Three BYU students created an innovation that could change the future of farming as we know it.
A man in Iowa spends his days working on his farm growing corn, an occupation he learned from his father on the 445 acres that his family has cultivated for generations. Walking out to the field, the farmer clenches his callused hands and looks at his son. Even fewer corn stalks have sprouted than last year despite his best efforts. This means less produce and less money for his family. He kneels and examines the soil crusted in a layer of salt.
This farmer is one of millions facing the devastating effects of soil salinity.1
Farming is an ancient practice that is still vital in producing food for the earth’s ever-growing population. Fostering the growth and development of crops is complex as farmers continue to face problems caused by both common agricultural practices and climate change. One significant problem is soil salinity. As the concentration of salt in the soil rises, it becomes increasingly difficult for plants to flourish. This issue doesn’t just impact farmers—it also impacts consumers. A smaller crop yield means less produce in grocery stores and markets around the world and increased prices for fresh food.
Tucker Bateman (MMBIO ’24), Michael Davis (PWS ’25), and Fritz-Carl Morlant (computer science ’25) felt inspired to tackle this challenge, creating a cost-effective solution to the soil salinity problem and forming a business around their new technology.
Thriving in Difficult Circumstances
Having grown up on a dairy farm, Bateman understands the meaning of hard work and has faced firsthand the difficulties associated with increased soil salinity. Initially, Bateman wanted to become a doctor, but his father’s death ignited a fire within him to uncover innovations in agriculture instead. This led Bateman to team up with Davis and Morlant and begin work on what is now Halio. “This team, this business, wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the influence of my dad and the challenge of dealing with his loss,” Bateman says. “It made me become interested in entrepreneurism and opened my eyes to the potential that’s out there.”
Bateman’s father once said, “I am grateful for the blessing of being self-employed. It is the motivation to receive divine direction on what needs to be done next.” These words inspired Bateman to pursue entrepreneurship. He realized he didn’t have to become a doctor to serve others; he could do it through starting a business. “I think that you can have a very large impact on God’s children through the creation of new products and services,” he explains. Looking back on the development of their innovation and the creation of their business, Bateman says, “It’s really easy to see the hand of God in what we’ve done so far.”
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Cultivating Technology
Currently, the available solutions for soil salinity are either to flush salt out of the soil using a significant amount of water or to use soil amendments to try to change the composition of the soil by incorporating extra nutrients. Unfortunately, both solutions are problematic. Using excess water is costly and can even worsen the problem since water can be one of the sources that introduces high concentrations of salt into soil to begin with. Soil amendments are often ineffective because of how difficult it is to change the composition of soil. Each of these solutions also takes time to implement, forcing farmers to pause their planting efforts until the soil is fixed. “With Halio, we’re helping plants grow optimally in their current environments without having to take a break to fix their soil,” Davis says.
After many long hours spent in the lab and at several testing sites, Bateman, Davis, and Morlant’s perfected innovation was born. The key to their technology lies in the microbiome. Like humans, plants also have a microbiome that can profoundly impact their health. When the concentration of salt increases in soil, it negatively impacts plant development by limiting water intake, causing nutrient deficiencies, and stunting growth, which decreases yield.2 Their innovative technology increases the salt tolerance of plants, allowing them to thrive in these kinds of challenging saline environments. “This technology will allow families and farmers to stay and grow where they are, which is very important,” Morlant says. The testing they’ve done on commercial fields, including Bateman’s family farm, have generated phenomenal results. “We’ve seen an increase of 47 percent in commercial crop yield,” Davis exclaims.
Their work has been recognized by BYU’s Student Innovator of the Year competition where they won second place, receiving $10,000. They are using these funds for intellectual property protection, legal costs, and additional research and development.
Planting Roots of Lifelong Service
Making an impact is what drives Bateman, Davis, and Morlant. All three of them came to BYU in pursuit of an education to foster their ability to serve others. They turn to God for guidance in every aspect of their research and business endeavors. “We look at problems as opportunities to seek inspiration and to find solutions that bless God’s children around the world,” Bateman says.
This innovation has the potential to significantly impact the lives of farmers and their consumers. But Bateman, Davis, and Morlant don’t want to stop there. They plan to bring this technology to everyone they can through the nonprofit arm of their company. “We see this as an entrepreneurial effort that we can then use to fund our nonprofit endeavor to be able to get this technology to farmers that are unable to pay for it like in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Eastern Africa. We’re really motivated to get this technology to them for as cheap as possible,” Davis explains. “We’re excited to see how this technology will bless the world,” Morlant adds.
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Sprouting through Mentorship
Bateman, Davis, and Morlant are the first to acknowledge that they couldn’t have done this without the guidance and support they received from their mentors at BYU. Dr. Brent Nielsen, a professor in microbiology and molecular biology, conducted the initial research in the Great Salt Lake, discovering the bacteria found in the microbiome of saltwater plants that they use in their technology. As Bateman, Davis, and Morlant conducted the research to develop this innovation, Nielsen was there to provide invaluable insight and training on assays and other laboratory techniques to move their work forward.
They also received support from faculty in the plant and wildlife sciences department. Dr. Matt Madsen helped them improve the quality of their field data for commercial applications, and Dr. Bradley Geary assisted them with the manufacturing of their technology with bio-fermenters. “We are definitely standing on the shoulders of giants, and we’re lucky that those giants are very friendly,” says Davis.
Developing this innovation and creating their company from the ground up while attending BYU has given Bateman, Davis, and Morlant a unique perspective. “This experience has really helped me realize the value of a BYU education,” Morlant explains, “because we are all trained in so many different areas where we can collaborate and work so well together.” Bateman echoes this sentiment, adding, “We’re very grateful for the access to so many different resources that allow us to give this business our best shot. And we’re also really thankful to the BYU Technology Transfer Office and to BYU in general that we have this opportunity to try to commercialize a technology that has so much potential impact for the world.”
Bateman, Davis, and Morlant are excited to bring Halio to the world, acting as exemplars of BYU’s slogan: Enter to learn; go forth to serve.
2. Pooja Shrivastava and Rajesh Kumar, “Soil Salinity: A Serious Environmental Issue and Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria as One of the Tools for Its Alleviation,” Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences 22, no. 2 (2015), 123–131.