Healthy soil is the foundation of profitable farming — but building soil health doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a long-term investment that pays back in yield stability, nutrient efficiency, and resilience against stress. At The Mill, we’ve been evaluating biological products that can help accelerate this process.
In our 2025 Crop Showcase, we featured a field trial designed to test how Holganix Bio 800+ products impact soybean performance and soil biology over time.
The Objective: Building Soil and Measuring Yield Response
Objective: Determine the soybean yield response by adding a multitude of species of soil microbes.
This trial evaluated how applying biological products containing diverse microbial species affects soil function, residue breakdown, and crop performance over time. The goal was to measure both immediate yield response and long-term improvements in soil health.
Trial Overview
This study began in 2024, when the field was planted to corn. Treatments were applied that spring, and the same plots were carried into the 2025 soybean crop to monitor multi-year effects.
2024 Corn Season
- Spring (at planting):
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- Broadcast and in-furrow application strips received 0.5 gal/ac of Holganix Bio 800+ Agriculture.
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- The control had no biologicals applied.
- Fall (post-harvest):
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- Blue & Yellow strips received 0.5 gal/ac of Holganix Bio 800+ Breakdown to accelerate residue decomposition.
- The control remained untreated.
Corn Yield (2024):
- Control: 182.5 bu
- In-Furrow: 186.2 bu
- Broadcast: 186.6 bu
Field Trial 07: Developing Soil Health with Holganix Bio 800+, The Mill 2025 Crop Showcase.
2025 Trial Design
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Crop: Soybeans
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Treatments:
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Control – No biological product applied
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In-Furrow – Holganix Bio 800+ Agriculture applied at 0.5 gal/ac
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Broadcast – Holganix Bio 800+ Agriculture applied at 0.5 gal/ac
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Additional Applications:
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Fall application of Bio 800+ Breakdown at 0.5 gal/ac to aid residue degradation
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Spring reapplication of Bio 800+ Agriculture at 0.5 gal/ac
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Why Soil Microbes Matter
Soil isn’t just a medium to hold plants — it’s a living ecosystem. Every teaspoon of healthy soil contains billions of microbes that work together to:
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Improve nutrient mineralization and availability
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Support root development and symbiotic relationships
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Decompose residue into organic matter
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Enhance soil structure and water-holding capacity
When these biological systems are thriving, crops can access nutrients more efficiently and maintain performance even under environmental stress.
The Holganix Approach
Holganix Bio 800+ Agriculture is formulated with hundreds of species of beneficial microbes (including bacteria, fungi, and protozoa) that promote germination, rooting, and nutrient uptake. These organisms also help release tied-up nutrients in the soil, improving fertilizer efficiency and nutrient-use balance.
Holganix Bio 800+ Breakdown complements that by accelerating residue decomposition. Faster breakdown means more organic matter cycling, reduced disease inoculum, and earlier nutrient release for the following crop.
Together, these products are designed to stimulate the soil’s biological engine, restoring microbial diversity that may have declined from years of tillage, heavy chemistry, or monocropping.
Early Results: Soil Building in Action
While biologicals typically show cumulative results over multiple seasons, early data and field observations have been encouraging:
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Improved early vigor and root mass in treated soybeans compared to control plots
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Enhanced residue breakdown from fall applications, leaving cleaner seedbeds for spring planting
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Slight yield uptick in both the in-furrow and broadcast treatments during the corn phase, suggesting increased nutrient efficiency
These incremental gains point toward the long-term potential of integrating biologicals into standard fertility programs — not as replacements, but as partners that help maximize the value of every pound of fertilizer applied.
The Takeaway: Treat Your Soil Like a Living System
Healthy soil builds resilient crops. Integrating biologicals like Holganix Bio 800+ helps restore natural microbial communities that improve nutrient availability, rooting, and yield potential over time.
Whether applied in-furrow, broadcast, or post-harvest, these products can:
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Enhance microbial diversity and soil structure
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Increase nutrient-use efficiency
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Speed up residue recycling
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Support consistent yield performance
Building soil health is a journey; but every season you invest in biology, you move closer to soils that work with you, not against you.
Learn More
Join us at our Winter Grower Meetings to hear the full results from our biological and soil health trials. For recommendations on incorporating biologicals into your fertility plan, contact The Mill Agronomy team at: www.themillagronomy.com | 800-993-3300.
