The supporting agencies are The Fertilizer Institute (TFI), the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC), The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA). The aim of the two competitions is to stimulate the development and uptake of affordable EEFs to reduce the environmental impacts of corn production. The first competition is for EEFs currently on the market or near to market launch. Companies, or “solvers”, as the entrants are called, had to submit their product to the judging panel, providing evidence how the product reaches the environmental and agronomic requirements. The environmental requirements include reduction in ammonia volatilization, N2O emissions, run- off and leaching of nitrogen and/or phosphorus. The purpose of the EEFs: Environmental and Agronomic Challenge is to identify the EEFs that meet or exceed these requirements. There is no age restriction on the products already on the market, and in both competitions the solvers maintain all IP rights. The judging panel consists of members from industry, academia and relevant agencies. The agronomic benefits must be specifically for corn, and the product compatible with current machinery and practices. Those that were short-listed were recognized as Stage 1 winners, and were invited to participate in a greenhouse trial (Stage 2) in 2021, and following those results there is advancement to field trials (Stage 3). There is no cash price for this competition. The second competition has been given the title of Next Gen Fertilizer Innovations Challenge. As explained in the webinar, this competition is looking to identify technology not currently on the market and can be more conceptual in nature. The EPA website states these entries may include “technology concepts that are not traditional EEFs and not in commercial use as a fertilizer.”
Solvers need to present an idea for an innovative EEF that could improve on the same environmental requirements mentioned above, and deliver agronomic benefits such as not increasing net farm costs. IP rights are retained by the entrants. The solutions must also be compatible with current equipment for corn production. The closing date for entries was 30 November 2020, with the winners announced in 2021. Entrants were required to register with this competition, but not with the other challenge. With the Next Gen Fertilizer Innovations Challenge, there is a US$65,000 cash pool, which can be allocated to different entries, with a minimum award of $10,000. Multiple entries are possible, and companies from outside the U.S. were eligible to enter, but that cash prizes were reserved for U.S. entrants only. The approved term for what constitutes an EEF is based on the definition from the Association of American Plant Food Control Officials (AAPFCO). In 2013, AAPFCO defined EEFs as “fertilizer products with characteristics that allow increased plant uptake and reduce the potential of nutrient losses to the environment (e.g., gaseous losses, leaching or run-off) when compared to an appropriate reference product.”
It was clarified in a webinar 24 September 2020 that the definition also includes fertilizer products containing stabilizing products, such as urease inhibitors.
IFDC has a long tradition in fertilizer innovation. How did IFDC become involved in the Next Gen Competition along with the other partners?
That is correct.
IFDC inherited a lot of research on fertilizer development from TVA and the NFDC and since IFDC was created, we have been working closely with the industry looking mainly in the nutrient efficiency fertilizer specially in nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers. IFDC scientists have a deep history on slow and control release fertilizer since the beginnings with sulphur-0coated urea, some of the initial trials with inhibitors, control release fertilizer using a more biodegradable coatings, and more recently working with bio products to evaluate the enhance efficiency benefits. Therefore, due to this historically work with the enhanced efficiency fertilizer and previous collaborations with the other partners, IFDC was chosen to conduct these trials as a neutral site to evaluate and compared these products efficiency for the us growers
Products selected from the first component of the competition are now undergoing greenhouse trials (Stage 2) - can you tell us more about these trials - the location, the set-up, and where we are timewise in the trials? When do you anticipate some announcement on the results?
The current EPA Challenge trials has been done at IFDC HQ in Muscle Shoals, US where we have full laboratories to conduct nutrient analysis as well greenhouse units to evaluate and test fertilizer products.
Regarding to the testing, IFDC is conducting volatilization, leaching, incubation, sorghum greenhouse trials, accelerated release test, and N2O emissions.
At the moment, most of the experimental data is being analysed and we expect to submit a final report late 2022 to our partners and the review committee for comments and validation.
Following the greenhouse trials, the next phase is field trials (Stage 3). Will all products go forward to field-trials? How will they be selected? Where will the field trials be held and what will they broadly involve? (Again, an indication of the timescale would be appreciated.) Would it be correct to assume the field trials will only be on maize?
The initial idea was to evaluate all these products in field trials, but due to limited resources the Challenge organizers decided to pursue the greenhouse trials first. The idea is to use the greenhouse trials to learn about the performance of these products in order to inform the decision on which subset to advance to field trials. Whether field trials occur will have to do with agency priorities competing for limited resources, and will be decided at a later date by EPA and USDA after the greenhouse trials are completed.
And finally, this is a unique competition. Although it's still mid-way through the competition, are they are early observations so far regarding the technology that is out there for EEF?
Unfortunately, it is a little too early to give any observations regarding the perform of the technologies. Hopefully by the end of 2022 we will be able to better answer this question. ●
