Farmers are constantly looking for innovative ways to improve soil health and maximize crop yields year after year. A new product from Chonex, called Strong Soil, is aiming to do just that—by restoring and enhancing soil biology through a natural, manure-derived approach.
We spoke with Michael Lynch with Chonex to learn more about the benefits of Strong Soil and how it supports growers across various crops and climates.
“So my product is Strong Soil. It’s derived from layer manure, and it helps farmers restore the biology in their soil, but it also has biological benefits that help farmers with drought resistance, disease resistance, of course increasing yields. It helps with bioprotection against insects and disease, and it’s just an all-comprehensive product that helps both soil health and plant health for farmers.”
According to Lynch, Strong Soil has the ability to increase soil biology by 200–300% with just one application, resulting in substantial yield improvements across multiple crops.
“We can increase the biology in the soil about two to three hundred percent with one application, and then what that leads to is an increase in yields.”
The results are already proving promising:
“So we’re seeing in citrus anywhere between 13 to 34 percent increase in yields. Similarly up yields with blueberries. We just got our squash data back. We saw about 5,000 pounds more per acre. Peanuts, we saw an increase of about 500 pounds per acre, and it depends on the crop, and it depends on what we’re seeing, but all the crops we’ve worked with, we’ve got a pretty significant ROI for the farmers.”
Chonex is also working with the USDA’s EQIP 590 program, which can reimburse farmers for up to 80% of the cost of using Strong Soil as composted manure.
“Right now we’re working with the USDA on their 590 equip program, where farmers could get reimbursed up to 80 percent for using our product as a composted manure. So we’re setting it up where we can help farmers get reimbursed for using our product, and also help them get some cash for generating the nutrient management plan with the USDA.”
To learn more or find a dealer, farmers can visit chonex.ag.
Audio Reporting by Dale Sandlin for Southeast AgNet.