BestFarmingSystems

Back in 1999, Best Farming Systems (BFS) began with a simple philosophy – let nature do what it does best. But sometimes she needs a little help. BEST products consist of concentrated plant exudates (sugars), and naturally occurring plant growth hormones. By bacteria sequencing, BFS is able to identify different blends of exudates and naturally occurring plant hormones to stimulate the biology in the soil. products are now available in five continents and over 30countries.Mostofthefieldstaffarefarmersorhave been farmers well-equipped to deal with any issues producersthrowatthem. “Ourfieldstaffsareavailable to crop check and take a look at output production with suggestions for any changes or improvements, ” says Thomas. “We are getting a long way away from the days of kitchen table discussions with producers andourcompanyhasgrownbecauseofourapproach to dealing with them directly. With the reduction in extension agrology across the board, our company prides itself in helping to fill that void. “Weknowproducersneedconsistencyin order to plan their input programs.They ’ re upagainstweather,commodityprices,trade agreementsetc.sowe ’ veheldthelineonthe cost of our producers saw a much higher quality feed and higher production, ” says Thomas. “With increase in digestibility,producerscaneitherreducetheamountof feedgiven,ormaintainfeedlevelsseeinganincreaseon the weight of their animals ”

Near Viking, Alberta Greg Ruzicka and his family crop 1,000 acres and run 80 purebred Red and Black Simmental cattle plus 170 commercial cattle. About 10 years ago, a farm visit from a BFS representative changed the way the family looked at their soil. “We sat at the kitchen table and talked about the product line and how it could help to improve our land and ultimatelyhelpusgrowhealthiercrops, ” saysRuzicka. “We really have a mixed bag when it comes to soil makeup. We have a lot of salinity problems which prevents the soil from retaining moisture. But, we decided to give the Best products a shot and within a couple of years, we noticed much better root systems

“Typically,whenwe get into the bio-stimulant world, most products are designed to put a certaintypeortypesof bacteriadownintothe soil while BEST

Mike Bauer & Sean omas

Best Farming Systems Edmonton Head Office

products for over 20 years. ”

Thomas says that producers often underuse or overuse fertilizer products when in our crop and hay lands. And, over time, we saw an improvementinoursalinesoilswithlesswatergathering on top of the hardpan and soaking in.

“I haven ’ t used granular fertilizer on the tame hay since.Mysonusedsomespray-onfertilizerandgranular forsomeofhishaylandandprobablypaidthreetimes asmuchasIdidformine,butmycropswereasgood, if not better than his. After using BEST products for several years, we ’ ve brought our poorer crop land to the same stage as the good land. If anyoneisthinkingofusingtheseproductsfor only a year or two, I wouldn ’ t recommend it. Ittakestimetoseethemarkedimprovements

products are formulated to activate the soil’ s own dormantbacteria, ” saysSeanThomas,presidentofBFS. “We refer to it as a signal to the soil to activate and increase its own micronutrients.

“Intensive farming practices break down the microbialvitalityofthesoiland,overtime,requiremore andmoreinputstoachievesimilarresultsyearafteryear. Puttingnutrientsdowntogrowplantsandplantmatter is great, but if the soil doesn ’ t have the right biological makeup to metabolize those nutrients, massive amounts of efficiency is lost. Whether we are talking about canola, triticale, hay crops or raising cattle, it all boilsdowntoefficiencylevelswhichtranslateintomore profitability. ”

SeanThomasandhispartnerMikeBauerseizedthe opportunity to purchase the Best Farming Systems Company(BFS)aboutfouryearsago,intentontaking it to the international stage. The partners recognized thattheBESTformulaappealedtoprogressivefarmers and ranchers worldwide looking to improve the regenerative makeup of their soil. They immediately restructured the company in order to expand their international reach throughout North America, Australia,NewZealand,Europe,AfricaandAsia.Here in Canada, the Edmonton-based company products treat more than one million acres of crop and forage land and about the same number of acres internationally. trying to balance their soil’ s needs. The Best Farming Systems flagshipproductTMAg is a popular nutrient delivery process among producers which stimulates and activates bacteriainthesoil. “The bacteria help to convert man-madefertilizersinto in soil health, but it ’ s worth it. ”

The Ruzicka family has really noticed an increaseinproteinlevelsontheirhaylandsince usingBestTMAg.Ifthemoistureconditions are right, they will put two passes of product downwhichcostsatotalof$10-$12peracre which he figures is a reasonable investment. Over the past few years, the family added swath grazing and pasture rotation to further their efforts to improve the land and reduce their feed costs.

plant-available nutrients and helps to unlock nutrientsthatarealready

First cut on 10 year old stand of hay

Since fertilizer is one of the most costly inputsusedingrowingbothcropsandforages, itisofutmostimportancetoensurethatevery

in the soil, but not necessarily plant-available, ” he continues. “It also helps to improve nitrogen fixation andlimittheamountofleachingofinorganicfertilizers. It aids in increasing the rate of organic matter decomposition so the soil is able to reclaim nutrients quicker.Overtime,enhancedmicrobialactivityinthe soil can lead to higher organic activity in the soil, a neutralizing of the pH and a more productive soil. ”

ThroughresearchinCanadaanduniversitiesabroad, the company discovered that by using TM Ag (their prebioticbiostimulant)itcanalsoincreasedigestibility onaverageof15%forbothcattleandbisonfeed.TM Ag is applied during the growing season to crops. It is easytouseandistankmixablewithalmosteveryother dollarspentshowsareturnoninvestment,butabonus is the constant improvement of soil health. When BEST fertilizer is efficiently used, it increases a whole laundry list of benefits: yield and organic matter, improved aeration and aggregate size, better water holdingcapacity,plusaddedfrost,droughtanddisease resistance.

The product lineup is broken down into categories forsoilrejuvenationandseedgermination,TMAg(soil supplement),pHplus(forsalinesoil)andcALMaxxx (for soil treatment). There is also a full line of crop specificfoliarfertilizersforincropnutritionthatcanbe blended with most chemicals and fungicides.

Best Farming Practices employs 27 people at their head office and manufacturing facility in Edmonton, Alberta and a total of 110 worldwide. The BEST product in the agricultural world.

“WedidforagedigestibilitytrialswithPeaceCountry Beef and Forage and found that cattle and bison

by BonnieWarnyca