PhycoTerra® Celebrates 1 Million Acre Milestone for World Soil Day

Just in time for World Soil Day, we’re proud to announce that PhycoTerra® branded products have been applied to over 1 million acres of farmland worldwide! The PhycoTerra® branded products, which includes PhycoTerra®, PhycoTerra® Organic and PhycoTerra® ST (seed treatment), are nature-based solutions formulated to activate and feed the soil microbiome. Today, PhycoTerra® soil microbial food products have been applied to over1 million acres of farmland, making a real impact by promoting soil health across the globe. In honor of the upcoming World Soil Day, we’re celebrating this milestone by bringing awareness to soil health, the issues that growers face due to climate change – such as salinization – and innovative solutions.

World Soil Day was formally established in 2014 with the support of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as an international day to celebrate soil, honor the outsized role it plays in human and climate health, and raise global awareness around the challenges it faces. World Soil Day is celebrated annually on December 5^th with a new theme each year. “Halt soil salinization, boost soil productivity” Serves as the 2021 World Soil Day theme.

Did you know? (FAO)

• Soil salinization takes up to 7 million acres of farmland per year out of production
• The annual loss in agricultural productivity caused by salinization is estimated to be $31 million
• It is estimated that there are more than 2 billion acres of salt-affected soils around the globe (8.7% of the planet)

Salinization impacts the productivity of 113 million acres worldwide which is a big issue for growers, especially those living in arid and semi-arid climates. These climates (and climates experiencing drought) lack the rainfall to help soils flush salt buildup out. Salinization is an accumulation of salt (e.g., sodium and chloride) in the soil profile and is a symptom of unhealthy soils with poor structure, minimal organic matter, and poor irrigation water quality. The accumulated soluble salts in the soil creates a nutrient imbalance, less available water, a loss of biodiversity, and can negatively impact the growth of crops, especially if the salts are accumulating in the germination and root zones of plants. Left untreated, soils with high saline levels will eventually become sodic. Sodic soils have an extremely degraded soil structure and inhibits plant growth. (FAO)

The goal of halting soil salinization and boosting soil productivity can be reached by promoting healthy soils through regenerative agriculture practices. The excellent soil structure, biodiversity and water productivity of healthy soils prevents salinization. In the case of PhycoTerra® products, our unique mode of action promotes biodiversity by feeding and activating the microbes, like fungi and bacteria, in the soil. These beneficial microbes, now activate, create a healthy soil structure, optimize nutrient availability and balance, and boosts water productivity by 10%. By positively impacting soil health in this manner, PhycoTerra® can help halt soil salinization by leaching sodium and chloride below the root zone of the plant and boost productivity by supporting the plant through abiotic stresses such as drought.

Nature-based solutions like PhycoTerra® branded products are an important part of revitalizing soils worldwide and supporting our health, our climate, and our agricultural communities globally. Participating in World Soil Day this year can help bring engagement and start conversations to find even more innovative solutions to these issues.

Interested in joining a World Soil Day celebration? Find one here.