The Holganix Blog

Cutting Fertilizer Without Cutting Yield: One Nebraska Farmer's Journey to Healthier Soil

rpatel@holganix.com (Ritu Patel) — Wed, 20 May 2026 09:30:01 GMT

Farming in southwest Nebraska is not getting any easier. Global fertilizer markets are under pressure, input costs continue to elevate, and water matters more every year. Growers need ways to improve yields without spending more money.

That is what pushed Tim Varilek from Lamar, Nebraska, to start looking at soil health differently.

Tim is a third-generation farmer who raises corn, soybeans, popcorn, alfalfa, edible beans, wheat, millet, and pasture grasses. He is also a Holganix farmer dealer in Nebraska. What started as a way to lower fertilizer costs has turned into a major change across his farm.

“I tried Holganix Bio 800+ Revive because I was looking for something to help cut back on my fertilizer bill,” says Tim. “Holganix really did an amazing thing that first year.”

Starting Small and Seeing Big Results

Like many growers, Tim did not jump all in right away. The first year, he treated half the field with Holganix Bio 800+ Revive and left the other half untreated.

The results were hard to believe.

“The first year we used Holganix Bio 800+ Revive, I did half of the land with the product and the other half as a control,” says Tim.

That was enough to get his attention.

Cutting Fertilizer by 40%

Tim did not slash fertilizer overnight. Instead, he slowly reduced his rates each season. By cutting fertilizer about 10% each year, Tim has now reduced fertilizer use by roughly 40%.

“I’ve also reduced my fertilizer by 40% from where I was a few years ago, which pretty much cuts my fertilizer budget in half because of the high fertility costs,” says Tim. “It makes me happy and my banker happy.”

Even with lower fertilizer rates, Tim's yields have continued to improve every season. He estimates he is saving $80 or more per acre.

Healthier Crops and Better-Looking Fields

One of the biggest things Tim noticed was how much healthier his crops looked.

His corn stayed greener longer. Magnesium deficiency spots started shrinking. Emergence has improved. Roots became stronger.

“In addition to reducing fertilizer, root health, corn emergence, and edible bean size have all improved,” Tim says.

He has also seen fewer residue issues in the spring.

“With Holganix Bio 800+ products, we get high yields and reduced residue issues in the springtime,” Tim explains.

Improving Soil Health

For Tim, the biggest change may be what is happening below the surface.

“Before Holganix, my organic matter was 0.6 to 0.9. Now they are saying it’s at 2%,” says Tim. I can’t even describe how awesome it has been.”

As soil biology improved, Tim says compaction became less of a problem, too.

“Compaction is certainly a lot less of an issue with Holganix Bio 800+ products,” he says.

Tim has also started moving away from conventional tillage.

“We are working on going no till,” says Tim. “We had been conventional till in the past, but we have moved to strip tilling. I really found that with the microbial life from Holganix Bio 800+, the time to recover from one tillage pass has been such a huge difference.”

Saving Water in Nebraska

Water is always top of mind in Nebraska. Tim says healthier soil has helped his fields hold moisture better and improved irrigation efficiency.

He has been able to stay under 12 inches of irrigation water while other growers around him are pushing past their limits. Healthier soil structure and better root systems are helping crops make better use of every inch of water.

Helping Crops Recover from Stress

Tim also uses Holganix Bio 800+ products to help crops recover from weather stress. “I use Holganix as a fix on crops that are damaged from wind or hailstorms,” he says. Because his crops are healthier overall, Tim says, “I don’t apply fungicides anymore. Fungicides just put a Band-Aid on the problem.”

Watch Tim’s Story

Watch Tim’s 1-minute video featuring his soil health journey. If you’re reading this blog via email, click here to see the video.

For Tim Varilek, it all started with trying to lower fertilizer costs. Five years later, he says the results continue to improve every season.

See What Holganix Could Do on Your Farm

Want to see how Holganix products can help your farm thrive? Use our ROI calculator for a quick snapshot of what the transformation could look like on your operation.

Whether you are looking to reduce fertilizer costs, improve soil health, save water, or grow healthier crops, the calculator can help show the potential value for your acres.

