Biologicals are booming in agriculture. Investment is pouring into the sector and hundreds of companies are developing microbial products designed to improve crop performance, protect plants and support soil health.
Yet despite the excitement, one major question remains: why aren’t biologicals consistently delivering their full potential in the field?
In the interview above, Linda Kinkel, founder of Jord BioScience and a leading researcher in plant–microbe interactions, argues the problem lies in how the industry thinks about microbes in the first place.
Rethinking How Microbes Work
For years, many biological products have been built around a simple idea: find a powerful microbe, grow it at scale, then apply it to crops.
But according to Kinkel, that “magic microbe” approach overlooks a fundamental biological reality.
Microbes rarely function alone. In natural systems, they operate within complex communities, communicating with each other and forming partnerships that help them survive, colonize plant roots, and perform key functions for crops.
When those relationships are ignored, Kinkel says, microbial products can struggle to establish themselves in the field — leading to inconsistent performance that has challenged parts of the biologicals sector.
After decades researching plant-beneficial microbes in academia, Kinkel reached a turning point: if these discoveries were going to make a real difference in agriculture, they needed to move beyond the lab. That realization led to the launch of Jord BioScience.
Watch the Full Interview
In the exclusive interview with Seed World, Kinkel discusses why biologicals are gaining momentum, what the industry may be missing about how microbes actually work, and why a new way of thinking could reshape the future of the sector, including:
- Why biologicals are gaining momentum across agriculture
- The fundamental flaw in how many microbial products are developed
- Why microbes shouldn’t be treated like conventional chemistries
- How microbial partnerships could unlock more reliable field performance
- Why the next wave of innovation may depend on understanding microbe-to-microbe signalling
If you’re interested in the future of agricultural biologicals, soil microbiomes and the next generation of crop inputs, this conversation offers a fascinating look at where the industry may be headed.
