Farmers Business Network launches On-Farm R&D Network for biological trials

Farmer's Business Network, Inc. (FBN), the leading direct-to-farm ag tech platform and farmer network, recently announced the launch of the FBN Biological On-Farm R&D Network, which connects developers of agricultural biological solutions directly with farmers and full-scale testing environments. This program creates a direct line to commercialization that benefits farmers, manufacturers and the environment.

Biological products look to maximize soil and plant potential, prevent disease, optimize chemical and fertilizer inputs, and drive long-term, sustainable and profitable farming practices.

Until now, the growth of the biologicals industry - which includes biopesticides, biostimulants, and other sustainable solutions - has been slowed by several significant hurdles: an inability to test at scale across multiple production environments, a dearth of robust, clean farm-level data and analytics to refine and prove the efficacy of their products, and a challenge in accessing the agriculture market.

Through its member-based farmer network, FBN will connect biological developers directly with farmers through the FBN Biological R&D Network so that large-scale trials can optimize biological input programs to deliver the best return on investment for the farmer. With the aid of FBN's data science, participating biological manufacturers will also be able to collect valuable insights on product efficacy and performance by environment.

"We're proud to connect the world's leading biological developers with the most sophisticated farmer base in the world, FBN members," said Amol Deshpande, CEO & Co-Founder of FBN. "The Biological On-Farm R&D Network will create a win-win for farmers and manufacturers: a vast, real-world testing ground for biological developers and tangible, sustainable incentives for our farmer members."

The FBN farmer network contributes anonymous, detailed agronomic data at scale with over 260 million acre-events of real-world farm data aggregated from over 15,000 member farms in the U.S., Canada and Australia. This rapidly-growing network offers biological manufacturers access to an unprecedented - and unmatched - variety of trial opportunities in the U.S.

The FBN Biological On-Farm R&D Network will deliver a path to commercialization by providing biological developers with:

• Large-scale testing on working farms across diverse geographies and production environments in the U.S. market, including variable soil types and weather patterns

• High-quality, unbiased, real-world data anonymously contributed by FBN member farms, and customized analyses

• Access to the FBN industry-leading e-commerce platform, which directly links manufacturers with farmers

"We're looking forward to providing FBN members, and biological developers, with cutting-edge analysis that identifies the precise agronomic and environmental conditions under which certain products perform well, all based on unbiased, real-world data from realistic production environments," says Matt Meisner, Vice President of R&D, FBN. "This is an unmatched opportunity for companies looking for comprehensive testing and trials on working farms."

The Biological On-Farm R&D Network will connect manufacturers with a large and ever-growing pool of farmers to test, refine, and demonstrate the efficacy of their products. Farmers, meanwhile, will have access and input into the development of the biologicals that deliver the greatest ROI for their businesses and the biggest positive impact on the environment.

"We're looking forward to aligning farmers and biological manufacturers in the fight for a more economically and environmentally sustainable future for everyone," says Deshpande.

After enrollment of participating biologicals manufacturers and FBN members this Fall and winter, the first trials will commence in the Spring of 2021 in the U.S. market.

For biological developers and FBN members looking to enroll in this pilot program, email research@farmersbusinessnetwork.com.