Try the Holganix ROI Calculator

What Soil Biology Can Do: A Side-by-Side Look at Soil Structure in Nebraska

rpatel@holganix.com (Ritu Patel) — Fri, 08 May 2026 13:45:01 GMT

When growers talk about improving soil health, the conversation often centers around nutrient levels, yield goals, and fertilizer programs. But one of the clearest indicators of soil health is something you can actually hold in your hand: soil structure.

In a recent field demonstration in Harlan County, Nebraska, Holganix agronomist Levi Tipton compared soil from two neighboring areas in the same field that were only 10 yards apart, one untreated control area and another that had received two applications of Holganix Bio 800+. The results were impossible to ignore.

Watch Levi’s Field Demonstration

Watch this 1-minute video featuring Holganix agronomist Levi Tipton as he compares soil from two neighboring fields in Nebraska — one untreated control area and another that received two applications of Holganix Bio 800+.

If you’re reading this blog via email, click here to see the video.

Same Field. Same Soil Type. Different Results.

What makes this demonstration especially compelling is how close the two soil samples were collected.

The treated and untreated areas were only about 10 yards apart in the same Nebraska field. Both areas shared the same fine-silty soil type and experienced the same weather conditions, cropping history, and management practices, except for the biological program.

The difference in soil condition was immediately visible.

Holganix Bio 800+ Soil

Darker color and improved aggregation
Soil crumbled easily in the hand
Better moisture retention
More porous structure
Greater biological activity potential

Untreated Control Soil

Dry and compacted appearance
Large hard clods
Minimal aggregation
Poor moisture retention
Tight, dense structure

The side-by-side comparison demonstrates how soil biology can influence physical soil characteristics over time.

Why Soil Biology Matters

Soil biology is responsible for many of the natural processes that improve aggregation and structure:

Producing glues and polysaccharides that bind soil particles
Cycling nutrients into plant-available forms
Improving residue breakdown
Enhancing water holding capacity
Supporting root growth and microbial diversity

Holganix Bio 800+ is designed to stimulate and support these biological processes naturally and affordably, helping growers build healthier soils without dramatically increasing input costs.

Good for your soil. Better for your bottom line.

Soil Health Data Supports the Observation

The field’s Horizons Soil Health Report reinforced what could already be seen visually in the soil samples.

Highlights from the report included:

Bulk Density: 1.12 g/cm³
Organic Matter: 3.6%
CEC: 22.68
Strong micronutrient availability
Fine-silty soil texture with active biological potential

Lower bulk density and improved aggregation are often associated with healthier biological activity and improved soil function.

As Levi’s demonstration showed, the power of biology can be seen with your own eyes, healthier aggregation, improved moisture retention, and soil that simply functions better. By helping growers build stronger, more resilient soils naturally and affordably, Holganix Bio 800+ supports both long-term soil health and long-term profitability.

A Love Letter to Earth

lpost@holganix.com (Liz Post) — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 13:21:19 GMT

We celebrate the Earth once a year,

But it works for us every day,

Beneath every field, every garden, everywhere life grows.

It’s not just what we see above.

It’s the work happening below.

Holding water,

Storing carbon,

Supporting life.

It doesn’t need much—

Just care.

Not once,

Not just on Earth Day,

But every day.

Because when we take care of it,

Everything it supports gets stronger.

Farms,

Communities,

The future we’re all part of.

This Earth Day, look beneath the surface.

This month, we’re celebrating creator mindset, one of our core values. Follow along on Facebook and Instagram for more grower stories.

The Hidden Source of Scope 3 Emissions: It Starts in the Soil

blandry@holganix.com (Ben Landry) — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 15:09:39 GMT

Increasingly companies are being asked to report on their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions—especially Scope 3, or the emissions that occur across supply chains. And candidly, that’s easier said than done.

So let’s take a step back.

How do you measure something that happens across thousands of farms, each operating differently?

Historically, we’ve relied on estimates, averages, or models to approximate what’s happening in the soil, the same soil that connects to the products and companies we interact with every day.

