Lavie Bio announces commercial launch of its first microbiome-based product for yield improvement – result™

Lavie Bio Ltd., a subsidiary of Evogene Ltd. (NASDAQ: EVGN, TASE: EVGN), and a leading ag-biologicals company focusing on improving food quality and agricultural productivity and sustainability through the introduction of microbiome-based products, on Wednesday announced the commercial launch of its first product, LAV.211, an inoculant for yield improvement, under the brand name result™.

The first phase of marketing and initial market penetration for the upcoming 2022 spring wheat season will be limited to target regions in North Dakota, and will be accomplished under a distribution agreement with United Agronomy, as recently announced.  These initial sales are expected to be recognized in 2022. The development of result™ included positive four-year field trials in multiple locations and commercial validation through broad-acre fields under standard farmer practices in target locations (‘early adopter network’).

The results achieved in the field trials have demonstrated that result™ has the potential to contribute an additional 3-4 bushels per acre and showed increased yield improvement compared with industry benchmarks. According to Lavie Bio’s estimates and assuming average commodity prices, this could provide spring wheat farmers an average of $20 of additional revenue per farmed acre, which may translate to a 50% increase or more in profit[1]. There are an estimated 25 million acres of spring wheat in North America[2], with about 6 million in North Dakota[3].

Following this initial commercial introduction, Lavie Bio intends to expand through additional distribution channels and to evaluate the opportunities for result™ in additional territories for spring wheat, and for application to additional cereals. In parallel, the company expects to increase its production capabilities to support such expansion.

Kyle Nichols, a farmer from Palermo, North Dakota, and part of the ‘early adopter network’ of result™ stated: “As a farmer, I want the most profitability out of my acres. Maximizing production and raising a healthy crop is very important to me, and with result™ from Lavie Bio it’s very clear to see the benefit it brings to my farm operation. Wheat treated with result™ produces a better stand, healthier grain, and higher yields. Sitting in the combine and watching the combine monitor you can clearly see the benefit from result™ compared to my untreated acres – the bushels are better quality and there are more of them.”

Mr. Ido Dor, Chief Executive Officer, Lavie Bio, stated: “I am very proud that Lavie Bio has reached this milestone and is launching its first product. Our extended trials have indicated that result™ is an excellent product providing strong value to farmers by significantly improving yield and productivity.  Furthermore, result™’s rapid development process – six years from concept to initial marketing – and the progress being achieved by other microbiome products in our pipeline, is possible only through the use of Lavie Bio’s BDD platform, powered by Evogene’s ‘MicroBoost AI’ engine, a very important competitive advantage for our Company.”

About LAV.211/result™:

LAV.211/result™ is a microbial based inoculant that has been designed to empower plant performance based on its ability to improve the uptake and assimilation of nutrients, thereby increasing yield, and improving growers’ profitability, while contributing to environmental sustainability and soil health. LAV.211/result™ is intended to be applied as a seed treatment and is formulated as a water dispersible granule (WDG).

[1] https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/ag-hub/ag-topics/farm-management/crop-economics/projected-crop-budgets

[2] https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/86210/whs-17l.pdf?v=43083, pg. 18; Phillips McDougall, 2017, https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3210035901

[3] https://ndwheat.com/buyers/NorthDakotaWheatClasses/HardRedSpringWheat/