Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84THEY’RE SMALL BUT MIGHTY. These companies are focused on delivering niche solutions to help farmers produce larger, more sustainable crops. Of interest are Neogram, which breeds grasses, and Adjuvants Plus, a developer of crop input products. Neogram, an agri-biotech company based in Argentina, was founded five years ago by Anabella Fassiano and Camila Petignat, who saw the need to bring more plant varieties to market that optimize biomass conversion. To accom- plish this, the team created a prebreeding platform that “aims to boost the plant’s potential by inducing diversity within the plant genome and identifying traits associated with biomass conversion using unique selection methodologies.” The first product to come from that platform will be GRAMAX, a pasture grass that promises better digestibility. This new Rhodes grass variety increases the effi- ciency with which livestock convert their feed into meat or milk. In field trials, the digestibility of GRAMAX exceeded other varieties by 12 percent. As a result, live- stock require less feed and generate less methane to produce those products. Although tropical and subtropical pasture grass is the focus of their initial efforts, Neogram believes their work will expand to other crops and benefit indus- tries beyond livestock production. Working to Improve Crop Yields Adjuvants Plus Inc. calls Kingsville, Ontario, home. It came into existence in 2000 under the guidance of William Brown and the late James Stewart. Their Big things are ahead for two businesses making a name for themselves with innovative technologies. Maria Brown goal has been to help farmers realize better yields through “inno- vation with existing chemistry.” They’ve developed a line of agrochemical and biological products. Among them are two water conditioning products — N Tank and Reddy It that, respectively, ensure pes- ticide spray solutions aren’t negatively impacted by hard water or less than ideal pH levels. N Tank binds with hard water ions to boost the effectiveness of pesticides in cereals, oilseeds and pulse crops. Reddy It works to enhance activ- ity in herbicides. As for biologicals, Adjuvants Plus markets EndoFine, a product U.S. and European growers use as a seed inocu- lant in many field crops and as a foliar spray, dip and drench in the cultivation of many horticultural crops. Its active ingredient, Clonostachys rosea, is a naturally-occurring fungal organism that induces plants to develop a more robust root system. EndoFine Express combines the fungal organism with an adjuvant system that, when used as a foliar application, can fend off fungal diseases. “Adjuvants Plus has built a very exciting, specialized product portfolio that has utility in North American and in global markets,” Brown says. “Our technology provides growers with new tools to improve crop yields and increase returns in a sustainable manner.” SW SMALL COMPANIES MAKE BIG STRIDES 16 / SEEDWORLD.COM JANUARY 2017 NeoGram’s Dominga Porota Pichimahuida, Anabella Fassiano and Camila Petignat work to improve the digestibility of forages.