That’s the gap we’re working to close at HGX, by bringing actionable, farm-level data into the conversation.

Let’s be candid: GHG inventories and accounting protocols can be intimidating.

Instead of starting with a spreadsheet, let’s start somewhere more familiar…a movie theater.

The Scene

At the risk of severely dating myself, I’ll set the scene. It’s a hot Friday night in midsummer, 2004, in a small town in Arkansas. The kind where the only real escape is the air conditioning of a movie theater. A line of teenagers waits at the concession stand. Popcorn. Candy. Drinks. Simple enough. But behind that bag of candy and popcorn is an entire value chain: ingredients, suppliers, and processes that stretch far beyond the theater itself.

And embedded in that value chain is something most people rarely think about: emissions, or the carbon footprint that it took to get that product into your hand at the theater.

The Role

Now, imagine that you work for the company that makes those snacks. Your job is to calculate the emissions associated with your product. Where do they actually come from?

Framing Emissions

To answer that, companies rely on a common tracking framework: Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions.

Scopes 1 and 2 are relatively straightforward. The oversimplified version is that those emissions categories come from your own business operations and the energy required to run them. Think of them as what you burn (natural gas, diesel fuel, etc.) and what you buy (purchased electric power, or steam for heating). If you want to dive deeper into this topic, I recommend the following resource: https://ghgprotocol.org/scope-2-guidance

Scope 3 is everything else, and often the biggest piece of the puzzle. Here is where things get interesting!

Most Scope 3 emissions originate upstream—at the farm level—where data has historically been estimated. Today, in-field soil data makes these emissions measurable.

The Plot

For food and beverage companies like the movie theater snack brand in our example, a large share of the overall emissions inventory comes from upstream sources, potentially hundreds of miles or even continents away, embedded in a supply chain of packaging materials and agricultural raw ingredients called “Category 1 Purchased Goods and Services” that extends beyond arable land. For example, Category 1 Purchased Goods and Services includes the kernel of corn and what it took to produce that kernel. This means that what happens on farms and within the soil where these crops are grown matters more than ever.

Connecting the Dots

To grow the ingredients behind those nostalgic snacks, like corn, sugar, cacao, peanuts, and wheat, they all need the same basic thing: topsoil. Picture a corn grower in the US Midwest, or a wheat producer on the expensive plains of Alberta. Producing crops at a commercially viable scale requires inputs: land, labor, equipment, irrigated water, and often significant amounts of synthetic fertilizers to maintain yield. Each of those inputs carries its own GHG emissions footprint, which contributes to Scope 3. (For more technical guidance on Scope 3 categories, both upstream and downstream, check out this resource: https://ghgprotocol.org/corporate-value-chain-scope-3-standard)

For teams responsible for calculating Scope 3 emissions, this poses a real challenge. How do you measure something that occurs at the field level across thousands of farms, each operating differently? All too often, the answer hasn’t historically been a true measurement. We’ve relied on estimates, averages, or models to approximate what’s happening in the soil.

Soil Data In Action

This is one of the gaps that we’re working to close for upstream agricultural emissions. With in-the-field soil data, a snack company can begin to:

Understand on-farm emissions drivers on a seasonal or crop rotation basis;
Identify opportunities, including novel product innovations, that help growers reduce inputs, not just occasionally, but season after season; and,
Quantify and deploy capital investments in environmental and operational outcomes.

Where This Comes to Life

At Holganix and HGX, this is exactly where we’re spending our time. Not because it’s the only category of the Scope 3 emissions puzzle that matters, but because it’s one of the least visible, yet most impactful.

We’re focused on bringing actionable, farm-level data to the conversation and reducing the burden on growers to manage it. In my role at HGX, I naturally gravitate towards how companies are structured to account for this complex web of supply chain actors, and how they deploy capital to influence the outcomes to strengthen their access to source ingredients. That bag of movie theater popcorn is beautifully simple. But its footprint tells a much deeper story, one that starts long before you enjoy it. As we get serious about Scope 3, that’s where we have to look. Stay rooted!

