Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada – Lethbridge Research Centre and Philom Bios Inc.

Excellence in Technology Transfer Award

For the successful development and commercialization of natural phosphate efficiency inoculants that produce higher yields of cereal, oilseeds and legumes.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada – Lethbridge Research Centre and Philom Bios Inc.

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For a tiny living organism, Penicillium bilaii packs a lot of wallop. Found growing in fields, the soil fungus was discovered in the 1980s by an Agriculture and Agri Food Canada (AAFC) researcher who recognized its potential as a wholly natural way to stimulate a plant's root absorption of phosphorous. Today, the fungus is the basis of a $14-million-a-year industry for Philom Bios Inc., a Saskatoon-based manufacturer of fertility-enhancing seed inoculants for cereals, oilseeds and legume crops.

AAFC and Philom Bios developed the unique technology in a close collaborative partnership that spans more than two decades. Sold to growers throughout North America and Australia, the product line has been further expanded to include another bacterial organism, Rhizobium, identified by AAFC and developed by the team. The first commercial multi-action product of its type, the addition of Rhizobium to the phosphorous organism in seed treatments of peas, lentils and chickpeas spurs the absorption of nitrogen in colder soils.

Philom Bios, which began as a start-up company with three employees and an office in a University of Saskatchewan research park, now has a staff of 70 people and, as of January 2006, a new facility that handles production, research, administrative and storage needs.

Team

Reg Kucey
Rick Lawrence
Ken Lievers
Perry Olsen
Ashley O'Sullivan
Wendell Rice
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Lethbridge Research Centre

John Cross
Trevor Thiessen
Philom Bios Inc.