12.05 Distillery

RESEARCH PARK TRIANGLE, N.C. — The recently formed biolog ical joint venture, Plant Response, is acquiring applied microbial sci ence company Pathway BioLogic to expand its portfolio of robust biologi cal products offered to the agricultural industry.

Plant Response was formed by combining the former Plant Response Biotech, with expertise in screening plant responses to biologicals at the cellular level, and Koch Biological Solutions, which offers deep scien tific capability relating to biological modes of action at the genetic and whole

Input sought for new NRCS easement rule

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service seeks public comments on its interim rule for the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program.

ACEP is USDA’s premier conservation easement program, helping landowners protect work ing agricultural lands and wetlands.

The interim rule — now available on the Federal Register — will be in ef fect until the final rule is published. These activities will make changes to the program prescribed by the 2018 farm bill.

“Through easements, agricultural landowners are protecting agricultural lands from development, restoring grazing lands and returning wetlands to their natural conditions,” said Ivan Dozier, NRCS state conservationist in Illinois. “The new changes to ACEP under the 2018 farm bill make it stronger and more effective and will result in even better protection of our nation’s farmlands, grasslands and wetlands.”

NRCS is investing more than $300 million in conservation easements for fiscal 2020. NRCS state of fices will announce sign-up periods for ACEP in the coming weeks. Changes to ACEP for agricultural land easements include: Q Authorizing assistance to partners who pursue “buy-protect-sell” transac tions. Q Requiring a conservation plan for highly erodible land that will be protected by an agricultural land easement. Q Increasing flexibility for partners to meet costshare matching require ments.

Changes to ACEP for wetland reserve easements include: Q Identifying water quality as a program purpose for enrollment of wetland reserve easements. Q Expanding wetland types eligible for restoration and management under wetland reserve easements.

“Conservation easements have a tremendous footprint in the U.S. with nearly 5 million acres already enrolled. That’s 58,000 square miles,” NRCS Chief Matthew Lohr said. “This is a great testament to NRCS’s and landowner’s commitment to conservation.”

SUBMITTING COMMENTS

NRCS invites comments on this interim rule through March 6 on the Federal Register. Electronic comments must be submitted through regula tions.gov under Docket ID NRCS-2019-0006.

All written comments received will be publicly available on regulations. gov, too. NRCS will eval uate public comments to determine whether addi tional changes are needed. ACEP aids landowners and eligible entities with conserving, restoring and protecting wetlands, pro ductive agricultural lands and grasslands.

For more information on how to sign up for ACEP, visit your state website at nrcs.usda.gov or contact your local NRCS field of fice. plant level.

Tom Warner, Plant Response chairman of the board, said Pathway BioLogic, based in Plant City, Florida, will enhance the joint venture with industry-leading fermentation capabilities, robust manufacturing and commercial product skills.

That experience, he said, will bolster Plant Response’s ability to create value for channel partners and farmers in multiple categories, including intrinsic yield improvement, abiotic stress tolerance, increased nutrient use efficiency and enhanced plant innate immunity.

“With the addition of Pathway BioLogic, the new Plant Response will provide unparalleled expertise in the discovery, formulation and commercialization of a broad array of science-backed products within the ag biologicals space,” Warner said.

“We will offer multiple technology platforms such as live microbes, extracts and biosimilar molecules to solve growers’ targeted issues.

“To our knowledge, no other ag biologicals company combines these powerful capabilities into one entity that is working to bring the science of nature to growers across the globe.” Tom Snipes, Plant Response CEO, noted that in 2016 Koch Biological Solutions acquired a minority stake in Pathway BioLogic.

“We could not be more excited to build on what Koch initiated, and many on the combined team have deep working relationships,” Snipes said. “This investment will enable us to move forward together quickly on multiple levels, including R&D, joint development opportunities, manufacturing and commercial activities.”

Michael Gans, cofounder and director of operations of Pathway BioLogic, said his company is pleased to join Plant Response because of its impressive agronomic and commercial capabilities.

“The ability to expand Pathway’s commercial reach and be part of a broad product portfolio was a great incentive to become part of the Plant Response team,” he said.

Gans noted that Pathway is distinguished by its products’ efficacy, ease of handling and shelf-life stability.

Pathway offers differentiated plant growth-promoting Rhizobacteria, which produce enhanced root growth and early growth establishment.

These product formula tions, which are currently marketed, are compatible with a wide range of fertilizers and chemicals and may be used in conjunction with Plant Response products in the future.

The addition of Pathway will expand Plant Response’s multi-site operations to Plant City, complementing the recently added Koch Biological Solutions R&D site in Hayward, California, and the well-established EMEA R&D and commercial operations in Madrid, Spain.

Plant Response is head quartered in Raleigh, North Carolina.

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