She Wears Many Hats: Happy Women in Ag Month!

kkirschbaum@holganix.com (Kendall Kirschbaum) — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 19:42:20 GMT

In agriculture, no two days look the same—and neither do the roles women take on.

They’re leaders, problem-solvers, caregivers, and innovators. Women in agriculture don’t just keep up with the pace, they set it. From the field to the office and everywhere in between, women are stepping up, taking on more, and driving agriculture forward every single day.

Why March Matters

March is Women in Ag Month at Holganix! With National Women in Ag Day recognized on March 21 and Women in History Month celebrated throughout the month, it's the perfect time to shine a spotlight on the women who make an industry difference.

Who Inspires You?

We asked the 30+ women of Holganix who inspires them, and their answers are as diverse and inspiring as the women themselves. Inspiration comes in many forms; these are the individuals who inspire our women in agriculture:

Despite their differences, they are united by a common purpose, to drive positive change. Let this be a reminder for who inspires you, and how you can be an inspiration for the up-and-comers.

Planting Seeds For Tomorrow

Inspiring the next generation of women to be involved in agriculture ensures the industry continues to thrive with fresh ideas, energy, and perspective. Agriculture offers countless ways to contribute, whether in the field, behind the scenes, in leadership, or through innovation, there’s truly a place for everyone to make an impact and help shape the future.

To wrap up, here’s some advice from our own team to inspire and empower the next generation of women in agriculture:

"This is a diverse industry, and there are so many unique experiences you can miss if you're not willing to take the risk!" - Kate Michael, Talent Acquisition & Onboarding Coordinator

"Never stop learning. Ask the question. Connect with a mentor. Be a sponge." - Jessica Alderson, Regional Sales Manager

"Don't be afraid to make mistakes, those moments are often the greatest opportunities to learn and grow." - Joslynn Masters, Operational Sales Support Representative

The future of agriculture is brighter when women lead, innovate, and grow together. Give thanks to the women making a difference in every hat they wear.

Happy Women in Ag Month!

GET IN TOUCH

" src="https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/18130/interactive-198458596104.png" style="height: 100%; width: 100%; object-fit: fill">

Webinar: From the Field - Grower Insights on Bio 800+ Revive

rpatel@holganix.com (Ritu Patel) — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 16:12:55 GMT

Ever wonder what your fellow farmers are planning to do differently this season, and what’s actually working so far?

Join us for a live grower roundtable webinar on March 17 @ 10:00 AM CST/11:00 AM EST, where farmers from across the country share what they're seeing in their fields as the season gets underway.

From soil conditions and root development to crop resilience and plant health, you’ll hear firsthand how farmers are approaching soil health, and where Bio 800+ fits into their crop strategies.

Meet the Grower Panel:

Alongside Holganix Regional Sales Managers Jessica Alderson and Cord Mumme, you’ll hear directly from growers using Bio 800+ Revive on their farms.

They’ll share how they’ve integrated Bio 800+ into their crop programs, what they’ve observed over recent growing seasons, and how their fields are responding.

Expect practical insights and honest perspectives from farmers applying these practices in real-world conditions.

What You'll Learn In The Webinar:

Whether you’re already using Bio 800+ Revive or thinking about trying it on your farm, this grower panel offers relatable and relevant insights into:

How growers are seeing more developed soil structure after applying Bio 800+
Changes they’re noticing in root development and plant health, including deeper, more fibrous roots and more vigorous, uniform crop growth
How Bio 800+ supports crop resilience during stressful conditions
What’s new, what’s working, and what’s not worth your time
How farmers are thinking about soil health practices for the future
Live Q&A to get your questions answered directly

Webinar Details:

From The Field – Grower Insights on Bio 800+ Revive

Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Time: 10:00 AM CST / 11:00 AM EST

Host(s): Jessica Alderson and Cord Mumme, Holganix Regional Sales Managers

Panelist(s): Holganix Growers

Don’t miss the opportunity to gain timely, practical advice straight from farmers who are walking the walk.

Join the conversation and hear what farmers across the country are seeing in their fields.

