Farmers Business Network (FBN) and Meristem Crop Performance have announced a partnership to introduce the Furrow Flex Advanced Planter Box System, aiming to provide an alternative to traditional seed treatment for soybeans.
Charles Baron, co-founder of FBN, stated, “The genesis of FBN has always been making farms more profitable. FBN is on a mission to provide transparency, efficiency, and a way to seamlessly transact and get a wide range of solutions delivered right to the farm. Meristem aligns with this mission through supply chain optimization and products with their patented Bio-Capsule Technology delivery system that has been shown to provide yield gains, while also facilitating savings on production costs.”
For the 2026 planting season, FBN will offer Farmers First Furrow Flex Soy. This product uses Meristem’s patented Bio-Capsule Technology in its planter box system. The technology delivers micronutrients such as iron, manganese, and zinc alongside synthetic fungicides and biological solutions directly onto seeds using IonLock Zinc for better adherence and singulation.
The new system is designed to allow farmers to plant untreated soybeans earlier in the season by offering protection from various abiotic stressors throughout the growing period. The product includes Metalaxyl ST for disease control, PrephyteST for protection against soil-borne diseases and nematodes, and Guard M insecticide targeting pests like seedcorn maggots.
Mitch Eviston, founder and CEO of Meristem Crop Performance said: “This technology applied at the planter gives farmers the confidence to plant naked, lower cost soybeans early, with confidence to go for higher yield potential and a bigger return on their investment. Farmers are seeing performance that pays across every type of production environment to help them produce more bushels for less. We are thrilled to work with FBN and their farmer-first approach – as Meristem Crop Performance is built on the same foundation.”
Furrow Flex Soy also features a $20 replant program aimed at providing additional assurance for early planting decisions.
Farmers Business Network operates as an e-commerce marketplace platform focused on supporting family farms by offering goods, financing options, farm intelligence services, and direct-to-farm delivery. The company states it serves over 120,000 members through its data-driven platform.
Meristem Crop Performance specializes in delivering live biologicals using its proprietary Bio-Capsule technology platform. The company emphasizes reducing waste in crop input systems while increasing productivity through innovation access and supply chain efficiency.