Humates Market Surging

“Humic substances are recognized by most soil scientists and agronomists as the most important components of a healthy, fertile soil,” according to Dr. Robert E. Pettit, Emeritus associate Professor, Texas A&M University, one of the foremost authorities on humates in the world.

Plants grown on soils that contain adequate humin, humic acids and fulvic acids are less subject to stress, healthier, and produce higher yields, Pettit says. Also, they improve the nutritional quality of harvested foods and feeds.

Advertisement

The value of humic substances in soil fertility and plant nutrition relates to the many functions these complex organic compounds perform as a part of the life cycle on earth, he says.

“Humates entered the agricultural marketplace in the mid-1970s,” says Joel Reid, New Mexico-based Mesa Verde Resources’ (MVR) Sales Manager since 2001. MVR has grown to be one of the best known suppliers of humates in the world mined in Northwest New Mexico’s San Juan basin.

“In the early 1980s, agricultural use of humates increased dramatically and that trend has continued,” says Reid.

Top Articles
ADAMA Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Results

Rhonda Dybiec, business manager for Agricultural Solutions in Ontario adds that although humates have been recognized for the past 20-30 years as an essential part of sustainable farming, only recently have they become popular. “Farmers are looking to understand the natural soil cycle and to do what they can to make their use of fertilizer more efficient so they can get more from their investment in land, inputs and equipment,” she says.

Increased awareness, positive results increased sales
According to Dybiec, humates’ popularity becomes apparent once agriculturists are confronted with the multitude of benefits they provide including improvement in soil structure and porosity, crop yields and uptake of crucial minerals; release of plant nutrients through decomposition by organisms; growth promoting effects; removal of toxins from soils and animals; and stimulation of soil microbial activity.

Grow More, a leading supplier of humates for the western U.S. based in Los Angeles says plant residues, animal manures, composts and other organic inputs can be used, but it is almost always preferable to use humic acid because of its readily available source of organic carbon, longer-lasting and higher-stimulating effect on plant growth and biomass production.
MVR has grown its customer base to nearly 2,000 distributors both domestically and overseas experiencing increases from 8% to 20% annually.

Even in states MVR formerly thought of as ‘conventionally minded’ when it comes to farming inputs, its humates and other humic acid products have been found to be extremely valuable in areas where soil health has always been poor or suffered due to misuse. “Producers are realizing more and more that it’s time to think outside the box and work to improve crop health by starting with improving soil health,” Reid says.

Although most humate distributors are celebrating a significant global uptick in positive recognition and sales of humates, there is still a large contingency of naysayers.

Processing techniques continuing to improve
“Many cynics argue that processed humates i.e., humic acid granules, are far too expensive, while others argue that adding humates at all is pointless because you are simply adding more carbon to the soil when there is already plenty there,” says Dr. Phil Schofield, technical manager for Abron New Zealand, soil consultants and product suppliers of fulvic acid, liquid humic acid and soluble humic acid granules. But, he counters, you need to apply far less per hectare.”

Bright future, cautionary trend
“I see continued growth due to ongoing and increasing difficulties with declining soil health, reduced soil carbon levels, crop disease pressures and the need for improving fertilizer efficiency,” says Reid.

Dybiec sees nothing but a bright future for the use of humates in global agriculture, but she also sees an alarming trend in this robust, emerging market: “I believe there will be exponential increases in demand for humates which will, eventually, outpace the supply. Quality, mineral-rich deposits will start to become more scarce, and the cost of humates will continue to rise, in accordance with supply constraints. There is a risk of large multi-national companies seizing control of the best humate sources in the world. Already we see some of these players entering the humate market with low-cost, low-value products.”

Tom Crain is a writer based in Cleveland, Ohio. Contact Tom: [email protected].

Hide picture