HOW IT WORKS
How TerraFerm Works
From ingredients to finished microbial inoculant — a commercial-grade, shelf-stable product you brew under your own brand.
You’re Not Making a Tea. You’re Brewing a Commercial Product.
TerraFerm kits are designed to produce Advanced Syntropic Antioxidative Microbes (ASAM) — a commercial-grade, shelf-stable fermented microbial inoculant equivalent to leading retail microbial products used in agriculture and animal husbandry worldwide.
The result of the TerraFerm brewing process is a highly concentrated liquid with a shelf life of two years or more when stored properly. It is not a compost tea. It is not a short-lived extract. It is a finished product you can bottle, label, store, sell, and apply on your own schedule — under your own brand.
That’s what makes TerraFerm a platform for growers, distributors, and agricultural entrepreneurs — not just a recipe.
What Is ASAM?
ASAM stands for Advanced Syntropic Antioxidative Microbes — a multi-family fermented microbial formulation that produces a biologically complex, antioxidative liquid inoculant through a controlled anaerobic fermentation process.
The ASAM process uses an EM-style ASAM mother culture — a multi-species microbial starter — combined with a proprietary blend of organic inputs under a precise multi-temperature fermentation sequence.
The result is a microbiologically diverse, highly concentrated product designed to support soil biology, organic matter decomposition, root-zone activity, compost enhancement, and animal gut health.
TerraFerm’s dry and liquid kits supply the ASAM input materials, pre-measured per batch size. You supply the fermentation vessel, water, molasses, and ASAM mother culture.
The ASAM Microbial Ecosystem
The ASAM formulation draws on a diverse microbial ecosystem — including beneficial bacteria, yeasts, and other organisms — that work synergistically through the fermentation process.
Together these organisms produce a concentrated, antioxidative liquid designed to support biological activity in soil, in compost, and in animal digestive systems.
The synergy between the microbial families — not any single organism — is what makes a well-brewed ASAM product biologically effective across such a wide range of applications.
What Goes Into a Batch
In Your Kit
TerraFerm Supplies
Your TerraFerm kit contains pre-measured organic inputs — including sea minerals, kelp, organic clay minerals, and fermented organic materials — in both dry and liquid form.
All ingredients are organic-sourced. Complete ingredient documentation is included with your order.
Kits are available in 5-gal, 15-gal, and 55-gal batch sizes.
You Source
Additional Items
- Starter Mother Culture
- Blackstrap molasses — human food-grade, unsulfured
- Other startup items include: pH strips or meter, ORP meter, Temperature controlled brewing container, Cubitainers for storage
We recommend trusted sources for each. See our Additional Items page for links.
You Provide
On Your End
- Food-grade fermentation vessel
- Heat source capable of holding up to 130 degrees F
- Clean water (well, spring, or municipal)
- pH strips or meter (2.0–5.0 range)
- ORP meter (recommended)
- Food-grade storage containers (cubitainers)
The Premium Brewing Process
The TerraFerm ASAM process is a multi-stage, temperature-controlled anaerobic fermentation that runs over approximately five to six weeks. The result is a stable, commercial-grade concentrated inoculant — not a simple overnight brew or compost tea.
Equipment Requirements
Your fermentation vessel and heat source need to be capable of holding temperature up to 130°F during the active fermentation period. A food-grade vessel, a reliable heat source, and basic quality monitoring tools (pH and ORP) are sufficient for most setups.
Process Overview
The process moves through four distinct phases over approximately five to six weeks:
- Preparation: Equipment setup, water preparation, and ingredient addition in the correct sequence
- Active fermentation: Controlled heat and daily mixing during the early fermentation period
- Anaerobic finish: Temperature maintained with no mixing — the batch transitions to strict anaerobic conditions
- Settling: Heat reduced, the batch settles before transfer to storage
Detailed Instructions With Your First Order
Complete step-by-step brewing instructions — including the full temperature schedule, mixing timing, quality checkpoints, and storage protocol — are included with your first TerraFerm order. You don’t need prior fermentation experience to follow the process.
