Seed Grower Profile JAMIE VICTOOR and his dad, Rene, have been in the seed business a long time. The co-owners of Victoor Seed Farm Inc. located about 15 kilometres west of St. Albert, Alta., have more than 90 years of seed growing experience between them. Even with their wealth of seed growing experience, the Victoor family always strives to keep on top of agronomic trends. “We do a lot of research ourselves and we go to a lot of crop tours and also check out the latest information coming out of each of the research and breeding stations, to see which varieties might work agronomically in our area and also will be best suited and adapted for the end consumer as well,” says Victoor. He notes that local grower meetings, including ones put on by Victoor Seed Farm, are an important source of information, as are technical gatherings such as Edmonton’s yearly FarmTech conference and the Canadian Western Agribition held annually in Regina, Sask. Victoor, who’s 54, grew up on the farm, which was founded by his great-grandfather in 1919. His grandfather took over the farm and started producing seed in the early 1950s. Victoor’s father and uncle established Victoor Seed Farm Inc. in 1959. Victoor started full-time work at the farm shortly after high school in 1983. He and his wife, Deanna, have three sons — Keeping Current The owners of Victoor Seed Farm Inc. believe tracking agronomic trends is an important ingredient for success in the seed business. 38 | Advancing Seed in Alberta