" src="https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/18130/interactive-209179626304.png" style="height: 100%; width: 100%; object-fit: fill">

Horizons: Seeing Your Fields More Clearly, One Decision at a Time

hwalker@holganix.com (Hayden Walker) — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 14:15:00 GMT

When you spend enough time working with growers, one thing becomes pretty clear: everyone has data, but very few feel like they have clarity.

Soil tests live in one place. Imagery lives somewhere else. Notes get scribbled in trucks or buried in phones. By the time you sit down to make a decision, you are piecing together a puzzle that never quite feels complete.

This is the problem Horizons aims to solve.

Horizons is Holganix’s new soil intelligence platform, and at its core, it’s about bringing everything together in a way that actually makes sense on a real farm. It doesn’t just give you more information, but a better perspective.

Why Horizons Matter

We built Horizons because we kept seeing the same challenge. Growers care deeply about their soil and their crops, but turning soil health data into day-to-day decisions isn’t always easy.

You may know something is off in a field, but not exactly where or why. Or you may see variability on a yield map after the fact and wish you had caught it sooner.

Horizons helps close that gap.

By combining satellite imagery, soil test data, scouting observations, and field-level weather, Horizons gives you a clearer picture of what is happening across every acre. Instead of guessing, you can see patterns. Instead of reacting late, you can respond earlier.

Putting Horizons to Work

Something I appreciate most about Horizons is how practical it is. You log in and immediately see your fields, current imagery, and any alerts that need attention.

If something changes in a field, Horizons flags it in real time. Those alerts are sent directly to your phone as notifications, so you don’t need to be logged in or actively checking the platform to stay up-to-date. The information comes to you, wherever you are, helping you respond quickly when it matters most.

You can zoom into a single field, compare imagery layers, and look at soil health data right alongside what you are seeing from above. Soil tests automatically show up as scouting reports, which makes it easier to visualize and understand in context. Weather data is tied directly to each field - not just a general forecast for the area.

Our goal wasn’t to give you just another piece of software. It was to give you a tool that easily shows how your farm is performing, and that can complement what you’re already doing daily.

Built Around Real Agronomy

Horizons is grounded in agronomy, not just technology. The insights are designed to support real conversations about fertility, biology, and management decisions. Whether you’re evaluating how a field responds to a biological program or planning adjustments for next season, the platform keeps everything connected.

Another perk - Horizons works alongside the systems you already use. It’s not here to replace your existing tools. It pulls the most meaningful data – from all your tools - together into a single platform, allowing you to focus on decisions instead of data management.

Long-Term Value Beyond One Season

What excites me most about Horizons is not just what it does in-season, but what it builds over time. As seasons stack up, you’ll start to see soil health trends, management impacts, and patterns that are hard to catch otherwise. That long-term view makes it easier to fine-tune inputs, measure return on investment, and build confidence in the direction you’re heading.

Horizons also plays a key role in Farm Possible by serving as the backbone for soil health tracking and carbon measurement. It ties together the work being done in the field with the data needed to document progress and outcomes.

Available to Farm Possible Growers

Horizons is available exclusively to growers enrolled in the Farm Possible program. Acres enrolled are automatically monitored inside the platform at no additional cost. If you are already part of Farm Possible, Horizons is there waiting for you.

If you have questions or need help getting started, your Soil Health Specialist is always a great first resource. You can also reach out directly to Logan Johnson, Horizons Product Lead, at ljohnson@holganix.com.

Horizons isn’t about adding more noise. It’s about seeing your fields more clearly, making decisions with confidence, and building healthier soil season after season.

Learn More? Join us for a Webinar.

A New Horizon in Agriculture: A Live Look at Horizons, Holganix’s Soil Intelligence Platform

Date: Thursday, February 19

Time: 11:00 AM CST / 12:00 PM EST

Host(s): Logan Johnson, Holganix Horizons Product Lead, and Hayden Walker, Holganix Digital Agronomist

A Love Letter to Soil

zrichardson@holganix.com (Zoe Richardson) — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 14:00:00 GMT

Did you know that nearly half of all life on the planet lives below ground?

Soil isn’t just dirt. It’s a living, breathing organism.

