Talc USA expands licence agreement for Exosect's seed planting and fluency technology
Winchester, United Kingdom
January 26, 2017
Exosect Ltd., a pioneer in Lean Formulation Technology®, today announced that it has increased the scope of its licence agreement with Talc USA for its patented Entostat® enabled fluency and dust reduction technology, to include the US market.
Talc USA launched the technology last year under the brand name Effusion® in Canada where the use of talc and graphite as fluency agents in seed treatments are banned for neonicotinoid treated corn and soybean seed. This ruling followed the conclusion from Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Authority (PMRA) that ‘neonicotinoids present in dust generated during planting of treated corn and soybean seeds contributed to reported bee mortalities in 2012 and 20131.’ The current requirement by Canada’s PMRA is to use a dust-reducing fluency agent.
The novel electrostatic properties of the Entostat formulation platform employed in Effusion reduces dust by up to 97% as well as enables enhanced fluency, improved plantability and greater efficiency for seed treatment applications through reduced clumping and missed planting.
Talc USA is one of the largest talc suppliers for seed lubrication in the US. It also supplies inoculants and micronutrients to the seed using blended talc as the delivery system.
Steve Johnson, Owner of Talc USA comments, “We have been delighted with the performance of the product in Canada and we have received excellent feedback from the field. This product sits extremely well within our portfolio of seed planting technologies and we are delighted to be able to offer it to our US based customers.”
Exosect’s CEO, Andrew MacNaughton comments, “Talc USA are committed to bringing farmers new and innovative technology and we are delighted that they wish to expand the availability of this product. Pressure on growers to deliver healthy crops while making minimal impact on the environment means that the focus on delivering crop protection and enhancement via the seed is ever increasing and we are delighted that Entostat is enabling greater sustainability for the seed treatment process.”
Entostat is a proprietary micro-powder, based on natural and/or synthetic waxes and has electrostatic properties. It is a formulation delivery platform for a wide range of biological and synthetic active ingredients. The constituents of Entostat are listed on FIFRA’s 25(b) list of inert ingredients that can be used in pesticide products that are exempt from regulation1.
The electrostatic properties of Entostat enable adhesion of active ingredient to a range of surfaces including grains, seeds and pellets, insects, foliage and building structures.
The platform can assist with a range of formulation challenges such as increasing biological loading and improving the shelf life of biological material as well as reducing the concentration of synthetic active ingredients.
Exosect out-licenses its intellectual property to enable others to develop a differentiated product portfolio.