlipShine goes through its polymerization phase within the first minute after application, it creates a slick, eggshell-like coating on each seed. This shell promotes greater flowability and protects seeds against further mechanical damage during handling.

“Seed bridging in tenders, wet-treated seed not drying, and seed requiring growers to reduce planting speed because it is sticking to planter plates: these are real problems,” says Sam Cloete, Kannar CEO. “With SlipShine, we offer a solution that can be easily adopted without disruption of existing technologies. That is a real solution.”

One of Kannar’s core values is to keep the environment in mind while reaching its goals. Considerable work and research were devoted to developing ingredient ratios. Additionally, cost analyses from both the company’s perspective and also the perspective of its customers were considered. “We always want to make sure we don’t make the salad cost five times as much as the fries, so people still want to go for the fries,” Lewis says. “For example, we put our treated seed through different seed handling and planting apparatus to make sure that dust-off was not a problem. We made sure it would flow well through everybody’s equipment from start to finish. We looked at the product from quite a few different perspectives to develop a product optimal for use, performance, and appearance.

“We never want to look at something we brought to market and consider that it is the best it could be,” Cloete says.  “Even if a product is something we really like, we continually wonder how it could be improved. “We never stop working to improve our products.”

Contact Kannar to learn which SlipShine product is right for your seed treatment needs.
Ready to start treating your seed with a microplastic free product? Click here!

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Modified from article in SeedWorld Magazine, Apri 2021

 Passion and tenacity motivate Kannar Earth Science to develop effective, spot-on solutions for customers’ seed treatment challenges

A grower can reasonably expect to have 40 growing seasons to create a legacy and contribute to the financial security of their family and community. Only the bravest of the brave, those willing to work tirelessly, can achieve their goals, says Kannar Earth Science, Ltd., CEO Sam Cloete.

With a passion for helping growers create their financial legacy, Cloete chose seed companies and seed treatment to be Kannar’s route to value creation. To build growers’ legacies, Kannar works through products and technologies backed by data and science related to yield optimization and environmental stewardship. Kannar understands that anytime human efforts produce food, fiber or fuel, production comes at the expense of something.

Maximum Results with Minimal Environmental Impact

“Our passion is to minimize the environmental impact and maximize the utilization of resources. Kannar brings tools and seed-applied technologies to growers through seed companies. We share most growers’ belief that we have a responsibility to leave our resources and our growing environment in a more wholesome condition than how we receive them. We do this by never giving up when looking for simple, effective answers,” says Cloete.

Limited Seed Workspace

Seed treatments are an effective vehicle for delivering crop protection technologies to a grower’s field. A limitation is the amount of space on each seed. The challenge is to optimize that space when considering technologies that help with crop establishment, early-season pathogen protection, and yield enhancement. Kannar must overcome the chemical, physical and biological limitations, not to mention the limits to the actual amount of chemistry that can be applied to the seed.

“And we work with limitations to seed safety also,” Cloete says. “We know that some products, which can be applied foliar or in-furrow, may not be safely applied as a seed treatment without reformulation. Another limitation is illustrated by micronutrients. We cannot apply enough micronutrient material to the seed to satisfy that crop’s micronutrient demand throughout the growing cycle and still be within the physical planting limitations of getting seed placed in the soil.”

“We find ways to bring multiple solutions to the seed. It may take thousands of attempts over several years until we find an answer, but we resonate with the end-user by finding real solutions to their real problems.”

A successful solution for Kannar is one that allows everyone to sleep well at night. That can only happen when the answer is backed by sound research, thorough data, and extensive testing. It goes beyond just offering a relationship and a product in a keg or tote. It means Kannar goes on-site, multiple times as needed, to observe the application of chemistries. The team then verifies that full-scale production produces the same results as indicated from smaller scale lab experiences.

“We try not to be limited by existing beliefs or others’ experiences. Tenacity and perseverance mean willingness to make minor adjustments with the product until we determine the solution is spot on. It means we often compete against ourselves; especially when we believe that we already have a great product. But we pause and ask ourselves, ‘How can we make it even better?’ “Ultimately,” says Cloete, “our goal is to provide an environment where the seed can achieve its genetic potential and help our growers create their legacy and financial security.”

