With today\u2019s rising agricultural input costs<\/a> narrowing the already razor-thin profit margins that producers face, many are looking for innovative ways to ensure a healthy and high yield for their crop.<\/p>\n So some growers are exploring biological products, naturally derived substances that have been used for centuries<\/a> to control pests and ensure crop productivity. These products can be as simple as homemade compost, or more commercialized products like Advancing Eco Agriculture<\/a>\u2019s suite of offerings.<\/p>\n The rise in popularity of biologicals<\/a> means that growers today have an overwhelmingly long list of products to choose from. Biologicals is an umbrella term for products<\/a> that include biostimulants, beneficial microbes (aka \u201cbugs in a jug\u201d), and plant growth regulators.<\/p>\n As specialty crop growers based in Lodi, California, brothers Tim and Tyler Nuss<\/a> found themselves overwhelmed with the options of biologicals available to them. They learned about the biologicals space through their Modern Acre<\/a> podcast, which they launched in 2018.<\/p>\n In the subsequent years, they built a network, built credibility within their sector, and became ready to build a platform for their audience base.<\/p>\n They kept coming back to biologicals, which led to the creation of AgList<\/a>, which they refer to as the \u201cYelp for Agriculture,\u201d focusing on biological product endorsements by growers, for growers.<\/p>\n AgList launched publicly in January, and the Nuss brothers wanted to offer a platform that farmers could use to search for biologicals that have been vetted by other growers.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes it\u2019s nice to call a fellow grower and ask for anecdotal feedback,\u201d said Tim Nuss. \u201cIt\u2019s a fragmented marketplace [out there], overwhelming for farmers to navigate.\u201d<\/p>\n AgList serves as a way to unify this marketplace, by placing many products in one place and providing endorsements from users (typically farmers and agronomists) who have tried the product.<\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t want to go with the 1- to 5-star review,\u201d said Nuss, citing how that rating system can make things confusing in terms of determining just how good a product is. Instead, the endorsement-only method of reviewing enables products to be sorted essentially into two categories: ones that work and ones that don\u2019t.<\/p>\n \u201cCompanies with products that just don\u2019t work will struggle to get growers to say something good about them,\u201d said Nuss. \u201cSometimes growers get the confidence to try something knowing someone down the street tried it.\u201d<\/p>\n This simple way of reviewing products allows growers to determine whether a product is one they want to take a risk on and try out.<\/p>\n So far, AgList operates on an honesty policy, with Nuss and his team individually reviewing each account and endorsement to ensure legitimacy and compliance with their platform policy.<\/p>\n Originally launched with 10 different companies and their products, AgList has been adding one to two new companies every week. Today, you can find companies such as Pivot Bio, Vestaron Crop Protection, Biocarbon Earth, Impello Biosciences, and Sound Agriculture.<\/p>\n Companies pay to list their products on the platform, with prices varying based on the number of products the company wants to list. Companies that are pre-commercial can also list their products, offering an opportunity for marketing early on in their business.<\/p>\n With hundreds of users now using AgList, the platform is designed to be easy to navigate and tailored to growers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe really wanted to make it user friendly for growers,\u201d said Nuss. \u201cYou can search [for biologicals] by different categories like location, crop, even features like disease resistance.\u201d<\/p>\n Companies have their own manufacturing page with information, which is filled out by the company when they sign up. Companies can write as much or as little as they would like, and choose to list all their available products or just a select few, typically their most popular.<\/p>\n As a specialty crop grower, Nuss says that AgList is primarily for other specialty crops or conventional row crops, but the platform is diversifying day by day. Some new features that have been added are the distributor feature, where growers can search for a distributor of a product near them.<\/p>\n Nuss is also interested in potentially expanding AgList to connect growers to biological-adjacent companies, such as Biome Makers<\/a>, which doesn\u2019t sell any biological product but instead promotes soil health management.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes growers get the confidence to try something knowing someone down the street tried it.\u201d<\/strong> \u2014 Tim Nuss, co-founder of AgList<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n While Nuss says he is interested in potentially adding in other vertical niche areas of ag, such as certifications or ag tech, his goal for the remainder of the year is to add more companies and products, ensuring that AgList is robust in its representation of the biologicals market.<\/p>\n Long term, Nuss just wants to make it fun for users on the platform.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve thought about doing a Soil Health Olympics competition next year or something, where we ask growers to submit soil samples and [we generate] rankings,\u201d said Nuss.<\/p>\n![\"AgList-product-listing\"](\"https:\/\/www.agdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/AgList-product-listing.jpg\")
![\"AgList-product-endorcement\"](\"https:\/\/www.agdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/AgList-product-endorcement.jpg\")
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