Innovation
7 July 2026
Switch Bioworks starts US microbial fertilizer trials
Written by Natalie Noor-Drugan
Switch Bioworks, a Stanford University originated biotech company based in San Carlos, California that engineers symbiotic microbes for sustainable nitrogen fertilizer, has begun advanced field trials in the U.S. Midwest for its novel microbial nitrogen product, following regulatory authorisation from USDA and EPA.
The “living fertilizer” product uses precision engineered microbes that colonise corn roots, pull nitrogen from the air, convert it to ammonia and release it directly at the root zone, offering a potential alternative to natural gas based nitrogen products.
The trials focus on corn and are designed to test how reliably the engineered microbes establish on roots and then switch into fertilizer production mode under real farm conditions. Switch’s core innovation is a genetically encoded switch intended to separate the energy intensive phases of root colonisation and nitrogen production, addressing a long standing performance constraint for microbial fertilizers.
The product is being developed to fit into existing planting equipment and practices, minimising changes for growers if commercialised. The field programme will generate data to optimise microbial strains, switch designs and production hosts as the company moves toward market.
The work comes amid rising concern over conventional fertilizer costs, supply chain concentration and environmental impacts. Recent federal initiatives, including a Trump administration executive order on fertilizer and herbicide supply chains and the bipartisan Homegrown Fertilizer Act, have highlighted the strategic importance of domestic, lower impact fertilizer options, providing a favourable policy backdrop for technologies such as those being trialled by Switch Bioworks.
