Did you know that up to 75% of microbes found in soil are dormant?

Rising global demand, climate volatility, and decades of certain farming practices have strained the soil, reducing biological activity and long-term resilience. Many farmers face the challenge of sustaining yields in land that no longer recovers naturally, placing renewed focus on solutions that restore biological function in the soil. Many existing fixes, however, require them to alter established practices, add complexity or take on additional operational risk.

With yield stability increasingly under pressure, PhycoTerra^® operates within a different framework. Its microalgae-based solutions are designed to activate native and added microbial communities, improving nutrient efficiency, stress resilience, and long-term soil health while fitting into existing farming systems. By working at the soil biology level, PhycoTerra strengthens the foundation of fields without adding complexity to day-to-day operations.

Soil microbes, specifically, bacteria and fungi, drive nutrient availability and water retention, making them essential to crop growth and development. Without the right food source, they can’t perform at their best. That’s why farmers feed their most valuable asset - microbes - with PhycoTerra.

“At PhycoTerra, we strongly believe that scientific innovation only matters when it delivers measurable value for farmers in the field,” says Bennet Dixon, President and CEO.

This long-term mindset is reflected in the company’s guiding principle - Farm Forever™ - a commitment to helping farmers build systems that remain productive and profitable across generations rather than optimizing for a single season.

Strategy Built around Soil Strength

PhycoTerra was founded out of an advanced microalgae research and development program, where its parent company Heliae Development, LLC originally focused on biofuels and nutraceutical applications before pivoting fully into agriculture around 2015. Years of strain development, cultivation research, and scale-up experience created a deep technical foundation that now underpins its soil and crop biology solutions. Today, the company maintains a strain bank of more than 600 rigorously screened microalgae strains.

Rather than introducing new organisms, the company activates native microbial communities that have become dormant through years of environmental stress. Its non-GMO microalgae strains nourish existing and added bacterial and fungal populations across the crop system, including the seed environment, root zone, soil, plant and residue surfaces.

These microbial networks of bacteria and fungi regulate key processes like nutrient cycling, stress response, and plant consistency. By supporting biological activity at this level, PhycoTerra improves how entire farming systems function, translating into improved resilience and more reliable agronomic outcomes.

Unlike plant growth regulators (PGR) or stage-specific inputs designed to trigger a direct plant response, this approach reduces risk and uncertainty by working indirectly through the soil microbiome. Many biological products assume absence and attempt to add new life, which can introduce variability and inconsistent results.

By activating microbial populations that are underperforming, PhycoTerra strengthens soil and crop function while preserving existing systems. Healthier soil leads to healthier crops, reduced pressure from environmental stress, and more reliable outcomes across geographies and crop types.

One of PhycoTerra’s primary differentiators is its non-living formulation. While microalgae are grown alive during production and scaling, a final pasteurization step ensures all products are fully stabilized. The process increases shelf life, improves product compatibility with other inputs, and makes the solution easier to use in the field and store away for later use. Farmers do not require special equipment or additional application steps, allowing the product to integrate seamlessly into existing farming practices.

Clarity in a Crowded Bio-Stimulant Landscape

The bio-stimulant market has expanded rapidly, leaving many farmers uncertain about which solutions deliver reliable value. To counter this, PhycoTerra places strong emphasis on differentiation and education, helping farmers understand how different inputs and biological tools function within broader agronomic systems.

To validate this mode of action, PhycoTerra operates an in-house soil laboratory that analyzes microbial abundance and diversity before and after application. These assessments consistently demonstrate measurable biological gains that extend from controlled settings to field-scale results. The result is improved nutrient efficiency, stronger crop resilience, and more consistent outcomes rather than one-time yield spikes.

This work is supported by dedicated agronomy, research and sales teams, providing guidance on application timing and integration to ensure the product performs as intended in real field conditions.

Adapting Farms to Unpredictable Weather

Climate variability has become one of the defining challenges in modern agriculture, and it is a central focus of PhycoTerra’s work. Extended droughts, erratic rainfall, and extreme temperatures are no longer isolated events; they are part of routine planning for farmers. While no solution can control the weather, soil health plays a critical role in determining how well crops respond to these conditions.

By strengthening native soil biology, PhycoTerra helps crops better withstand environmental stress and recover more effectively when conditions become extreme. This becomes especially critical in regions facing severe soil degradation, where soil function has been compromised over time. Whether in intensively farmed acreage or highly degraded soils, the approach remains consistent - restoring biological function improves adaptability and allows farmers to manage variability more proactively.

Science Built for the Long Term

Science at PhycoTerra is designed to support consistent performance over time. With an extensive strain bank, in-house soil laboratories, and fermentation capabilities, the company maintains tight control over quality and consistency. Research and development are not separate from the field but closely connected to it. Farmer feedback informs product refinement, while scientific testing ensures performance remains repeatable and reliable.

Recent advancements focused on product concentration and flowability reflects this commitment to practical improvement, reinforcing the company’s belief that innovation should reduce friction, not add to it.

Proven Performance and Future

PhycoTerra’s approach has been validated in real-world conditions, including work in Guatemala, where the company's products have been used in environments facing severe soil degradation and low organic matter. In these highly stressed fields, activating native microbial life has helped restore soil function and support more dependable crop outcomes, reinforcing the value of working with existing biology rather than attempting to replace it.

Additionally, PhycoTerra has been applied to over 2.2 million acres across the US, Canada and Latin America, and the company has conducted over 500 third-party trials.

These results continue to shape the company’s forward strategy. Ongoing investment in research and development is focused on improving formulation efficiency, scaling production through fermentation-based pathways, and expanding product formats that increase application flexibility while maintaining consistent performance. Future developments, including dry formulations and other product enhancements, are guided by the same principle of integration, prioritizing compatibility and consistency rather than expansion for its own sake.

As pressure on yields and soil performance continues to intensify for farmers, the value of bio-stimulant solutions is increasingly judged by proof rather than promises. PhycoTerra’s focus on repeatable performance within existing farming systems positions it as a long-term partner for farmers.