Progress 09/01/20 to 04/30/21
Outputs
Target Audience:We presented the concept to farm operators in Minnesota, Ohio, Tennessee and Arkansas all of whom expressed interest in the product once it is on the market Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will complete a fieldable design based on the findings to date
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Test Units: We constructed and tested different test units of different product configurations; measured efficacy versus exposure. Through this testing we have determined when the weed seeds are warmed and given a 1 second exposure of 0.1 w/cm^2 intensity-440nm blue light, the weed seeds become 100% non-viable in greenhouse testing. After additional testing, we determined that having a 3-10 micron emissive surface with ελ = 0.9 or greater heated to 180C will radiatively heat the weed seeds randomly located in the chaff in 1 second and applying 0.2w/cm^2 intensity of 440nm blue light will provide enough input intensity to travel through 1cm thick chaff rendering the seeds non-viable. Fieldable Design Concept: After several repeated site visits to area farmers to review their particular combines, we decided the best design approach for transporting chaff through our system would be to use an auger similar to the tailings auger on the combine. Chaff Flow Rates: With the intensities and exposure times known, we then needed to calculate the flow of the chaff out of the combine to size the auger conveyor. We researched this value for the Phase 1 write up at 5.5 liters/ sec. We used a GoPro camera for video of the sieve section and measured uncompacted chaff flow rate at 11 liters/sec. With this information we selected an 8" diameter auger, 8' long which provides a 300% safety margin. Auger design testing: Our remaining activity is to verify that the 440nm LED arrays and heated length of the auger will deliver the energy required for high efficacy. To measure this, we have created another test unit which is partially assembled to date and we will complete these tests in January and complete the design approach by February after which I will submit the final report. From Phase 1 Task 3: Define Power Requirements; this task will be updated after the team completes the testing with this new lab unit. Market Research: During this phase 1 the team has met with Ohio State and Purdue researchers, 7 farmers, 1 current and 1 former ag equipment dealer, product manager from Case New Holland, as well as the staff at AgLaunch 365 accelerator. GNI is accepted into the Phase 2 accelerator. With these initial meetings, we have verified the interest at the farm level, at a $33,000 retail price
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Progress 09/01/20 to 04/27/21
Outputs
Target Audience:Commercial application of the research The Problem: Globally farmers increasingly face profitability, environmental, and social pressures from the overuse of chemical herbicides that damage the environment and create herbicide-resistant (HR) weeds. Weeds among a cash crop reduce profitability by increasing control costs and reducing yields. HR weeds in the US cost farmers $2B annually, and growing. Farmers harvest weed seeds with the crop, and send them back to the field, creating a cycle of persisting HR weeds and weeds in general. In the US, a high percentage of some of the more common HR weeds retain their seeds at harvest, as shown in the below illustration. The per acre incremental costs of treating HR weeds in soybeans can exceed $60/acre, and yield losses in soybeans from HR palmer amaranth can be substantial. Organic grain producers experience high levels of weeds and operate within a complex farming system and are constantly looking for non-chemical means of reducing weed pressures. The Solution: GNI breaks this cycle with a harvest weed seed control (HWSC) product that makes weed seeds non-viable at harvest. The Weed Seed Destroyer (WDSD) attaches to the back of a combine. Within the combine, chaff (which includes weed seeds) is separated from the straw, and discarded out the rear. Our WDSD system captures this chaff and applies DE which makes the weed seeds non-viable, before they are discarded. A typical US soybean farmer deploying the WDSD will experience fewer weeds, higher yields, reduced operating expenses, and as a result, an expected profit increase of 51%. Additionally, the WDSD does not change the combines operation or require specialized technical training thus permitting a swifter and broader implementation by producers. Market Size: Our target end customers are the small grain and legume farmers in developed nations who own an estimated 640,000 operating combines globally and 120,000 combines in the US. At GNI's price to dealers, mounting our WDSD system to each of these combines represents a 640,000 * $22,000 = $14B opportunity worldwide, and a 120,000 * $22,000 = $2.6B opportunity in the US. Initial target market segments: Our