Monty's Plant Food

Name

Monty's Plant Food

Legal name

Monty's Plant Food

Website

https://montysplantfood.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Monty's Plant Food is a Louisville, Kentucky-based agricultural input company that develops and sells proprietary activated humic soil amendments, fertilizers, and crop nutrition products to row crop, specialty crop, and horticulture farmers across 24+ countries via direct agronomist field sales, dealers, and international e-commerce.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Fertilizers and Soil Amendments

NAICS

Pesticide, Fertilizer, and Other Agricultural Chemical Manufacturing (3253), Pesticide and Other Agricultural Chemical Manufacturing (325320), Nursery, Garden Center, and Farm Supply Retailers (444240)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Fertilizer & Nutrient Retail (Dry, Liquid, Blends) (AFABAJAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Agronomy Advisory & Field Services (Retailer-Affiliated) (AFABAJAH), Plant Tissue, Soil & Water Sampling Coordination (Agronomy-Focused) (AFACABAH), Organic & Biological Input Retail (Biostimulants, Biopesticides, OMRI) (AFABAJAK)

Keywords

• Humic acid fertilizers
• Soil amendment products
• Crop nutrition solutions
• Agricultural micronutrients
• Activated humic technology

Headquarters

HQ city

Louisville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Agricultural Inputs (Fertilizers, Soil Amendments, Micronutrients): Monty's generates revenue through the sale of proprietary liquid and dry agricultural products including soil amendments (Monty's Liquid Carbon, Dri-Carbon, HumicPT, Humi-Till), fertility products (ProtoColl 7, ProtoColl 8, Agrihance, Agri-N), nutrient management products (Humihance, Surge XD, Drivas), micronutrients (Boron, Zinc, Iron, Manganese, Copper, Magnesium, Molybdenum, CoMoB), specialty products (Agri-Sweet FG, Nanoboost, Turf Power SRN), and starter fertilizers. Products are sold through direct agronomist field sales, dealer/distributor networks, and international channels.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Monty's Plant Food manufactures and sells proprietary agricultural inputs — soil amendments, liquid and dry fertilizers, nutrient management products, and micronutrients — built around its patented Activated Humic Technology and ProtoColl fertilizer system. The company sells directly through agronomist field advisors, a dealer/distributor network, and an international multilingual e-commerce site serving farmers in 24+ countries. It also offers complementary agronomy services including custom soil/tissue testing plans, an "Ask an Agronomist" consultation service, and the MACC (Midwest Advanced Crop Consulting) high-yield program.

Product overview

Monty's Plant Food is an agricultural products company offering a comprehensive portfolio of soil amendments, fertility products, nutrient management solutions, and micronutrients. The core technology is their proprietary Activated Humic Technology, which includes products like Monty's Liquid Carbon, Dri-Carbon, and the HumicPT line. Their flagship innovation is the ProtoColl System—a next-generation hybrid fertilizer combining solid and liquid fertilizer properties using polyelectrolyte enhanced biopolymer (PEB) technology with micelle-encapsulated nutrients. The product line spans six categories: Soil Amendments (Monty's Liquid Carbon, Catalyzer, Dri-Carbon, HumicPT, Humi-Till, Nanobind), Fertility (ProtoColl 7 & 8, Agrihance, Agri-N, K28, Premium Blend), Nutrient Management (Humihance, Surge XD, Drivas), Micronutrients (Boron, CoMoB, Copper, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Molybdenum, Zinc), and Specialty products (Agri-Sweet FG, Nanoboost, Turf Power SRN). The company also offers sub-brands for hemp (Monty's Hemp Pro) and professional horticulture (Monty's PlantVantage), along with consulting services including Custom Plans, Ask an Agronomist, and the MACC educational program.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Monty's Hemp Pro: Specialized plant food products for hemp cultivation.
• Monty's PlantVantage
• ProtoColl
• MACC

Products and services

• Monty's Liquid Carbon Proprietary activated humic acid soil amendment designed to reduce soil compaction, improve overall soil health, and act as a catalyst to make other applied inputs more effective; used by row crop and specialty crop farmers.
• ProtoColl Fertilizer System Hybrid fertilizer system of bundled micro-droplets (micelles) of nutrients encapsulated by polyelectrolyte enhanced biopolymers (PEBs); delivers immediate and sustained nutrient release, reduces NPK inputs, minimizes leaching and volatilization, mitigates salt damage, and improves water retention.
• Soil Amendment Product Line Family of soil amendment products (Catalyzer, Dri-Carbon, HumicPT, Humi-Till, Humi-Till Activator, Nanobind) addressing soil compaction, residue decomposition, soil structure, and nutrient retention for commercial farmers.
• Fertility Product Line Fertilizer product line spanning macronutrient and balanced NPK offerings (including 8-16-8 All-Purpose Growth), starter fertilizers, foliar feeds, and crop-specific fertility products for row crop, specialty crop, and pasture applications.
• Nutrient Management Product Line Nutrient management products (Humihance fertilizer coating, Surge XD, Drivas) designed to enhance nutrient uptake, improve fertilizer efficiency, reduce salt damage, and maximize foliar absorption.
• Micronutrient Product Line Individual and combined micronutrient supplements (Boron, CoMoB, Copper, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Molybdenum, Zinc) addressing specific crop micronutrient deficiencies.
• Specialty Product Line Specialty agricultural inputs including Agri-Sweet FG (fruit/grain), Calesco (calcium), Multiplicity (multi-nutrient), Nanoboost (nano nutrient delivery), Sludge Relief, and Turf Power SRN (slow-release nitrogen turf product).
• Monty's Hemp Pro Specialized plant food product line formulated for hemp and cannabis cultivation.
• Monty's PlantVantage Professional-grade plant nutrition product line (including Root & Bloom, Growth, and Nanoboost) for greenhouses, nurseries, and landscape installation and maintenance operations.
• MACC (Midwest Advanced Crop Consulting) Educational consulting program teaching farmers high-yield techniques via season-long meetings, presentations, demonstrations, and interactive discussions led by award-winning farmers and Monty's agronomists.
• Custom Plans (Soil & Tissue Testing) Agronomy consulting service where Monty's experts collect soil and plant tissue samples using the Agxact methodology and create personalized crop nutrition and soil health plans for farmers.
• Ask an Agronomist Free agronomy consultation service connecting farmers with Monty's expert advisors for crop problem diagnosis and farming recommendations.