Contact us to get started finding your seed treatment solutions!

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Modified from publication in SeedWorld, January 2021

Advanta Seed and UPL develop new seed treatments to elevate the profitability and image of sorghum for U.S. growers. Kannar Earth Science provides lab analytics and blend management.

In 2006, when UPL, a manufacturer of agricultural chemicals, acquired Advanta Seeds, its U.S. team wanted seed research data verification and product innovation to all take place on U.S. soil. It took time and patience to develop new seed treatment chemistry that met the company’s high standards for U.S. growers.

Advanta had been using Syngenta’s seed treatments including Concep, a seed safener, on its sorghum seed. For many years, Syngenta’s Concep was the only acceptable product on the market that would allow growers to make a preplant, preemerge application of Group 15 herbicides. Post-emerge herbicide options for sorghum are limited. When growers were on the fence about whether to plant sorghum or another crop, weed pressures and limited herbicide options often pushed them to go another route and avoid sorghum.

When Advanta developed igrowth, the first herbicide-resistant sorghum, they included a high-performance treatment for the seed. UPL’s seed treatment team constructed a new, comprehensive premium seed treatment blend, Vertix Premier, for Advanta which includes MESH, a superior alternative to Concep for safening Group 15 herbicides. The blend also contains RANCONA, which is known for its premium systemic and contact control of a broad spectrum of seed and soil-borne pathogens. The blend is rounded with time-proven solutions of STartUP IMIDA and METXL to complete the insecticide and disease protection.

“We are bringing new Vertix Premier brand seed treatment to improve growers’ all-around experience with sorghum seed,” says Advanta Sales and Marketing Manager Tanner Antonick. “Advanta has worked with UPL to put the product through several years of testing to confirm its safety on the seed. It has subsequently become a very positive product with a high level of seed safety. Even when treated seed is stored for several months before planting, the seed remains in exceptional condition.”

“We have created a new liquid formulation of MESH that is more versatile and flexible,” says Andy Hurst, UPL Seed and Soil Health Business Manager. “MESH safener in sorghum is actually not a new active. With their unique research focus, UPL took this superior safener and developed it further into a liquid formulation that can easily be used at the treater or in custom blends for sorghum.”

Tested and On Target

Kannar Earth Science aided in the transition by providing logistics and associated lab work. They verified that Advanta’s seed treatment recipes were on target and on spec. Kannar continues to make the custom seed treatment blends used to treat Advanta seeds and aid in on-site advertisement.

“Creating custom seed treatment blends requires attention to every detail to ensure it can be safely blended and combined with other seed treatments,” Hurst adds. “This testing improves the efficiency of application and simplifies the process for treating sorghum seed.”

The other part of the MESH and Vertix Premier story is that UPL has set up a new global R&D Center in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Hurst says their new lab is set up to conduct compatibility, stability, bio-assays and greenhouse testing as well as treating and planting characteristics of seed treatments. Its resources and scientific expertise have enabled the company to make great strides in several seed emergence technologies.

Elevating Sorghum’s Image

“When people look at Advanta, we hope they will see a company that is committed to bringing continual innovation to the sorghum industry. Our UPL alignment enables us to bring seed treatments to our growers that meet the highest standards of seed quality,” Antonick says. “This was incredibly important as we launched igrowth this past summer. We want growers to get the best value for their dollar and be able to make the best choices for their acres.”

“We know that growers appreciate having choices when they make their crop and seed decisions,” adds Hurst. “UPL is committed to offering unique solutions for growers that contribute to their bottom line.”

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Published in SeedWorld, October 2020

Cotton Seed Treatment Controls Thrips

Controlling thrips is one of the most significant, early-season issues facing cotton farmers. The pest has developed resistance to several seed-applied insecticides, but not to acephate. Applying acephate as a cotton seed treatment for thrips control would be an ideal solution, except that it is difficult to apply or even handle seed treated with acephate. Acephate just does not lend itself to being blended into seed treatment, nor does it adhere evenly to seeds. Growers do not reliably know what rate of efficacy they are getting across their fields, so they frequently make a foliar application to limit future injury after thrips have already done seedling damage.