initial target markets are US small grain and legume farmers who suffer from severe HR weed problems (51,600 combines, mostly in the Midsouth and Midwest), and those who farm organically (2,400 combines). These initial market segments represent an estimated 54,000 operating combines in the US. Dicamba is a toxic herbicide and is viewed as a last resort. The prevalence of dicamba-tolerant soybean acreage is correlated to the number of glyphosate-resistant weed species present in the region. By 2018, 43% of US soybean acreage was planted with Dicamba-tolerant crops (source), meaning 120,000 * 43% = 51,600 were owned by farmers with severe HR weed issues. In the US, the acreage dedicated to certified organic grain crops is small (less than 1.5%). However, the number of grain farmers experimenting with organic and sustainable farming techniques is much greater. Conservatively, we estimate the number of grain farmers that are certified organic or practicing organic in the US at 2%, representing 120,000 * 2% = 2,400 operating combines. Existing solutions: A viable HWSC solution must be a one-pass operation, add no additional labor, not change farm operations, and be highly effective. Alternative HWSC techniques include chaff mills and chaff lining. These HWSC techniques fall short of the customer's expected value in one or more ways, including high cost or low efficacy. Chaff lining (placing chaff in a high-density line to accelerate decomposition) has variable efficacy (from 10% to 90%), that varies with the chaff density. This varies based on crop, season, weather, yields, and harvesting speeds. Furthermore, chaff lining removes substantial residue from the field, resulting in annual nutrient losses that must be replaced ($6/acre lost), and it is difficult to no till plant into. Chaff mills use high speed mills to grind chaff. Chaff mills are more than twice the cost and use three times the power of our WDSD system, as shown in the below table. ? Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Executive Summary: Global Neighbor (GNI) was awarded a Phase 1; 2020-33610-31704 to develop a design that makes weed seeds collected by a combine at harvest non-viable, saving the farmer money and reducing environmental impact. Overall, this Phase 1's technical feasibility progressed to plan and the commercial application is receiving positive affirmation. The work plan was to start with the technique developed under a DoD SBIR that made tumble weed seeds non-viable, alter that recipe, and engineer a solution to go on a combine. Our successful completion of Phase 1 showed our solution will make greater than 95% of common weed seeds non-viable. The research and engineering conducted during phase 1 included: Constructed test unit (XP1) that could vary the intensities of light Conducted 18 separate tests on XP1, measured the germination rate and determined optimal intensities Created a scaled version (XP2) of the proposed field design Conducted interviews with 8 large farm operators (collectively operating 60,000 acres) located in the Midwest, Midsouth, UK and Canada. Their input was used to determine initial product requirements Ran 7 tests on XP2. Completed successful efficacy studies (>95%) at Ohio State and Central State University (both land grant universities in Ohio), Created a physical foam model to design magnetic fast mounts to facilitate quick installation and removal Completed a full CAD solid model of design that will be constructed in Phase 2 effort Selected for a premier Ag Tech accelerator (AgLaunch) partnered with Innova and AgVA investment funds. Verified the magnitude of the problem and the regions in the US with the greatest severity. Used that experience to craft the Commercialization Plan. For our Phase 2 proposal, we will follow the Phase 1 roadmap; construct and field the Weed Seed Destroyer prototype, debug that design and make adjustments, and then design and field the weed seed destroyer (WDSD) product that we start selling at the conclusion of Phase 2. We use the commercialization plan to lay the foundation for a successful market introduction. Using AgLaunch's market introduction model, we have selected key operators who are incentivized to help GNI introduce the WDSD by being field test sites, provide testimonials, conduct field day demonstrations, and serve as a point of reference for other farmer/operators. With professional investors poised to make an investment in GNI after being de-risked by the USDA Phase 2 award, we will swiftly introduce the WDSD helping farmers to realize improved profitability and reduce the threat of new herbicide resistance evolving. GNI's Phase 2 proposal transforms our earlier scientific discovery of making tumble weeds seeds non-viable into a product that we have validated has large commercial potential, with the added environmental benefit of reduced herbicide usage to grow America's row crops.
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