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CHS is a global agribusiness owned by farmers, ranchers and cooperatives across the United States. Diversified in energy, agronomy, grains and foods, we’re committed to creating connections to empower agriculture, helping our owners and customers grow their businesses.
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CHS is committed to making a meaningful impact in agriculture and rural America. Through our stewardship initiatives, we invest in programs that develop new generations of ag leaders, promote ag safety and strengthen hometown communities.
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Cooperatives are owned and governed by members who use its products, supplies, or services and operate in many sectors of the economy. In a cooperative system, people come together to scale buying power, gain access to goods and services and create economic opportunity.
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At CHS, our teams work together to provide the products, services and expertise farmers and cooperatives need to feed a growing population. As a CHS employee, you help empower agriculture by creating connections that bring shared success.
Digging into biologicals to boost crop production

Research continues to determine how sugarbeets and other crops can benefit from effective use of biostimulants.
By Cynthia Clanton
The search never ends for technologies to help crops meet their genetic potential. Overcoming wild weather swings and other hurdles calls for deep knowledge of crop needs, plus a proactive defense strategy.
Biostimulants are gaining attention as a new option for sparking plant response, but measuring their return on investment needs more scrutiny, says Brian Kuehl, who heads crop protection research and development for CHS.
“The active ingredients in biostimulant products are generally targeted to enhance nutrient efficiency, improve plant stress tolerance and/or enhance plant growth,” he explains. “At CHS, we have been evaluating biologicals for more than 10 years. We have found that not every product works well in every situation. Results are highly dependent on environmental conditions, including weather, soil type, day length and more.”
The promise to support soil health in addition to boosting yield and other performance factors makes biostimulants an area of interest, Kuehl says. Potential benefits could be applied to corn and soybeans, as well as to high-value crops like potatoes and sugarbeets.
“We continue building CHS research programs to more fully understand the conditions in which specific biostimulants perform best. Combining that knowledge with local expertise from cooperative agronomists will help growers make the best decisions for their cropping programs.”
Check out the full issue of C magazine with this article and more.