Sustainability
Biological Soil Amendments: The Living Data Powering Your CI Score
Learn how these living amendments drive plant vigor, reduce synthetic fertilizer needs, and ultimately lower your Carbon Intensity (CI) score.
Learn how these living amendments drive plant vigor, reduce synthetic fertilizer needs, and ultimately lower your Carbon Intensity (CI) score.
Biological soil amendments are currently a major topic in the agricultural community. Numerous products have hit the market with big promises: lowering fertilizer needs, improving soil health, and increasing yields. But what exactly are these products? How do they work? Most importantly, how do they impact your Carbon Intensity (CI) score and your bottom line?
Agricultural biologicals, or biological soil amendments, generally fall into three distinct categories:
1. Organic Animal-Based Amendments
Derived from animal origins—such as manure, bone meal, blood meal, and fish emulsion—these are often strictly regulated due to food safety concerns. While we know these materials are teeming with bacteria and microbes, they are not typically identified by specific Colony Forming Units (CFUs). The biological makeup is inherent to the material, but the specific organisms can vary significantly from batch to batch.
2. Plant-Based Biologicals
These result from "green manures" or recycled plant vegetation. This includes cover crops, crop residues from no-till production, or the addition of composted green waste. These amendments are applied with the understanding that microbes are present to break down and decompose the organic matter. However, like animal-based sources, the specific microbial species and the exact secondary benefits they provide aren't always lab-proven or quantifiable.
3. Microbial Inoculants
Inoculants are the "precision" branch of biologicals. These are lab-grown organisms, hand-selected and concentrated for specific agricultural roles. Because they are manufactured, they feature quantifiable numbers of CFUs and identifiable species. These are often "specialists" chosen for specific tasks: nitrogen fixation, metabolizing phosphorus, or acting as parasitic deterrents to pests. The specific role of the organism in the inoculant directly dictates the productivity of the crop.
It is important to contextualize how these amendments impact your production practices and your overall Carbon Intensity score.
In short, biologicals are proven to improve soil and plant health. While the degree of impact varies by product, the overarching benefits are consistent:
Because soil health dictates plant health, the downstream effects are clear: reduced crop stress, increased vigor, and better natural resistance to disease.
A great crop is its own reward, but in today’s market, the way you grew that crop has its own value. CI scores are formulated based on the full scale of your production: tillage, cover cropping, nutrient additions, chemical passes, and fuel usage.
While a biological product doesn’t "magically" lower a footprint on its own, the displacements it creates are powerful:
While there are many variables to consider, the foundation remains simple: Improving soil health leads to improved plant health. This synergy creates opportunities to optimize your inputs, which is the most direct path to a lower carbon intensity score and a more resilient, profitable operation.
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