Two recent developments — technology maximizing the effectiveness of manure and a partnership with a well-known food manufacturer — have been milestones for a biological farming company celebrating its 35th anniversary.
Madison-based Midwestern BioAg has roots stretching back to 1983. The company’s mission essentially has been the same from the get-go, CEO Tony Michaels said, though there have been a series of strategic pivots over time, particularly in the last year.
At its core, Michaels said Midwestern BioAg has provided resources for farmers looking to increase profitability and efficiency, in addition to enhancing the nutrition profile of a specific operation’s crop supply.
Biological farming, which was a movement that began picking up steam around the time founder Gary Zimmer established the company, is viewed as a means to increasing that bottom line on farming operations across the U.S., Michaels said.
“The idea is how to get more of the nutrients out into the fields,” Michaels said. “How do you make the system far more profitable? It’s really about biology and chemistry and physics.”
Technology, of course, has grown since Midwestern BioAg’s earliest days, and Michaels said the company has followed suit.
But another growing movement sweeping the country — consumers’ growing demand for organic produce — has also caused Michaels and other company leaders to take a broader look at Midwestern BioAg’s future.
The company’s business model has evolved, Michael said. While a mainstay consulting service remains in tact, he said the company also has morphed into a manufacturing company.
One of the company’s most visible overtures into the manufacturing side of operations has been the launch of its TerraNu technology, which was introduced on a pilot basis a year ago before its formal introduction this growing season.
Midwestern BioAg has touted TerraNu as an innovation into using dairy manure into nutrient-packed fertilizer.
“We’ve been looking to find faster ways to innovate,” Michaels said of the inspiration behind TerraNu. “It’s really about trying to simplify the farming system as we’ve known it.”
Although Midwestern BioAg’s home base has been in Wisconsin, the company has branched out its physical sphere of influence into other geographic areas heavily reliant on agriculture as an economic generator.
Case in point: Earlier this year, the company announced it was going to provide its mentoring expertise, on-site, at a sprawling farm in South Dakota.
General Mills has a stake in the 34,000-square-foot farming operation and is using Midwestern BioAg’s expertise and technology for its line of Annie’s products that populate supermarkets’ organic isles.
Michaels said he is upbeat about Midwestern BioAg’s prospects as the farming community continues to look to efficiency and meet the continued demand of organic growing.
“We’ve been helping farmers in a whole lot of different ways,” he said. “We’ve changed 4 million acres (of farmland) over time, in 40 different states.”