Like any living system, it has to be cared for, and not just once, but day after day.

That kind of care has a name. It’s love.

Not mushy or sentimental love. Not candy hearts and roses.

No, soil needs the same kind of love that people do—unglamorous and attentive.

No one knows that kind of love better than a farmer.

This month, we tip our hats to growers everywhere who are leaving things better for the next generation, starting with their love for the soil.

Because love, like soil, is the unseen foundation of our lives.

It can erode. Hard times can thin its life.

But love, just like soil, can also regenerate. Through daily action, it grows deep and rich.

And from that healthy foundation, life flourishes.

Crops, families, and communities grow strong.

With healthy soil—grown with care, attention, and love—we thrive.

Check out the 2-minute video below, where Holganix growers share why they love healthy soil. If you’re viewing this via email, click here to watch the video.

This month, we’re celebrating love, one of our core values. Follow along on Facebook and Instagram for more grower stories.

5 Takeaways from Davos: How Resources, Resilience and Risk Are Quietly Rewriting Strategy

tweaver@Holganix.com (Tim Weaver) — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 14:18:01 GMT

Last week, the world’s biggest opportunities (and challenges) were compressed into a few square miles of Swiss mountain real estate – along with CEOs, officials, investors, and assorted leaders in sensible shoes trying to make sense of it all. I was able to navigate it all without slipping on any ice, which I consider my biggest professional victory of the week.

Davos is part policy summit, part investor meeting, and part group therapy for global systems under stress. This year felt different from recent editions, somehow less theatrical and more forensic. I saw fewer slogans but more spreadsheets.

As one CEO shared with me about their company’s goals for the week, “We’re not here debating ideals. We’re comparing insurance deductibles and cost of capital. Markets are learning how to price fragility.”

That single sentence framed the entire week.

Across industries and continents, six themes kept resurfacing—on stage, in private meetings, and in the late-night conversations where far more honesty tends to surface.

1. Water is becoming a strategic asset (and it’s beginning to be priced)

Water security has crossed the line from an “environmental issue” to a “board-level risk” for many companies and most nations.

It surfaced in conversations about semiconductors, food inflation, data centers, insurance pricing, and sovereign stability. Capital is quietly becoming more expensive for water-stressed regions, companies, and projects. Insurance is retreating in some places. Credit committees are asking hydrology questions.

Water is becoming a balance-sheet variable, not merely an operating constraint.

I get to see this weekly at Holganix in grower dashboards, not as theory. Fields with depleted biology shed water like pavement and suffer runoff after short rains, crop stress after long ones, and expensive inputs wash away. Fields with healthy soil hold water and nutrients like a savings account.

Healthy soil doesn’t just grow crops. It stores water like capital.

When soil goes into water bankruptcy, everything downstream—literally and financially—follows. Sophisticated operators and investors are already acting on this.

2. “Sustainability” put on a suit and joined the risk committee

The S-word—a four-letter word to some today—certainly appeared on fewer badges and panel titles than in years past, but it hadn’t disappeared.

It had matured.

Executives spoke less about targets and more about continuity, insurability, weather exposure, and what nature is doing to their cost of capital. When lenders widen spreads and insurers walk away, philosophy turns into math.

Several executives noted that the center of gravity is shifting from reporting impacts to engineering around them. Carbon, water, and land constraints are no longer handled by ESG teams after the fact; they are showing up upstream in plant location decisions, supplier selection, product architecture, and long-term capital planning.

Nature-related risk is following the same arc cyber risk did: first ignored, then modeled, eventually priced, and now unavoidable.

Data is driving much of this evolution. Now that these impacts can be measured—along with their financial consequences—bankable transitions are becoming more common than public commitments. Banks, insurers, private equity firms, and sovereign funds are embedding water stress, soil degradation, energy reliability, and political volatility directly into underwriting and valuation models.

My finance friends discuss volatility the way my farmer friends talk about weather: inevitable, inconvenient, and obviously someone else’s fault.

Volatility is no longer the exception. It’s the business model.

3. Soil is being recognized as financial infrastructure

This one felt personal—and, of course, a little self-serving.