Completion and Quality Check
The finished batch is ready when pH has stabilized in the target range and the product has a clean, pleasantly fermented aroma. Syphon into anaerobic storage containers and label each with batch number, brew date, and batch size. Detailed guidance on vessel management and batch cycling is included in your brewing instructions.
Shelf Life and Storage
Properly brewed and stored TerraFerm finished product has a shelf life of two years or more. Strict anaerobic storage is essential — any exposure to air during storage can reactivate dormant aerobic microbes and compromise the batch. Use containers that maintain sealed, anaerobic conditions and do not allow air to enter when the product is dispensed.
Store away from direct sunlight and temperature extremes. Label every container. Consistent batch documentation is the foundation of a professional microbial program.
Brew It Under Your Own Brand.
Because TerraFerm kits produce a commercial-grade, shelf-stable microbial inoculant, growers, distributors, and agricultural entrepreneurs can bottle and label finished product under their own brand name.
Your brewed product is comparable in quality and scope to nationally distributed agricultural microbial products — produced on-farm or on-site, at a fraction of retail cost, in the volume you need, when you need it.
Whether you’re supplying your own operation, building a regional distribution network, or launching a branded agricultural biological product line, TerraFerm gives you the ingredients, the process knowledge, and the support to do it.
Animal Agriculture
ASAM can be applied across the entire facility water supply through pump-house injection — shifting the microbial environment from putrefactive to fermentative leadership throughout the operation. The result is a measurable reduction in ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and other odor compounds, along with improved manure quality and a cleaner facility environment. Learn how microbial leadership works →
Why water-line injection works: Putrefactive bacteria (the source of ammonia, H₂S, and foul odors) dominate when microbial leadership is absent. Daily inoculation of the water supply establishes fermentative leaders that outcompete putrefactives in water troughs, nipple drinkers, and all water-contact surfaces — including litter, bedding, and manure. Odor reduction is typically observed within the first few days. Ongoing application is required to maintain the shifted equilibrium.
Facility Water-Line Injection (Pump House)
| Operation | Dilution | Practical Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Dairy & Beef Cattle | 1:640 | 1 oz per 5 gal of facility water supply |
| Swine & Livestock | 1:640 | 1 oz per 5 gal of facility water supply |
| Poultry (All Types) | 1:1,500 | ~0.85 oz per 8 gal; also spray litter at 1:640 |
Per-Head Drinking Water Dosing
For smaller operations or individual waterers.
| Animal | Dilution | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Dairy & Beef Cattle | 1:500 | 3–5 oz per head per day in drinking water |
| Equine | 1:500 | 3–5 oz per head per day in drinking water |
| Calves | 1:1,000 | 2 oz per head per day |
| Swine | 1:1,000 | ¾ tsp per gallon of drinking water |
| Sheep & Goats | 1:1,000 | ¾ tsp per gallon of drinking water |
| Poultry — Adult | 1:5,000 | ¾ tsp per 5 gal; or spray 5% of feed weight |
| Poultry — Chicks | 1:10,000 | ¾ tsp per 10 gal; or spray 2% of feed weight |
All microbial strains and inputs used in TerraFerm ASAM production are on the FDA GRAS list. Buyers are responsible for confirming applicable state and federal regulations for water-supply additives in animal operations, including FDA CVM guidance. Do not use with chlorinated water. For litter treatment: spray ASAM at 1:640 onto litter surface and bedding.
Optional: Activating Your Product
Just as commercial microbial concentrates can be activated before field use, TerraFerm finished product can be extended through a secondary fermentation — sometimes called “activation.”
One gallon of finished TerraFerm product can produce approximately 10 gallons of extended product using molasses and clean water. However, this process shortens shelf life from two years to approximately 14-45 days. Do not attempt to activate extended product a second time.
Activation is best suited for operations that need to quickly scale volume for a short-term application window. Many growers apply TerraFerm finished product directly at the appropriate dilution ratio.