terra star presented to ngos - june 2009
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TerraManus Technologies stands behind its commitment to the global struggles of hunger and poverty in developing countries.TRANSCRIPT
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What happens when you reinvent the wheel?
You might just change the world!
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TerraManus Technologies LLC develops Soil Conditioningand Cropping Systems designed to be the reconciling linkbetween competing ag-related economic and environmentalint
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Overview
TerraManus CEO Stephen Carr speaking to farmers in Kenya
interests, thereby enabling subsistence farmers around the world to sustainably break the cycle of poverty
We are seeking the financial and political support needed to manufacture, market and distribute our technologies to subsistence farmers worldwide
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• Farmers across the globe struggle to reduce costs and increase yields
• The earth is losing topsoil, run-off pollutes our waterways, and aquifer levels are falling at alarming rates
• 80 countries now have water shortages that threaten health and economies
The Problem – Econ vs. Environ
• “The world today has reached 963 million people who are malnourished.” Jacques Diouf, Task Force Vice-Chairman and Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, January 2009
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The Problem – Econ vs. Environ
• Governments worldwide are imposing strict soil and water conservation standards
• The current balance between economics and the environment is simply not sustainable
• “Without massive and rapid intervention to address these three environmental factors [falling water tables, eroding soils and rising temperatures], a series of government collapses could threaten the world order.” Lester R. Brown, Scientific American, May 09
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• TerraManus Technologies LLC has developed poten-
tially transforming technologies that have been designed to
bring together these
divergent constituencies
and be the reconciling
link between continued
global economic expan-
sion and growing envi-
ronmental concerns
• Imagine the economic, social and political impact of such a
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The Solution – TerraManus
TerraStar in action in a farmer’s field in Minnesota, U.S.A.
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The Soil Conditioning and Cropping Technologies ofTerraManus include:
• TerraStar® – Patented Soil Conditioning Device
• TerraSystem™ – One-pass Cropping System
• TerraSaver™ – Human-poweredCropping System1
(simple prototypes at left & right)
The Solution – TerraManus
1 Developed specifically for the 1.4 billion
subsistence farmers in less-developed
countries around the world
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TerraStar is a patented, inflatable, molded plastic wheel that
creates reservoirs or weir systems of geometrically-ordered
roughness™ (see right) which:
• consolidate soil (not compact)
• increase soil surface area
• hold water where it falls
• manage water flow
• improve water infiltration
• enhance soil quality,
stability and productivity
The Solution – TerraStar®
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The TerraStar technology is designed to:• Increase crop yields and enhance plant health
(see pictures of corn roots at right: top – control; bottom – TerraStar prototype)
• Reduce soil erosion and water run-off
• Recharge aquifers and reverse desertification through improved water management and
increased infiltration
• Reduce pollution of waterways
• Improve soil quality by increased residual soil moisture and enhanced stability (see picture at left)
The Solution – TerraStar
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TerraStar overcomes the problemsinherent in implementing newtechnologies in lesser developedcountries. Advantages include:• low cost
• locally manufactured
• not dependent upon othertechnologies
• ease of use
• light weight
• human or animal-powered
• durable
The Solution – TerraStar
Durability testing above, simple TerraSaverprototype at left
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TerraStar Field Testing
1. Central Mexico Study,
University of Queretaro,
Dr. Eusebio Ventura and
Dr. Darrell Norton (2002 – 2006)
TerraStar
Control
• Almost 100% of rainfall was harvested, and there was no significant evidence of soil erosion or run-off
• Water infiltration rates enhanced
significantly, with residual soil
moisture increasing by 52%
• Average bean yield increase of well over 100% (see picture and chart at right)
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Central Mexico Study – TerraStar enabled these bean farmers to move
from 48” row centers to 12” row centers with no fertilizer or irrigation.
Also pictured are the planter and TerraStar roller used in the study.
TerraStar Field Testing
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2. Soil Erosion Study – Dr. Darrell Norton, President
of PedoTechnologies, Inc., June 2006
TerraStar Field Testing
“. . . each [TerraStar] reservoir
will capture 2/3 of a pound of
sediment per inch of rainfall.
