Dealer Spotlight: Tom Vander Heiden of S.T. Biologicals
One of the earliest adopters of Aqua-Yield® nanoliquid technology, we attribute much of our success in the midwestern states to S.T. Biologicals under the leadership of Tom Vander Heiden.
Tom Vander Heiden is a veteran of the ag industry, having worked in all aspects of agriculture. He was raised in Kaukauna, WI on a 60-cow dairy farm, with chickens and hogs. He always argued with his dad about having to mix the manures when hauling in the spring. Later he realized how smart his father was about fertilization and feeding the microbial population in the soil by mixing the manures. Vander Heiden went on to be a dairy science major, with an emphasis in nutrition, at the University of Wisconsin River Falls. Since entering the work force, he spent about half his time in dairy nutrition and half in agronomy. It was while consulting in the western US that Vander Heiden studied the soil health aspects of agronomy and the correlation between soil and plant health.
Over the past decade Vander Heiden has dedicated himself to assisting producers improve their soil health and to finding new and innovative products for use in the agricultural industry. Vander Heiden joined the staff as General Manager in 2016 to build a company with quality products which all increase soil and plant health.
S.T. Biologicals has been an Aqua-Yield® dealer for four years now, and according to Vander Heiden the product applications and success rate have made it an excellent technology to sell. “It allows us to work with soil health aspects and helps to reduce the salt in the soil,” states Vander Heiden. At just 2-6 oz per acre, he has seen corn and soybeans respond the best to nanoliquid technology.
Don Gibson and Dave Meidl are also part of the S.T. Biologics team, and have been very instrumental in spreading the word on Aqua-Yield nanoliquids. Don Gibson states, "NanoShield® technology works. It's pretty cool. It doesn't replace soil nutrition and biology but it enhances and fills the voids."
Vander Heiden’s favorite nanoliquid product is NanoK® as it provides the potassium a crop needs to help prevent or correct deficiencies throughout the growing season. Applying NanoK® ensures a strong plant structure resulting in enhanced crop quality and yield. NanoK® also decreases drought stress and boosts the plant’s immune system to fight off disease.
“Aqua-Yield® NanoShield® technology is so new it challenges the thought processes of growers of all ages.” Tom Vander Heiden states. “Growers have responded to it very well, and due to the success they’ve had we have a very high retention rate of use. Well over 90% of our growers come back year after year.” When asked his thoughts on the support that his company receives from Aqua-Yield, he was able to sum it up in one word: “Exceptional”.
Aqua-Yield® always appreciates the wealth of knowledge and passion that Tom Vander Heiden and his team share when it comes to soil health, farming, and Aqua-Yield nanoliquids. For more information, contact Tom at 952-378-0518 or tvanderheiden@stbiologicals.com.
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(801) 449-9220