Addressing the Issue

A few years ago, Americot, Inc., an independent cotton seed company, wanted to develop a reliable cotton seed treatment incorporating both acephate and high-performance STartUP IMIDA, imidacloprid from UPL, Ltd. to provide early-season seedling protection against thrips

“We were told by several ‘experts’ that it could not be done, that acephate could not be successfully applied as a seed treatment,” Americot General Manager Chiree Fields recalls. “That is when we approached Sam Cloete and his team with Kannar Earth Science. We wanted a collaborator to develop a new formulation to enhance our existing CottolySTTM seed treatments. We needed something innovative and different from the rest of the industry that could control seedling thrips and position Americot as an industry leader.”

Together the three companies were inspired to find a solution. The thinking that prevailed was, “how can we help growers?” The ideal solution would be a seed treatment that combines acephate for immediate protection with imidacloprid that provides lasting control over thrips. These insecticides needed to be further combined with a comprehensive fungicide package that includes STartUP Rancona, AZOXY and METXL.

Not an Overnight Solution

Kannar’s seed lab manager Heather Lewis, worked with Americot to determine what enhancers are needed to promote seed safety, stability while in storage and how to apply the technology. Working together, Americot, Kannar and seed treatment manufacturer UPL perfected the offering to growers.

“I would offer that we did not get it right the first time before we brought it together for high-scale production,” Heather says. “Kannar had been working behind the scenes since 2010, even before we knew what the demand would be, and that contributed to a successful and comprehensive seed treatment offering. There are a lot of things that can go wrong in a scenario like this. Combinations are prone to kick out with some kind of apple sauce or cottage cheese-like reaction. That means you go through a lot of options to discover and verify success. There were about 40 trial entries in our first round of potential ingredients. Kannar’s K5™ growth enhancer and SlipShine™ 6200 Flowability Enhancer technologies came in handy. Our final solution to growers is a seed treatment that provides thrips protection from the moment the seed is planted. For our customers, the result is more uniform growth and seedling emergence, along with essential control of disease and pests.” (Our new K7 is available by contacting Kannar or online as well.)

Traditionally, most of the seed Americot has been selling into West Texas included only their base seed treatment. But now growers are seeing new challenges in their fields. Americot can address those challenges with CottolyST Enhanced. Americot promotes their higher-level seed treatment because growers see it is as a valuable enhancement for early crop establishment. Farmers know both the challenges and potential benefits of acephate seed treatment. So, when an Americot sales representative educates growers that CottolyST Enhanced can successfully keep acephate on the seed, then the rep immediately has the grower’s attention.

To find out more about Kannar’s custom blend program, please visit www.kannargroup.com/cropestablishment

Modified from article in Seed World, November 2020

Choosing the right crop input distributor for you and your product or technology

Agriculture is in a very exciting time with many new innovations. Yield enhancing crop input technologies are more diversified and complex than ever before. Indeed, we live in an exciting time where any one person or a small company can make positive and lasting changes in how we grow and cultivate crops. Consumers and growers are demanding newer and more efficient technologies. Growers have evolved and are also more adoptive of new technology. Finding the right distributor relationship, with good communication and similar goals, will help you take advantage of the opportunities and see great success.

But finding the ideal distributor for your unique crop input technology can be challenging. The big questions:

  • Does an ideal distributor already market technologies similar to what you have?
  • Do they already market a competing technology?
  • Or, ideally, do they not have offerings like what you may bring them?

These questions are important to ask to ensure that your product receives the attention it deserves and the resources needed to allow for commercialization. If the targeted distributor is already marketing a similar product, they may have a conscious or subconscious motivation to keep competing technologies off the market. They may view your new product as a threat to the investment of time, money and resources they’ve already made.

If you are a foreign entity trusting your technology with a new distributor in a new country, the last thing you want is for your technology to be strategically tied up by a group that represents themselves as the ideal distributor of your technology. You can try and overcome this potential pitfall with performance guarantees only to learn a year or two later that this “ideal distributor” never intended to even try and achieve market penetration and meet or exceed the performance guarantees. What you’ve lost in time can be irreplaceable in terms of economic loss. In fact, you may have provided the industry with an opportunity to invent “me too” products. Essentially, if you don’t have a motivated distributor, you’ve spent a lot of money educating your competition.

