This farm services business has the bug for ag's future

From deploying drones to spread predator insects over chickpea and vegetable crops, to a portfolio of new generation, earth-friendly fertilisers from Europe, there's a lot more than conventional farm input sales and extension work going on across the Muir network.

The Melbourne-based Muir Group and its Serve-Ag subsidiary includes 44 branches across all states from Huonville in Tasmania to Humpty Doo in the Northern Territory, and Ayr in North Queensland.

It was the first private farm supplies firm to build a national footprint in a market where big name operators, Elders and Nutrien Ag Solutions, are mostly in the spotlight.

Muir Group's Queensland operation also includes beneficial bug business, Natural Solutions, in Bowen, which breeds parasitic wasps, ladybirds, lacewings, beneficial mites and other insects to prey on crop pests or their eggs, alleviating the need for insecticides.

EE Muir stores have been selling beneficial insects to horticulture producers for almost 30 years, but expanded into breeding them, too, after buying Natural Solutions two years ago.

Now good bugs are being adopted in broadacre crop protection, with the prospects seemingly endless, according to Natural Solutions general manager and Muir and Sons national sales and marketing chief, Will Gordon.

Beneficial insects already represent about a $50 million market annually in Australia, and it's growing as bugs are enlisted to chew up a diverse range of pests from two spotted mites and rust thrips in banana crops to poultry mites.

Summer cotton and maize croppers have also been releasing parasitic wasps to control fall armyworms and heliothis caterpillars in NSW and southern Queensland.

Last winter Muir and Sons' wasps were applied from the air by a specially adapted big capacity, six-rotor drones operated by NQ Aerovation over 100 hectares of chickpeas in Central Queensland's Clermont.

The same grower, plus some neighbours, plans to repeat the exercise next season.

The strategy was expected to achieve even better results as the scaled-up offensive weakens the wider heliothis population base.

Sweet corn, vegetable crops or any other broadacre crops vulnerable to heliothis would also be candidates for expanded wasp assaults.

Ladybirds and lacewings were used against aphids in canola and brassica vegetable crops or in greenhouse environments.

"We see a massive future in beneficial bugs," Mr Gordon said.

"There's so much interest in them from mainstream farmers and corporate agriculture - it's not just a boutique thing.

"They won't replace the judicious use of sprays when infestations are troublesome, but they'll reduce the frequency of chemical use."

Even chemical options to control pests and diseases were evolving to become more selective, and nature-based.

Mr Gordon anticipated much greater use of pheromones and kairomones to deter insect pests in broadacre settings in the coming decade, including the highly invasive fall armyworm.

Perimeter sprays using natural attractants to keep pests out of crops, used in combination with conventional insecticides, were already dramatically cutting chemical usage to fight fall armyworm, by as much as 95 per cent.

The Muir Group's experience with similar natural biologicals goes back 25 years when it introduced Japanese pheromone product, Isomate, to disrupt codling moths mating in orchards - technology now common Australia-wide.

Mr Gordon said the agribusiness put a lot of time and effort into developing its own diverse portfolio of sustainable input products, "to position the company and our customers for the future".

That effort included keeping close tabs on rapidly changing northern hemisphere fertiliser and chemical markets, particularly in Europe where new era products were now commonplace alongside conventional crop inputs, and delivering improved yield results, to boot.

By 2030 European Union environmental laws will force at least a 50pc cut in synthetic chemical use below 2015 levels.

Fertiliser faces similar sales and nutrient waste reduction pressures, while livestock antimicrobial sales must be halved.

"We have different people in Europe three to five times a year," Mr Gordon said.

"As part of our formal sustainability strategy we've been transforming our range to take a leadership role in the industry."

As an example, the European-developed non-plastic polymer coated, controlled-release fertiliser, Platinum Nergetic, had enabled fertiliser usage reductions in horticulture crops such as corn and potatoes, while lifting yields 10pc to 20pc, because it was longer lasting as a gel in the root zone.

Forestry operations were cutting fertiliser applications by up to 75pc.

In the grain sector Muirs introduced enzyme products to help break down heavy crop residues to enable easier direct drill sowing.

Just enough ground protection remained to retain soil moisture.

Still run by the direct descendants of horticulture sector merchant, Eric Muir, the company boasts 130 tertiary trained field agronomists, 20 management agros, and a total staff of 400 - including some whose families have also worked with Muirs for generations.

The agribusiness is chaired by Eric's grandson, Ian Muir, and now run by fourth generation Muir family directors, including chief executive officer, Andrew Muir.

"There's a lot of retained knowledge, business loyalty, and a family culture of business integrity when dealing with customers and staff," Mr Gordon said.

"But its success is also due to that strong culture of innovation over the years."