When this is converted to a per
acre basis, the TerraStar system
has the potential to trap 30 tons of
soil per acre per inch of rainfall.”Control plot on left and TerraStar prototype plot on right
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3. Arise Research & Discovery (2006 – present)
• Tomatoes – 42% yield increase• improved appearance and consistency• No staking required in TerraStar plot
(due to enhanced plant structure)
• Potatoes – 21% yield increase• Improved consistency & appearance
• Corn – 12% yield increase• Improved plant structure
• Erosion• 9” rainfall in 24 hours (spring ’08), control plot corn washed out and
replanting required, TerraStar plot corn undamaged
• Nitrates• TerraStar reduces nitrate levels in watershed by about 50%
TerraStar Field Testing
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4. Chesapeake Bay Watershed Study2 (March 2008)
• Ag run-off has devastated the Bay’s ecosystem
• 13.1 million tons of soil erosion annually
• 44 million pounds of nitrate run-off
• 14 billion gallons of water wasted each year
• TerraStar usage has the potential to:
• Reduce soil erosion by up to 90%
• Conserve 3,348 gallons of water per acre per year
• Significantly reduce nitrate run-off
• TerraStar may produce $3.8 billion of environmental andeconomic benefits for the watershed over the next 5 years
TerraStar Field Testing
2 Conducted by James Porterfield – former Director of Special Research Projects for American Farm Bureau Federation® (retired Sep 2007)
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Manufacturing and Distribution
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• Discuss Kenyan manufacturer (Polytank)
• Discuss potential distribution partners in Kenya
• Discuss micro-lending arrangements
• Discuss contract to purchase crops from TerraStar users
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• “If combined with current advances in plant genetics and sustainable inputproducts, the TerraStar holds great potential for feeding the world's poor.”
– Fortunatus Okwiri, Team Leader, Poverty Reduction Unit, United Nations
Office of the UNDP, Nairobi, Kenya
Independent Validation
• “Based on the results of ongoing research with the University of Queretaro andfeedback information from INIFAP and organizations like the Produce Foundation,we are pleased to recommend the wide spread adoption of these products [TerraStar/TerraSystem].”
– Gabriela Deecke, Technical Secretary,
Secretary of Rural Development (Mexico)
• “TerraStar is positioned to overcome the chal-lenges of commercial viability with their inno-vative approach to advancing productivity and sustainability in agriculture”
– The Larta
Institute
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• “The TerraManus technologies truly represent the next generation of successful
crop production and resource management tools for farming.”
– Dr. Darrell Norton, President, Pedotechnologies
• “There is no other product we know of in this classification of agricultural
equipment that can achieve the results the TerraStar has achieved to date.”
– Dr. Roy Stephen, President, Arise Research & Discovery, Inc.
• “I believe that TerraStar and TerraSystem
offer the best hope for a sustainable crop pro-
duction system with worldwide application.”
– Dr. Eusebio Ventura, Senior Professor,
University of Queretaro, Mexico
Independent Validation
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Management Team
Stephen Carr – CEOCo-Founder with over 12 yrs of Ag development, commercialization & management experience
Gregg Whittaker, Ph.D. – CFOEntrepreneur and former Managing Director with Chase Securities in NYC, specializing in strategic planning and management of start-up companies
Tony Hartlage – Production ManagerOwner and Manager, Hartlage Plastics Manufacturing; plastics industry expert
Thomas Page – ManagerExecutive Vice President, Pony Express Bank: and Owner/Manager, Page Agricultural Holdings
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Conclusion
• TerraManus Technologies LLC technologies are designed to be thereconciling link between competing economic and environmentalinterests around the world, enabling subsistence farmers worldwide tobreak the cycle of poverty
• Years of independent testing and research have shown that TerraStar usage addresses a variety of environmental issues, including soil and water management effectiveness, while increasing crop yields, enhancing plant health and reducing input costs
• We are seeking the financial and polit-ical support needed to manufacture, market and distribute our technologies to subsistence farmers worldwide