In today’s episode we dive into a critical topic that is usually hidden in plain sight: formulation science.

It’s easy to think of agricultural products as straightforward chemistries that get sprayed from a tank. An insecticide is an insecticide; a fungicide is a fungicide. The active ingredient is what is going to give us the outcome we want. But a product is not just made up of that active ingredient. How a particular product is formulated really makes all of the difference.

“ When it comes to formulations on the farm, I'm not your typical scientist…I rely on that person that is selling me that product to really give me good advice. And I've never really had a problem with formulations until this last year.” - Lance Lillibridge

 Lucky for all of us, there are people who do want to be that scientist. John Atkinson is one of them. John leads the global application technology research and development team at Corteva Agriscience. For the past 13 years or so, he has developed countless formulations for herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, etc. Each one comes with its own unique challenges and approaches.

 ”We're trying to troubleshoot the product and (trying) to understand, before we set the final composition…What are the challenges the farmer is going to encounter? How do we design a robust, reliable product? And just really try to think from the grower's perspective and really understand the use case for the product to ultimately develop a strong product.” - John Atkinson

Some Takeaways from this episode include:

1. This field of formulation science is as overlooked as it is critical. Very few of us think about formulation science but every one of us relies on experts like John.
2. New technology continues to change the game. Whether that’s biologicals, precision spray equipment or artificial intelligence, this formulation science area is going to need to continue to adapt.
3. The care that Lance, John, and everyone in this industry has about the impact of farming on people and the environment is evident. Whether it is safety, water quality or soil health, these considerations come up time and again.

Agriscience Explained is brought to you by Corteva Agriscience and hosted by Tim Hammerich. This show is produced by Clint Pilcher, Rayda Krell and Ann Leonard. Jaime Hammerich and Grant Bolton edit these podcasts, and the music was composed by Dmitri Volkov. Subscribe for more Agriscience Explained: From Science to Solutions.