So, what SHOULD you look for in your ideal crop input distributor?

  1. First and foremost, you want a distributor that is hungry for market penetration. The distributor needs to WANT your technology and have a strong appetite to commercialize it.  
  1. The right distributor will have industry understanding and use appropriate restraint.
  • The distributor should demonstrate a degree of technical appreciation and understanding of what you bring to agriculture. Your “technical language” should be well understood. Your representative should comprehend principles behind your technology and appreciate the mode of action, the uniqueness and the value add it brings to the industry. They should even be able to add to your story to help market to the local grower. A simple indication that you are in good company would be that at the end of your presentation, they should be able to verbalize what they hear from you in a language that makes sense to you.
  • Restraint is important because it’s simply not feasible to market to all places at once. The right distributor will focus on specific geographic regions and crops, especially at first. In contrast to smaller agricultural countries, the United States’ scale is so much larger and the ideal distributor understands the amount of work and the nuances involved in each sector. Given that the United States is one of the biggest crop producers in the world, one can appreciate that the market is more complex when compared to a small country. The ideal distributor should not promise to go after all sectors right away.

If they can’t state it back to you, then they don’t understand you. You should hear, “WOW – that’s amazing. We don’t have that here. We know exactly where this product would be a good fit.”

  1. Your right distributor has resources available to commercialize your technology.
  • Financial: They should have the financial means to undertake U.S. trials and, if needed, product registrations and further research and development of marketing material.
  • Manpower: There should be experts to analyze the data and share the message in the marketplace.
  • Contacts: Not only should a distributor have a strong base of industry contacts, but they should also be willing to freely share with you the contacts that would help get the word out. This includes but is not limited to agronomists, academics, key growers, retailers, and even possible manufacturers.
  • A sense of humility and ability to overcome challenges when things don’t go as planned is important. The ideal distributor will be cautious before making any guarantees of performance while also taking responsibility for the successes and failures related to their marketing efforts.
  • For instance, trials in the U.S. may inadvertently show negative or undesirable results only to find that it was due to the seed quality, an unusual weather pattern, a translation mistake or even an accidental spill.
    • EX: a spray herbicide was used and the tank wasn’t washed completely so that when a fertilizer was added to the tank and then used, the crop was killed from the application of the herbicide residue


Don’t be afraid to ask what the budget would be or to give you a business plan that allocates what resources will be used to market your technology and include what they do in case things don’t go as planned. These answers are insightful.

 

 

In general, be wary if a distributor already has similar technology, but don’t refrain from having a discussion. They may not be satisfied with what they already have and appreciate that you may have something that addresses a real need in the marketplace.  They may be willing to entertain marketing your product provided it doesn’t impact any contractual obligations they may have already agreed to.

If they don’t have your technology, they may initially lack minor areas of expertise, but you should see a strong motivation to offer good technology in the marketplace. They will learn by working with and for you.

Kannar has experience in just how difficult it is to fully understand and appreciate a new technology. It takes commitment to learn, and perseverance and follow through to self-educate when needed. We’re fortunate at Kannar that our team has a nearly insatiable demand to learn more and apply what we learn. We are wary of partnering with people – team members and clients – that claim they know it all. It takes vulnerability to admit you don’t know something, but we will be honest with you if we don’t know something and commit to learning more.

If you were to introduce a new technology, you should outline what success looks like.  For instance, there may be agreement that in year one we should have 200,000 acres of treated crops, but in year five it would be one million acres. This discussion should lead to a commitment to evaluate what goes right and what goes wrong. If there is a solid partnership, needed actions will be taken to address areas of concern.

Contact Kannar to start the discussion today. We are excited about the new opportunities in agriculture and want to see if we’re a good fit for your product and maximize your exposure.

