AdvancedAg Celebrates 25 Years of Turning Soil Research into Farm Solutions

What started as a family research venture in southern Alberta 25 years ago has grown into a biotechnology company helping farmers rethink how they manage crop inputs and profitability. For AdvancedAg CEO Joshua Day Chief, the company's 25th anniversary is an opportunity to reflect on a journey that began with his mother's interest in microbial technology, long before biological crop products became a growing part of the agricultural conversation. "We're a bit of a 25-year overnight success," says Day Chief. "The company was started 25 years ago by my mother, and over the first 10 or 15 years, we did mostly research; we only had a few customers." It was a time when the role of bacteria in agricultural soils received far less attention than it does today. While conventional fertilizers and crop protection products dominated discussions about agricultural productivity, Advanced Ag investigated how naturally occurring microorganisms could help farmers make better use of the nutrients already in their soils. The company dedicated its early years to understanding the science rather than selling products.