SBIR-STTR Award

Farmers across the Texas High Plains and other arid regions in the United States face a perfect storm with consistent periods of drought urban pressures on vital water resources and economic hurdles. While climatic conditions create a barrier to production farmers face rising fuel and input costs alongside growing inflation rates. These factors lead to more intensive and sometimes destructive farming practices that limit the soil's ability to store water and life. Some farmers turn to alternative practices such as no-till cover cropping and other regenerative techniques to counter these pressures and limitations. These practices have proven to improve soil health and water-holding capacity overtime. While there is growth in the adoption of these practices across the United States arid regions like Texas Eastern New Mexico and Colorado face challenges in transitioning due to: ● Uniquely hot and dry conditions ● Financial risk associated with the conversion and implementation of new practices ● Limited access to regenerative soil amendments Regenerative practices can change the composition and overall health of the soil but it isn't an immediate or universally applicable solution for farmers. Smaller-scale gardeners and landscapers have turned to peat moss for immediate improvement of water retention and soil health. While peat moss does provide immediate soil amendments it is a nonrenewable resource and its removal and exportation to other countries disrupt carbon sequestration in the bog ecosystems (Timperley 2). Furthermore given its composition and price range there is no efficient or economical way to apply peat on large cropping systems. Under this research project Texas Earth Inc. will determine the commercial viability through in-field trials of Bio Fl¼f a patent-pending soil biostimulant. Soil chemistry and structural testing will quantify the impact of Bio Fl¼f on water-holding capacity metrics and overall plant and soil health. Our team plans to deliver Bio Fl¼f as a commercially available and effective soil amendment that uniquely increases the soil's water-holding capacity especially in the arid regions of the United States. Bio Fl¼f is a natural cotton byproduct sustainably sourced and highly scalable making it a perfect alternative to peat options. This in-season research will provide farmers with a tool to stimulate biological functions encourage beneficial microbial activities and improve water retention in the soil. Supporting soil health during dry growing seasons will decrease overall energy and water consumption increasing farmer profitability during water-deficient periods. Bio Fl¼f will provide a path for farmers to become more resilient in the face of growing water scarcity whether they farm regeneratively or conventionally.