SO WHAT ARE HUMATES?
Humate materials are substances formed from the biological and chemical breakdown of animal and plant life over a extreme period of time, usually a few million years. Humates are made up of compounds and materials that plant life on earth absolutely needs for growth. Containing a mixture of organic acids, including humic acids, fulvic acids, macromolecules of amino acids, amino sugars, and peptides, the chemistry of humate is so complex it can’t really be broken down. It is a complex state of matter structured into fragments of DNA and RNA and so pure it can’t even be traced to its origin or specific date
What we do know is that it works extremely well as a base for organic soil conditioners, fertilizer, and plant food tablets. And we know that, not just from the research and applied results from the past 40+ years at Humate Technologies Inc, but from early sustainable agricultural cultures on this continent who knew it worked too. There is evidence that the Anasazi Indians, the Mayans and other early North American Indian cultures applied limestone-gypsum-phosphate rock (where humate materials are found in a natural state) to mineralize the soil. In the 1770’s Pennsylvania Amish and Mennonites and German immigrants used humate materials on farm land that had been left depleted by English farmers who moved west to find more fertile soil. The story goes that even early Mormon settlers brought humate with them into Utah to grow crops in the desert. The use of humates to restore the soil and increase plant quality and production is not a new science. But the increased need to re-mineralize, and replenish, our depleted soils is resulting in an increased interest and a return to humate use for sustainable agriculture and growing programs.
HOW DO HUMATES WORK?
We know that this mixture of concentrated nutrients and complex compounds called Humate stimulates growth and plant development, but how does it work? Not a simple answer. Unlike single chemical application for a single result, scientific studies have shown that the beneficial effect of humates involves multiple factors that independently and synergistically work toward a variety of outcomes. Just like trying to breakdown the complex structure of humates, it is equally difficult to single out one attribute for the end result. The elements of the humates combined with the elements of the surrounding environment, with oxygen, with water, all have a synergistic effect to bring about efficient, harmonious and oftentimes immediate results.
WHAT DO HUMATES DO?
The best way to explain exactly what Humates do with regard to soil and plant life is to just list a few scientifically documented and practical use results. The following results are only the “tip of the iceberg” of what Humates can do for our soil and plant life.
- In the treatment of seeds with humate-water, germination is accelerated, therefore time from seed to sprouts is quicker
- Larger, stronger root systems develop, the immune system is stimulated, endurance increased and resistance to disease and invasive parasites increased
- High ion-exchange which causes an increase in the structural integrity of water, giving it the chemical makeup of melted water, which is known to have a medicinal effect on plants
- Cell wall membrane becomes more permeable, allowing the plant cells to absorb more nutrients, which increases the vitamin and sugar content (this determines the taste) resulting in more nutritious and better tasting produce
- Decreases the levels of harmful nitrate content in vegetables
- Increases oxygen in the soil, thereby stimulating beneficial micro-organisms into the soil, and aerating the soil for maximum absorption in plant roots
- Increases water retention in the soil, which holds nutrients in the soil, which increases root size and strength, which decreases soil erosion
- Bonds pesticides and heavy metals which prevents their penetration into water and plant roots, protecting the plants from absorption of toxic chemicals
- Transports micro-elements (vitamins and minerals that are needed in 1/1000th to 100/1000th %) in necessary amounts to the plants that are vital to plant development. The micro-elements provide resistance to fungal and viral infections, resistance to drought and frost, increase photosynthesis process, and more. In addition the Humates form complexes with the micro-nutrients that make them more easily assimilated by the plants, so the effect is more quickly realized.
We are still finding and realizing the benefits of this concentrated gift of nature. With humates we can restore so much of our urban and agricultural land here in America to its natural, fertile state. If used wisely we can assist other countries in growing their own food in areas that until now have not been able to grow their own food plants, and to do so would benefit them more than receiving food in the form of aid.
From a manufacturing and processing aspect Humates are very difficult to work with, in that the very same soil conditioning and life-giving properties inherent in the product, once applied to the soil, can create many problems in the manufacturing process, especially when blended with other organic compounds which are necessary to produce a consistent balanced organic base fertilizer. There are also issues with blending, flowability, transport and spreading that had to be addressed to produce a quality marketable product. It required over 40 years of research and development for Humate Technologies Inc to understand, create, manufacture and produce the finest quality humate Humaform™ based organic products. This technology remains unique and proprietary to this day, and that is why we make the statement: 40 million years in the making – 40 years in development.
Humate Technologies Inc. also owns the Humate Research Center, the worlds’ only Research Center dedicated soley to the research and development of humate based organic agricultural products. Humate Technologies Inc and its subsidiaries have access to the world’s largest virgin humates owned by the continuing interest in Humate Technologies Inc. This rich humate ore deposit is in the hundreds of millions of tons. Humate Technologies, Inc also has access to other humate significant deposits. Therefore, we foresee no shortage of raw humate materials in meeting the world’s organic humate based fertilizer needs.
