Global neighbor (GNI) was awarded a phase 1 to develop a design that makes weed seeds collected by a combine at harvest non-viable, saving the farmer money and reducing environmental impact

Global Neighbor, Inc. received a two-year, $650,000 Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture to develop an agricultural product that destroys weed seeds collected during harvest. The award falls under NIFA's Small Business Innovation Research Program, which supports technological innovation to strengthen the national economy.

Specifically, the grant will fund the construction and field testing of a prototype designed in Phase I to make over 95% of common weed seeds non-viable when collected by a combine harvester. The company will then design and commercialize this Weed Seed Destroyer product. This solution aims to help farmers facing the growing problem of herbicide-resistant weeds by providing an alternative for reduced chemical use that supports the USDA's regenerative agriculture goals. The award also intends to de-risk the technology for follow-on private investment in further developing and marketing the product.

The work plan was to start with the technique developed under a DOD sbir that made tumble weed seeds non-viable, alter that recipe, and engineer a solution to go on a combine. Our successful completion of phase 1 showed our solution will make greater than 95% of common weed seeds non-viable. The growing number of herbicide resistant weeds and the shrinking chemical weed control options are alarming farmers, seed companies, herbicide manufacturers and government regulators across the globe. This growing problem has critical implications for agriculture, the environment and USDA's goal to encourage regenerative farming practices.for our phase 2 proposal, we would construct and field the prototype designed in phase 1, debug that design and make adjustments, and then design and field the weed seed destroyer (WDSD) product that we start selling at the conclusion of phase 2. With professional investors poised to make an investment in GNI after being DE-risked by the USDA phase 2 award, we will swiftly introduce the WDSD helping farmers to realize improved profitability and decreasing the threat of new herbicide resistance evolving. GNI's phase 2 proposal transforms our earlier scientific discovery of making tumble weeds seeds non-viable into a product that we have validated has large commercial potential, with the added environmental benefit of reduced herbicide usage to grow america's row crops.