Improving soil health isn’t just about boosting yield in a single season — it’s about protecting your land, your input efficiency, and your long-term profitability.
That’s why, over the past three years, V6 Agronomy partnered with Trent University’s School of the Environment to deepen our understanding of how fertilizer design impacts soil biology, nutrient cycling, and emissions. This collaboration brought scientific rigour to the questions farmers ask every day: Is what I’m putting into my soil building it up or breaking it down? Am I feeding the crop — or the land beneath it?
Here’s what we found — and how those findings are already shaping the future of fertilizer.
Why Soil Health Research Matters More Than Ever
Across Canada, farmers are facing increasing pressure to do more with less: less synthetic input, less environmental impact, and tighter margins. But here’s the catch — you can’t manage what you don’t measure.
That’s why our team invested in collaborative soil health research focused on what’s happening beneath the surface.
Working with Trent’s scientists, our goal was to test how our compound fertilizers and dry granulation processes influence key indicators of soil vitality:
- Microbial activity and biomass
- Organic matter stability
- Nutrient availability
- Nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions
The result? Independent, repeatable data to validate what many of our customers have seen in their fields.
Key Findings from the Field
1. Compound Fertilizers Preserve Soil Microbial Health
Traditional fertilizer practices often lead to uneven nutrient distribution or chemical burn, which can suppress microbial life in the root zone. Our trials showed that compound fertilizers — each granule delivering a complete nutrient profile — promote uniform feeding and reduce local toxicity.
“Compared to conventional bulk blends, V6’s compound formulations had a neutral-to-positive effect on microbial respiration and biomass in test plots.”
– Summary of findings, Trent University collaboration (2021–2023)
In plain terms, when the soil food web stays healthy, your crops grow better.
2. Integrated Stabilizers Cut Nitrous Oxide Emissions
Another focus of the research was nitrogen loss. In many systems, urea-based fertilizers convert rapidly to nitrate, releasing N₂O — a greenhouse gas 300x more potent than CO₂.
Our dry granulation method allowed us to integrate a urea-stabilizing additive inside the granule, instead of as a surface coating. This innovation preserved soil structure and cut down on nitrogen volatilization.
Studies by CanN2ONet show that enhanced efficiency fertilizers with urease inhibitors can reduce N₂O emissions by up to 40%. Our embedded solution is designed to deliver similar results without disrupting microbial function.
This has implications not just for environmental goals, but for nutrient use efficiency (NUE) on-farm.
3. Balanced Nutrition Enhances Organic Matter Retention
In trials, crops fed with V6’s ELEVEN Superstart and early test formulations of Superfekta™ developed stronger root systems and left behind more stable biomass in the soil.
Why does that matter? Because healthy roots mean:
- More organic material cycling into the soil
- Greater carbon retention
- Better water-holding capacity
As Trent’s researchers noted, “fields treated with V6’s compound fertilizer had increased root-zone organic matter compared to controls, even under identical tillage conditions.”
Turning Soil Health Research Into Results
What makes this partnership different is that it wasn’t research for research’s sake. The goal was always to improve outcomes for real-world growers.
Thanks to this work, we’ve:
- Validated the microbial safety of our precision compounds
- Designed our Superfekta™ formula to optimize phosphorus uptake without disturbing soil structure
- Reinforced the case for carbon-capture amendments like metabasalt rock dust (offered through our partnership with SGI)
And most importantly: we’ve seen those results translate into higher-yielding, more resilient fields across Ontario and the Prairies.
Agronomy-Backed, Farmer-Focused
At V6 Agronomy, we believe the future of fertilizer isn’t just about NPK. It’s about feeding your soil, supporting your biology, and giving every crop the best possible start — without compromise.
That’s why every product we develop is informed by research, not guesswork.
If you’re looking to improve soil health while maximizing efficiency, we invite you to explore our flagship solutions:
- ELEVEN Superstart – precision starter fertilizer designed for uniform emergence
- Superfekta™ – a next-generation compound blend for early vigour and nutrient balance
- Mineralift™ – our soil-enhancing amendment made from metabasalt rock dust
Contact our team to learn more about how we’re helping growers protect their soils — and their bottom lines — one acre at a time.