It goes without saying that when we treat seed, we want the treatment to stay on the seed until it’s safe and sound in the ground. Sometimes treatments do try to escape off the seed, which can cause many a headache – but why is this happening? Let’s explore the differences between dust and abrasion, why they occur, and some easy ways to determine if your seed is prone to these issues.  

Dust .vs Abrasion

Dust results when the seed applied technologies (aka seed treatment) is coming off and abrasion is when the treatment is being pushed off edges and the seed is no longer uniformly coated. Due to these issues, polymers are not only demanded to minimize dust but also minimize abrasion. Most of us are familiar with dust. We use polymers or glue systems to minimize “dust off” of the treated seeds, which is to say reducing how chemicals or other seed-applied technologies come off the seed. European standards limit dust off to 0.75 grams for every 100,000 kernels of seed. 

Dust Confusion

But dust, while very visible, sometimes can be misunderstood and confused with abrasion. Dust or seeds that demonstrate a high degree of dust are visible by way of plumes or clouds of dust emitting out of seed processing equipment, especially when a seed treatment slurry is already dry on the seed. However, you can have dusty seed even without the application of chemicals. We all know wheat seed is especially dusty and in seed processing facilities, the machinery and/or grain elevators employ various equipment to capture, collect, and properly dispose of this natural dust. Corn can also be dusty and we know of the proverbial “bee’s wings” in corn seed processing plants.  

Treatment Dust

Filter after filter collects this inherent dust and that’s before the seed is even treated. Now we apply a treatment slurry, for example, wheat seed with a heavy dose of imidacloprid as an insecticide with various fungicides. We might also apply micronutrients such as zinc if not also a biological to help with yield and management of abiotic stress. Yet if there’s a lack of comparable chemistries between the seed treatment components, it could result in significant amounts of dust. If the seed treatment includes say a red colorant, then plumes of red dust may escape from a piece of seed transfer equipment.  

Environmental and Financial Impact

Simply put – dust causes problems. It poses an environmental health and safety risk as a hazard for both workers and the environment. It also is a financial risk for the grower who needs the seed treatment technologies to have absolute placement in the ground around the seed and not scattered through the air or captured in seed planters.  

Click here for our complimentary Seed Treatment Checklist.

Process and Transportation Challenges

Let’s compare seed that naturally absorbs moisture with dent or field corn. Field corn has a hard, waxy surface and the slurry applied to corn seed is not absorbed in the same manner as sorghum or wheat. Once corn seed is treated the slurry needs to be cured quickly despite cold temperatures where treatment often occurs. The seed then moves through various processing equipment, goes into a hopper, elevates to another hopper where it may go into a bulk bag, and then into smaller bags. From there it is transported through the distribution channels: from warehouse to warehouse to distribution centers and to growers’ fields; and possibly back for the same thing to happen the following year. Throughout this process dust certainly may result and often does, but the bigger challenge may be abrasion. This is where the seed scuffs against each other throughout handling and transportation, and throughout various equipment – the applied technologies may rub off. This results in seed that is no longer uniformly coated. It’s almost like a partially scratched off lottery ticket and similar to the residue that you “scratch off” the ticket, the same principle can be seen especially on corn seed.  

seed-abrasion-after

Abrasion Issues

Abrasion causes its own problems – the lack of uniformity can affect plantability and can also affect the degree to which pesticides protect the seed. The flowability of the seed can be affected when areas of the seed build up a higher degree of sticky treatment slurry. This makes it more difficult for the seed to behave optimally from a mechanical point; growers may experience skips and doubles during planting and slower movement through funnels and conveyors.  

Drop Test

So next time you look at your seed, here are a few things to check for. First, ensure the seed has a uniform coating. This is the simplest way to check for abrasion and low dusting. Secondly, for a more advanced yet simple abrasion vulnerability test, place a known amount of seed in a resealable plastic bag. We suggest you put this into another bag as well in case one of the bags pop open. Then simply drop that bag of seed from a height of about five feet onto a hard surface. Do that 50 to 100 times (told you it was more advanced) and when you observe the seed you’ll quickly notice to what degree any abrasion occurred. This test is especially helpful when comparing one set of seed against another whether it be different varieties or treatment recipes. 

Click here for our complimentary Seed Treatment Checklist.

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