Berkeley CA/Regina SK, July 28 10, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Pivot Bio, the leading nitrogen innovator in agriculture, announces its expansion into Canada, including the launch of the company’s commercial operations, the appointment of its management team and its future plans for provide sustainable nitrogen to Canadian farmers, pending regulatory approvals. Product trials are currently underway in eastern and western Canada on corn, wheat and canola.
For more than a decade, Pivot Bio has worked to replace synthetic nitrogen fertilizer with a sustainable and safer tool for farmers. Years of research have resulted in a proprietary, scalable platform that allows microbes to convert atmospheric nitrogen into a form that crops like corn and wheat can use as nutrition. Commercially available in the United States since 2019, Pivot Bio’s microbes provide US farmers with a reliable, consistent source of nitrogen that sticks to plant roots and doesn’t wash or volatilize into the air.
“Pivot Bio was founded on the belief that farmers need a better way to fertilize their crops. Synthetic nitrogen is unsustainable, and our technology has solved one of the biggest challenges facing modern agriculture: replacing synthetic nitrogen with something better,” says Karsten Temme, Ph.D. , CEO and co-founder of Pivot Bio. “We are excited to expand our business and ultimately introduce our technology to farmers around the world, starting with Canada. »
Pivot Bio’s breakthrough technology works with the world’s most nitrogen-intensive crops. In Canada, canola, corn and spring wheat make up about 45% of seeded acres, and Canadian farmers use about five billion pounds (2.2 billion kilograms) of synthetic nitrogen each year to grow these crops.
Some unused synthetic nitrogen is emitted as nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas (GHG) estimated to be 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide, making synthetic nitrogen the main cause of crop-related greenhouse gas emissions. Unused synthetic nitrogen also enters the water in the form of nitrates, which impacts water quality and, globally, contributes to over 500 ocean dead zones.
Pivot Bio’s manufacturing footprint is also sustainable. The company’s microbes are produced by fermentation with virtually no carbon emissions. This replaces the chemical-based, energy-intensive Haber-Bosch process traditionally used to create synthetic nitrogen and eliminates up to 98% of greenhouse gas emissions generated by chemical nitrogen production.
Launch of Pivot Bio Canada operations under the direction of Chuck Broughton, General Manager. Broughton brings over 30 years of industry experience to the Canadian team at Pivot Bio, including business development, sales and marketing in the North American and global seed treatment, inoculant and crop protection. Saskatchewan-based Wade Clarke is Pivot Bio’s regional sales leader for Canada, and professional agronomist Katie Donohue, also from Saskatchewan, has joined Pivot Bio as a commercial agronomist.
“Canadian farmers face unprecedented pressure to grow crops more sustainably and reduce their use of fertilizers without affecting crop yields, and Pivot Bio provides a solution to these challenges,” said Chuck Broughton, Director General of Pivot Bio, Canada. “We look forward to providing Canadian farmers with cost-effective and sustainable nitrogen, building on the proven successes we have had with US farmers.
The world’s population is growing and demanding more food, which fuels the need for more synthetic nitrogen. This leads to a greater negative impact on the climate and the global food system. Farmers around the world urgently need a cleaner source of nitrogen that supports sustainable agriculture without compromising food production capacity – and Pivot Bio’s breakthrough crop nutrient innovation will play a vital role. in the future of food, agriculture and the health of our planet.
About Pivot Bio:
At Pivot Bio, we believe in meeting the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations. Our unparalleled understanding of the soil microbiome will help create a future with cleaner water and air. We are committed to providing farmers with solutions that enable them to grow high-quality, environmentally friendly and sustainability-driven crops that help feed families around the world. For more information, visit http://ca.pivotbio.com and follow Pivot Bio Canada @pivotbioCA on Twitter.
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Background
The science behind Pivot Bio’s nitrogen-fixing microbes: https://ca.pivotbio.com/en-ca/blog/the-science-behind-pivot-bios-nitrogen-fixing-microbes
A 98% cleaner way to fertilize corn: https://ca.pivotbio.com/en-ca/blog/a-98-cleaner-way-to-fertilize-corn
A cleaner, greener future: https://ca.pivotbio.com/en-ca/blog/a-cleaner-greener-future
Meet our Canadian team: https://www.pivotbio.ca/en-ca/about-us?__hstc=226584322.6d6a048c576db52da8386c1d6849459b.1656600115373.1658938489783.1659007479759.18&__hssc=226584322.1.1659007479759&__hsfp=514928620
Visual assets: https://www.pivotbio.com/presskit
Canadian Crops and Nitrogen Use*:
- Canola, corn and spring wheat averaged about 42.5 million acres seeded in Canada between 2016 and 2020:
- Rapeseed: 21,848,486
- Corn: 3,608,938
- Spring wheat: 17,137,939
- Average nitrogen application in pounds per acre, 2016 – 2020:
- Rapeseed: 118.5 pounds per acre
- Corn: 162 pounds per acre
- Spring wheat: 107 pounds per acre
- A total average amount of about 5 billion pounds (2.2 billion kg) of nitrogen was used on these three crops from 2016 to 2020:
- Rapeseed: 21,848,486 acres @ 118.5 lbs per acre = 2,589,045,591
- Corn: 3,608,938 acres @ 162 lbs per acre = 584,647,956
- Spring wheat: 17,137,939 acres @ 107 lbs per acre = 1,833,759,473
*According to data from Statistics Canada and Fertilizers Canada
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Pivot Bio, announces its expansion in Canada
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Pivot Bio, announces its expansion in Canada
