Loam Bio provides game-changing sustainable solutions within the agricultural industry
Loam Bio has grown from a humble start-up in the NSW Central West region of New South Wales (NSW), to one of the fastest growing agricultural sustainability companies in Australia with over 135 employees across four countries.
Loam was established in 2019 in Orange, after promising technology was spun out from Soil C Quest, a non-profit group dedicated to enhancing soil carbon and profitability for farmers.
Less than four hours’ drive from Sydney and Canberra, Orange is uniquely positioned as a regional agricultural technology hub hub with ample access to essential services, educational opportunities and a vibrant, multi-cultural community which is attractive to individuals and families looking to relocate to work with Loam Bio. The city is strategically positioned within a major cropping and mixed farming region, which is an ideal base for a business established to support and partner with farming businesses.
Establishing the company in the Central West allowed for the affordable setup of essential facilities—microbiology labs, bioproduction units, greenhouses and soil analysis laboratories—to foster innovation and growth.
Loam Bio is determined to have a transformative global impact through harnessing the power of microbial technology to capture carbon in agricultural soils. Increasing the amount of stable soil carbon stored in agricultural soils contributes to enhanced soil health leading to improved resilience, productivity and sustainability. Increasing stable soil carbon in agricultural systems also supports climate change mitigation.
Loam Bio commercially launched CarbonBuilder, a microbial based seed treatment to constantly increase stable carbon in soils in 2023. This began the transition from a purely deep science and research focused start-up into a commercial enterprise offering mixed and cropping farmers a microbial technology product that can be applied to canola and barley crops as a seed treatment.
With a number of additional products in the pipeline, Loam Bio aims to expand this range to align with cropping rotations and management systems across the agricultural landscape in Australia, USA, Canada and Brazil.
Tegan Nock, a co-founder, emphasises the pivotal role Orange plays in Loam Bio's growth.
“Working at the intersection of agriculture, microbial science and climate, with roots deeply embedded in regional NSW, has provided Loam Bio with an exceptional foundation to grow its operations from a start-up of a handful of individuals to a global company attracting talent from around the world and relocating them to the local community here in Orange.
We are proud of the progress that Loam Bio has made over the past years, advancing agriculture, by partnering with farmers and scientists, and establishing our hub within the Orange community has made this all the more effective.”