Agrauxine Experts – Vince WERTMAN

Could you tell us more about your role and your daily missions at Agrauxine by Lesaffre?

As Technical Sales Manager North America for Agrauxine by Lesaffre, my role is to serve customers in the US and support the regional sales managers with technical help.

I am responsible for all technical aspects of Agrauxine products. I work closely with the R&D team to oversee product trials and process data results and I provide authoring of product labels and technical papers. I also work hand in hand with the sales representatives to ensure our products are properly applied to maximize their efficacy.

What are the major challenges you face in the development of Biologicals in seed treatment in the United States?

The industry has changed a lot over the past 20 years.
Compute power, the ability to map genomics and advances in formulation greatly improved the efficacy of the products and the ease of application for the growers using them.

The increasing frequency of abiotic stresses and their impact on crop loss have been a big driver of biologicals use. Some products such as Rhizobium have even become foundational products for agronomic programs. Nobody would consider growing legumes without the use of rhizobium nowadays!

Yet, there are still misconceptions that regularly pop up. Among them, the idea that biologicals are not reliable or that they need to be applied multiple times throughout the growing season to achieve good results. This is not true!

Dependability and consistency are common features of our biological treatments.

Many of the organisms we work with are endophytic. Applied as a biological seed treatment, they will colonize both inside and outside the plant, providing a season-long response. Besides, as the organisms live inside the plant and are host-specific, outside environmental factors such as soil type, PH or nutrient availability play no role in their effectiveness. This results in a more consistent outcome from year-to-year.

At Agrauxine by Lesaffre, we believe that education is key to finally dispel this myth that biologicals are unreliable.
We’re also convinced that more clarity, definition and classification of biologicals would greatly benefit both the industry and the growers.

Do you have in mind a contribution you are particularly proud of since you work at Agrauxine by Lesaffre?

I am particularly proud of my recent contribution to the Rhizolock project and its successful launch for both internal and B-to-B sales!