Brazil Field Trials of Grace Breeding’s Environmentally Friendly Maoz™ (NFT Bio-Fertilizer) in Corn Show Trifold Economic Benefit To Farmers While Using 50% Less Urea
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
– Grace Breeding’s NFT biofertilizer, registered and branded Maoz™ in Brazil, showed additional yield using half the amount of the commercial fertilization typically used by the farmer, with reduced manpower and labor costs –
– Farmers can also use carbon credits as a source of revenue using Maoz, which relies on 50% less urea –
– Estimated earnings to farmers when using Maoz have the potential to be $ 250/hectare –
REHOVOT, Israel, July 17, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Grace Breeding Ltd. (the “Company” or “Grace Breeding”) (TASE: GRAC), a forward-thinking AgClimateTech company developing sustainable biological-based products to improve crop yield and vigor, today announced results from field trials of its innovative NFT bio-fertilizer in Brazil, validating previous results and showing marked proposed benefits to farmers in terms of reduced amount of fertilizer used and reduced operational measures, that in turn produced higher crop yield compared to traditional, synthetic agricultural fertilization methods. The field trial was conducted by Eurofins Group, a global leader in contract research services, as well as development collaborator, Gaia AgroSolutions. The NFT bio-fertilizer is to be marketed as an “organic mineral” product for use in corn under the brand name “Maoz™” in Brazil.
“Historically, Farmers have seen their margins constricted, while using more urea, the byproducts of which are harmful to the environment. However, now, with the availability of our natural fertilizer that relies on less amounts of urea as well as water, gas and manpower, farmers finally have an environmentally friendly product that will help them both increase incremental output and reduce costs,” said Assaf Dotan, Chief Executive Officer of Grace Breeding. Plus, there is a further benefit to farmers since they can obtain carbon credits from the use of Maoz, which could serve as a second source of income.”
For example, an estimated mid-size Brazilian farm of around 5,000 hectares may earn additional annual earnings of $1.25 million per year.1
Using Maoz, the cost savings benefits to farmers and the potential for additional income are represented in the graph (Figure 1), below:
Figure 1.
Specifically, yields were increased as shown below (Figure 2), when tested in two different locations in Brazil, while using half the amount of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer containing urea:
Figure 2.
Mr. Dotan continued, “Grace Breeding is continuing its pre-commercialization planning by preparing for the coming sowing season and has now selected approximately 30 fields as demo-plots with farmers for the next trials. We will look forward to reporting those results as they become available.”
Maoz™ will allow farmers to significantly reduce their dependence on synthetic fertilizer, or urea, a nitrogen-based fertilizer that is harmful to the environment, as well as provide them with an alternative that is more economically viable and increases carbon sequestration. The use of a bio-fertilizer like Maoz leads to reduced use of urea and consequently lower carbon emissions, which is crucial for slowing damage to the environment.
Figure 3, below, shows how vegetation health was demonstrated following the application of Maoz, by detecting the presence of chlorophyll (shown in green) via NDRE (Normalized Difference Red Edge), a type of band data and method that measures the amount of chlorophyll, and therefore health, in crops.
Figure 3.
About Grace Breeding’s Maoz Bio-Fertilizer
Grace Breeding’s proprietary bio-fertilizer, branded as Maoz in Brazil, works in combination with a natural, non-pathogenic bacteria reducing the need for chemical fertilizers. As a result, the process reduces CO2 emissions and leads to a significantly lower environmental impact on soil and the ground water, while reducing synthetic nitrogen use by up to 50%. The global market for chemical nitrogen fertilizers reached a value of over $170 billion in 20222, but use of these fertilizers continues to come under great scrutiny with increased regulation due to their environmental impact on soil and ground water. As a result, sustainable alternatives that also are competitive for crop health are in demand by farmers and distributors. Grace Breeding’s bio-fertilizer can be applied across a wide range of field crops including corn, wheat, soy and rice, and can be applied less frequently – once, during sowing versus three to four times during the season, which is otherwise the norm.
About Eurofins Group (“Eurofins”)
Eurofins is a renowned global leader in food, environment, pharmaceutical and cosmetic product testing, discovery pharmacology, forensics, advanced material sciences, and in agroscience Contract Research services. Eurofins Group has an international network of approximately 900 laboratories across 61 countries and a portfolio of over 200,000 validated analytical methods for characterizing the safety, identity, purity, composition, authenticity and origin of products and biological substances. Eurofins also provides clinical diagnostic testing services and in-vitro diagnostic products.
About Gaia AgroSolutions
Gaia AgroSolutions is a modern Brazilian company that focuses on developing, recording and validating disruptive, sustainable technologies with low environmental impact for Brazilian agribusinesses. All the company’s products undergo rigorous testing and validation on experimental farms before being marketed.
About Grace Breeding
Grace Breeding is an AgClimateTech company focused on developing environmentally sustainable products that are biologically based and provide efficient and natural solutions for farmers and distributors. Grace Breeding aims to disrupt crop agriculture – by providing solutions for crop bio-fertilization and climate stress relief and offering innovative products and solutions that reduce the environmental damage caused by synthetic fertilizers. Grace Breeding has an R&D center in Israel and in parallel the company is developing its products with several leading research and development centers around the world. For more information, visit https://www.gracebreeding.com.
References:
1Calculated using the Corn kg/Ha market price and the exchange rate as of July 6th, 2023 via https://www.noticiasagricolas.com.br/cotacoes/milho/indicador-cepea-esalq-milho
2Fertilizer Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2022-2027
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning our business operations and future plans. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements in this press release are made based on management’s current expectations which involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. These statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, he preliminary nature of the Company’s business operations, the dependency on the success of future filed trials, the regulatory environment, the Company’s financial position and other risk factors. For a more detailed discussion of these and other risks that may cause actual results to differ from the forward-looking statements in this press release, please refer to our most recent annual report. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements made herein.
Contacts
Grace Breeding Ltd.
Investors
Jeremy Feffer
LifeSci Advisors LLC
jfeffer@lifesciadvisors.com
Media
Inbar Kneller
ReBlonde Public Relations
inbar@reblonde.com
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