50 www.seed.ab.ca | Advancing Seed in Alberta 2 5 0 - 7 8 2 - 7 8 2 0 w w w. s p g r a i n . c a i n f o @ s p g r a i n . c a Serving the Peace since 1963 Wheat: AC Stettler CWRS Thorsby CWRS AAC Penhold CPS AAC Redwater CWRS Go Early CWRS - Registered Peas: CDC Meadow Yellow AAC Peace Yellow Oats: AC Mustang AC Morgan CDC Seabiscuit Barley: CDC Maverick CDC Austenson Triticale: Sunray Spring South Peace Grain Cleaning Co-op Full service seed conditioning facility Multiple bagging options available Licensed grader on-site South Peace Grain Cleaning Co-op Certified Seed Products EST. 0703 Graf says the result of all this is that growers know that what they're putting into the ground is quality seed. “It’s inspected for purity, it's inspected for germination, it’s inspected for weed seeds, and here in Alberta there's a zero tolerance for Fusarium gramineaum,” he says. “All of these factors make certified seed a value proposition for farmers.” Growers who choose to buy common seed or use farm-saved seed often do it to try to save money, but Graf says that strategy can be short-sighted. Not only is there the expense of cleaning farm-saved seed to consider, but the price for not using certified seed could be lower-performing crops and weed-infested fields in the future. “If you want to keep on top of the game now in farming, you have to have the best of everything in terms of genetics.” —Ron Markert “If a farmer is growing several different varieties of the same crop and they're not cleaning their combine out and so on, over a number of years you will get some contamination that you may not even be aware of. The same goes for the amount of weeds,” Graf says. Markert agrees that certified seed provides excellent value for growers. “I can certainly tell you that over the years that we've been growing certified seed, farmers are getting a bargain because of all the work that we have to do,” Markert says. “There's a lot that goes into producing that pure crop. Everything has to be very meticulously controlled to make sure farmers get what we tell them they're going to get.” Markert says he’s found that more and more growers, especially the larger ones, are recognizing the benefits of certified seed. “They just realized that, ‘you know, I could use bin run seed to save a buck but it's just not worth it. I might as well buy certified seed. Then I know I'm getting quality seed, and in return I'm going to get a better price in the end when I market my product.’” Mark Halsall HAVE YOUR BEST CROP EVER THE CHANCE TO BE ITS BEST WE GIVE A CROP... Use the latest in purity, germination, vigour, 1000 kernel weight, and seed health tests combined with the seed knowledge and heart we put into our work. FULLY ACCREDITED SEED LAB NO. 1215 • EMPLOYEE OWNED & OPERATED 1-866-980-8324 [email protected] www.seedcheck.net Like us on