In February of this year, Bill Diederich became CEO of BiOWiSH Technologies, which operates out of Cincinnati, Ohio. He spoke with New AG International and laid out his plans for the company and explains why they don’t do single site fermentation.
Bill Diederich became CEO of BiOWiSH Technologies in February 2025.
BiOWiSH Technologies developed their bio-enhancement specifically for broad-acre row crops by applying BiOWiSH® to fertilizer during upstream processing. This method ensures the microbes and fertilizer remain stable and effective both at the supplier terminal and during on-farm storage, making it much easier for growers to integrate into their currentmanagement practices.
“After 15 years with BiOWiSH Technologies, stepping into the CEO role is both an honour and a responsibility,” says Bill Diederich. “Our foundation is solid. We’ve already proven our microbial fertilizer enhancement technology across more than 10 million acres. Now it’s about smart growth, market leadership and delivering on the promise of biological solutions at scale.”
The origins of the company canbe traced back to a field trip to Thailand by a microbiologist looking to see how shrimp ponds can be cleaned up.
“This was about five years prior to me joining the company,” begins Diederich. The work of the microbiologist attracted the curiosity of Rod Vautier, one of the company’s original investors and president today. “If you've ever seen a shrimp pond, they can have dark-looking water. Then this [microbial] product gets added and suddenly the ponds are starting to look as clean as a swimming pool,” enthuses Diederich.
Although a smaller part of the business, BiOWiSH is still involvedin aquaculture. But the focus for Diederich and his team is agriculture and the continued roll-out of their liquid biological product that is sold to fertilizer producers forcoating granules or mixed witha liquid fertilizer.
Separating the R&D When it comes to a business model, Diederich describes how they like to work with fertilizer companies. “We're an extension of their business. We offer PhD data statisticians that workalongside them.”
When describing the trajectory of the company, Diederich likes to clearly separate the ‘R’ and ‘D’ parts of research and development. “What we did first was implement a very strong microbial screening process. That original product had lots of different microbes in it, but we didn't need all of them.”
From here the company developed its core technology – a proprietary platform that combines microorganism screening, controlled fermentation, and post-fermentation processes. “Our flagship product, BiOWiSH Crop Liquid, is a blend of proprietary microbial cultures and patent-pending post-fermentation interventions. The product is added
directly to the most commonly used dry fertilizers or liquid fertilizers by the fertilizer supplier. This creates an enhanced efficiency fertilizer that arrives on-farm, ready to use. No separate application, special equipment or complicated mixing required.”
The ‘R’ is backed by over a decade of third-party research and more than 200 replicated trials globally in which BiOWiSH enhanced fertilizers have demonstrated a 7.7 percent average yield increase and 86 percent win-rate – across a broad range of crops, soil types, operating conditions, management practices and environments.
The ‘D’ is proven on-farm with the company’s extensive database of fertilizer partner collaborative grower side-by-side trials, which remarkedly demonstrated a 7.8 percent average yield increase and 86 percent win-rate.
“The ‘D’ part involves proving that it works. In our programme, when we approach fertilizer companies to work with, we give them a data package from all over the globe,” explains Diederich.
The company takes a flexible approach working with a full or optimized fertility program, allowing growers to choose what is best for their business. Trials have shown yield increases even with reduced nitrogen inputs, making it easier for farmers to balance the ever-changing farming economics and production goals with sustainability and new regulations. N Optimized trials using 10 percent less fertilizer had an average yield increase of 4.5 percent, while crop yields were maintained with a 20 percent N Optimized program, the company told New AG International.
What we did first was implement a very strong microbial screening process. That original product had lots of different microbes in it, but we didn't need all of them.
Backed by Bacillus BiOWiSH Crop Liquid contains endophytic bacteria from the Bacillus spp family. Bacillus is a well-established bacteria used in agricultural products. “Many microbial solutions attempt to inoculate soil with non-native microbes – often with inconsistent results,” the company said in follow-up notes to the discussion with Diederich. “BiOWiSH takes a fundamentally different approach, focusing on quality over quantity. BiOWiSH products utilize natural endophytic microbes that enhance
the activity of beneficial native microorganisms already present in the rhizosphere. These endophytes actively migrate to the root zone and participate in the rhizophagy cycle, helping deliver nutrients directly to the plant.”
Multi-site fermentation Controlled fermentation to produce a consistent product is key to the company strategy. “We don't do single site fermentation,” notes Diederich. In a system developed by the company’s chairman Dr. Nabil Sakkab as part of an IP strategy, different parts of the company will be responsible for different parts of production. This means that knowledge isn’t concentrated in one area or person.
“We're trying to protect our IP, and also that of my fertilizer company partners who are making an investment in us,” explains Diederich.
Farmer economics As of 2025, the BiOWiSH Fertilizer Enhancement has been used on more than 10 million acres globally. “In 2023 alone, we saw over two million acres treated, and in 2024 that nearly doubled to just under four million acres. While we have an extremely strong presence in the U.S. and Canada through our partnership with ADM, this is very much a global story,” the company note said.
Export isn’t just a future ambition – it’s already underway. A significant portion of its acreage also comes from non-U.S. markets with commercialization in key agricultural regions across the world, which include Brazil, Australia and markets in Asia.
“We expect that trend to continue as global regulatory and sustainability drivers gain strength. In fact, one of our early adopters is Ca Mau Fertilizer, a leading urea producer in Vietnam. They helped pave the way for global expansion. Additionally, other strategic partnerships like SABIC Agri-Nutrients and Syngenta Group China have also been pivotal in accelerating our international growth,” says the company.
Future strategy The company strategy can be summarised as three-fold: firstly, to continue to help farmers improve productivity, profitability, and sustainability – whether on large-scale commercial farms or smallholder plots. “As demand for sustainable solutions grows, BiOWiSH is uniquely positioned to lead this shift,” the company says.
“Secondly, we’re scaling with intention. That means expanding manufacturing to meet rising global demand, strengthening regulatory engagement to accelerate market access, and deepening partnerships with key distributors and agribusinesses.”
“Finally, we’re building out our data-driven platform and customer support capabilities – because delivering a great product isn’t enough. We need to help growers unlock its full potential in the field.”
Which chimes with the departing comment from Diederich: “We're an agronomic company. We just happen to use biology.” ●
We're an agronomic company. We just happen to use biology.