Across sessions on food security, climate adaptation, economic development, global water impact, and more, soil kept reappearing—not as dirt to expense annually, but as a productive system to capitalize.

Agricultural land has been treated like a rental car far too often, with similar depreciating results. We are entering a time when growers, bankers, companies, and countries will see soil as a factory-like asset—a system that requires investment, maintenance, and disciplined management to keep producing:

a yield stabilizer
a water regulator
a carbon storage system
a rural economic engine
a volatility buffer
an input-efficiency indicator

If roads move goods and fiber moves data, soil moves food, water, carbon, and stability. Neglect it, and you don’t just lose crops. You lose optionality.

Growers, companies, and countries can neglect soil health season after season (many always have). Data is now showing that those who do pay a price for that choice that spans decades.

Tim during a panel at Newsweek speaking on “Higher Yields, Lower Impact: Farming for More with Less”.

4. Agriculture, for better and worse, at the forefront of geopolitics

Food systems used to sit politely in the background of global strategy.

Not anymore.

At Davos, agriculture was discussed the way energy has been in the past: as national security infrastructure. Tariffs. Export controls. Fertilizer supply chains. Diesel costs. Sanctions. Climate migration. Strategic grain reserves. For multinational companies, this means sourcing, investment, and market entry are becoming political decisions, not just economic ones.

Efficiency now has to include resilience. Optimization must address redundancy. Cheapest is giving way to what is most reliable.

Two deeper shifts are underway.

First, data and biology are becoming strategic assets. Seed genetics, soil data, yield models, and biological inputs are now discussed in the same terms as rare earths and energy reserves. Who controls the data layer of food production—and who owns the underlying biology—will shape trade leverage in the way ports or pipelines do.

Agriculture is becoming geopolitical leverage.

Second, food security is quietly reshaping alliances. Several conversations hinted that future trade blocs may form less around ideology and more around protein, calories, water, and fertilizer access. Nations with reliable surplus production and resilient soils will carry disproportionate diplomatic influence. Those without it will face constraints no amount of monetary policy can solve.

The next decade of agriculture will be shaped as much by diplomacy as by agronomy.

5. Carbon is ready for a financial-markets methodology

For years, carbon markets were built like academic projects: scientifically rigorous, carefully bounded, and structurally small. That made them credible. It did not make them functional at scale.

What I heard shifting in Davos was not enthusiasm, but intent.

Executives, financiers, and policymakers spoke about carbon less as a moral instrument and more as a missing piece of market plumbing—something that needs liquidity, standards, risk models, contract structures, clearing mechanisms, and price discovery.

Several global market makers described how financial methodologies are being redesigned to accommodate institutional capital, long-duration offtake agreements, and sovereign participation. One leader put it plainly: “The drought of market creativity in carbon is ending.”

Carbon is being pulled into the same framework as energy, metals, and agriculture—not because it is fashionable, but because companies and countries now need it to manage three converging pressures:

regulatory compliance
supply-chain resilience
land and water security

Soil-based sequestration sits at the intersection of all three, which explains why it kept surfacing not only in climate sessions, but also in conversations about food security, trade exposure, and national planning.

The voluntary phase is ending, and with the growing depth of data to drive it, the infrastructure phase has begun. What follows is less romantic, but far more consequential: pricing models, counterparty risk, insurance treatment, accounting standards, and integration into procurement strategies.

One investor joked they will soon be recruiting soil scientists the way they once recruited software engineers. I don’t think they were joking.

The quiet opportunity learned from the very loud party

For all the talk of risk, Davos wasn’t pessimistic.

It was, however, pragmatic.

It was meaningful and fascinating to sit with leaders who have spent decades navigating booms and crises, bubbles and resets. By the end of the week, most shared the same posture: bullish on resilience, bearish on sleep.

The common thread wasn’t climate. Or technology. Or geopolitics.

It was that resilience is being redefined as a financial strategy.

The next generation of winning companies and nations will be the ones that:

treat natural systems as productive long-term assets, not annualized expenses
actively design for volatility advantage instead of assuming passive stability at the supply-chain, corporate, and national levels
understand that soil, water, data, and trust will compete on reliability as much as they will on price

Not because any of this sounds virtuous.