Quantifiable outcome

• CEC (Cation Exchange Capacity) increased by 50% using Monty’s Liquid Carbon and Agri-Sweet FG
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AgroLiquidcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMonty's and AgroLiquid operate under the joint initiative 'Together We Grow,' indicating a strategic partnership in the agricultural inputs space. AgroLiquid is a fellow plant food/nutrient company, and the partnership likely involves co-marketing, product compatibility development, and shared distribution synergies.
• Organocat, LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganocat, LLC is Monty's scientific division and collaborator on humic acid and fulvic acid characterization research. Together they have developed a novel approach to humic characterization based on biogeochemical activity, including fractional analysis, molecular mass distribution, functional group analysis, and electrolytic property measurement. This partnership drives Monty's proprietary technology development.
• Soil Renaissance (Farm Foundation NFP / Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSoil Renaissance is an initiative of the Farm Foundation NFP and The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation focused on raising awareness and educating the public on soil health's critical role in feeding the world's growing population. Two Monty's team members participate: Dennis Stephens (President) serves on the Soil Renaissance Thought Leader Board since October 2014, and Joe Dedman (VP of Agronomy) was named to the Soil Renaissance Research Working Group in February 2015.
• MACC Group (Midwest Advanced Crop Consulting)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMACC is a joint initiative involving Monty agronomists and award-winning farmers (Kevin Kalb, Terry Vissing, Joe Dedman) to create a farmer-to-farmer educational consulting program that teaches high-yield techniques through season-long meetings, presentations, demonstrations, and interactive discussions. Monty provides the product and agronomy expertise while champion farmers provide peer credibility and field experience.
• Grower Finance ProgramminorOthersMonty's offers a Grower Finance program providing financing options for farmers purchasing Monty products, enabling larger and mid-market farm operations to access products without upfront capital constraints.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• AgroLiquid: AgroLiquid is a direct peer and strategic partner via the "Together We Grow" initiative. Both companies sell liquid fertilizers, soil amendments, and crop nutrition products to row crop farmers through direct field-sales agronomist networks with similar proprietary technology differentiation.
• Verdesian Life Sciences: Verdesian develops specialty fertilizers, biologicals, and plant nutrition products for row crop and specialty crop farmers. Like Monty's, it focuses on nutrient use efficiency, soil health, and proprietary technology-based differentiation.
• HuminTech: HuminTech is a German manufacturer of humic and fulvic acid products from Leonardite, directly competing in the activated humic substrate category that defines Monty's core technology. It is one of the closest direct humic chemistry peers globally.
• Stoller USA: Stoller USA is a plant physiology and crop nutrition company selling biostimulants, micronutrients, and specialty fertilizers through dealer networks. Its product categories — particularly biostimulants and micronutrients — directly overlap with Monty's Micronutrients and Specialty lines.

Broad incumbents

• Loveland Products (Nutrien Ag Solutions): Loveland Products, the proprietary products arm of Nutrien Ag Solutions, offers a broad portfolio of crop nutrition, adjuvant, and specialty fertilizer products sold through Nutrien's vast retail network. It competes with Monty's across most product categories but at significantly larger scale.
• Helena Agri-Enterprises: Helena is a major distributor and formulator of crop protection, crop nutrition, and specialty products sold through dealer networks across the U.S. It operates in adjacent product categories and competes for shelf space and farmer attention at ag retailers.
• WinField United (Land O'Lakes): WinField United is the crop inputs and agronomy arm of Land O'Lakes, offering a broad portfolio of proprietary crop nutrition and protection products through a vast cooperative retail network. It competes across multiple Monty's product categories with significantly larger scale and brand reach.

Emerging players

• Sound Agriculture: Sound Agriculture develops biological nutrient efficiency products (including a humic-derived offering) for row crop farmers. It is an emerging, well-capitalized competitor in the same soil-and-nutrient efficiency category Monty's serves, with a stronger digital and grower-direct platform.
• Pivot Bio: Pivot Bio is a venture-backed biological nitrogen-fixing company selling microbials to corn farmers. It competes for the same row-crop input dollar as Monty's fertility and soil amendment programs but with a differentiated microbial approach.
• Indigo Ag: Indigo Ag is a digital agriculture and biologicals company providing microbial seed treatments, biostimulants, and agronomic data services to row crop farmers. It overlaps with Monty's agronomy-led GTM and biologicals category focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/montysplantfood
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/MontysPlantFood
• Facebookfacebook.com/montysplantfood
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/montys-plant-food-company
• Instagraminstagram.com/montysplantfood

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Monty's Plant Food