Rather, because it pencils.

At Holganix, we see clearly this convergence of soil, data, water, and finance daily. Davos simply confirmed that it’s now global.

Until next year, Davos!

What We Learned at Farmcon 2026

rpatel@holganix.com (Ritu Patel) — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 16:34:05 GMT

FARMCON 2026 once again proved why this event has become a must-attend for people shaping the future of agriculture. Hosted by the Van Trump family, FARMCON isn’t just a conference. It’s a collision of business strategy, culture, and real-world farm experience. It’s where hard conversations happen, bold ideas surface, and the ag industry takes a hard look at where it’s headed next.

With farmers, founders, executives, and innovators all in one room, the energy was high, and the takeaways were clear. Below are some of the biggest themes we walked away with. These ideas challenge how we lead, how we tell our story, and how we show up every day in agriculture.

1. Authenticity Always Wins

One of the strongest messages from the week came from Erika Ayers Badan, CEO of Food52, and it was refreshingly simple: authenticity isn’t optional. It’s everything.

If you’re not who you say you are, or not what you appear to be, people eventually notice. And when they do, trust erodes fast. Erika laid out a few principles that hit home for a lot of us:

Love your customers genuinely.

Super-serve them and their teams on their timeline and in the places they live.

Be spontaneous and consistent.

Stop pretending to be perfect.

Don’t apologize for what you’re not.

Build for who you actually are, not who you think you should be.

The bottom line? Authenticity has to be 24/7. In a world where people are constantly marketed to, the brands and leaders who win are the ones who show up real, human, and honest every single time.

2. Building and Scaling Businesses in Agriculture

One of the most meaningful moments of FARMCON came during the Building and Scaling Businesses in Agriculture panel.

Jordan Van Trump, founder of AgSwag, shared a reflection that resonated deeply. What he has built isn’t just a swag company. It is a business centered on celebrating the American farmer. Just as importantly, it is something he built with his family. That reminder that success does not have to come at the expense of values or relationships landed hard.

The conversation naturally expanded into the importance of culture and core values. Barrett Ersek shared a candid moment from his own leadership journey, explaining that just 14 months ago, his leadership team could not clearly articulate the company’s core values. That realization forced a reset, and that is okay. What matters is not ignoring the problem. By facing it head-on, realignment happened, and today those values are actively lived out, not just written down.

Check out this 14-minute video by Holganix CEO Barrett Ersek on flow, leadership, and building a values-driven culture. Reading this blog via email, click here for the video link.

Cam Camfield, CEO of Stratovation Group, added another powerful layer to the discussion by making the case that farmers need to do more to market themselves and tell their story. He emphasized the hard, heroic work that often goes unseen. Barrett built on this by sharing his “Bloody Billionaire” story, illustrating that people outside of agriculture are craving authentic farmer stories. They want something real, not polished perfection.

Culture, values, and storytelling were not side topics this year. They were front and center.

3. The Farmer Is the Hero

This theme kept surfacing across sessions and conversations: the farmer is the hero.

It’s something we talk about often, but FARMCON 2026 reinforced how important it is and how aligned the industry is becoming around this idea. Any opportunity to put farmers in front of people and let them tell their story should be taken.

That doesn’t mean farmers have to do it alone. Ag companies play a critical role as connection points by helping amplify those stories, creating platforms, and serving as bridges between farmers and audiences who need to hear what agriculture is really about. Whether through video, social content, events, or partnerships, telling the farmer’s story authentically matters more than ever.

Conclusion: Be Real. Build with Purpose. Tell the Story.

If FARMCON 2026 made one thing clear, it’s that success in agriculture today goes beyond yields, technology, or scale. Authenticity, culture, values, and storytelling are no longer optional; they are essential.

The ag industry doesn’t need to pretend to be something it’s not. The real stories, real people, and real work happening every day on farms across the country are powerful enough on their own. When we lead with honesty and put farmers at the center, people listen.

And that’s where real impact begins.