b'SEED PLANT PROFILEPaying Attention to the Basics for 36 YearsA good crop starts with good seed, says the manager of Battle River Seed Cleaning Co-operative.MARK KAESE has been in the seed cleaning business for 36 years, and in that time, he has seen many changes in technology, new seed varieties and products. However, one thing that has never changed, and never will, is the basic fact that a good crop starts with good seed.You dont breed a cattle herd by getting rid of your best cows and bulls, says Kaese, who is manager at the farmer-owned Battle River Seed Cleaning Co-operative at Paradise Valley, Alta. Its the same with seed. You clean your biggest and best seed to put it in the ground because all the inputs in the world wont grow your crop if the seed isnt any good.Its by paying attention to the basics and providing the best quality seed that Battle River has stayed in business since 1954, serving its 167 members and other producers in the area.New Technology Last year, Battle River bought a new colour sorter to replace its previous monochromatic one, which has allowed the company to provide even better service to its customers. The colour sorter has made a tremendous difference, especially to remove ergot out of wheat and things like that, which were hard to get out before, says Kaese. It gives us the ability to provide a better product to our customers.The new, state-of-the-art true colour sorter has a 14-inch touchscreen and infrared cameras that see true colour differences in the seed and gives improved accuracy and increased flexibility to sort out things like ergot, wild oats, green seed, split peas or any other chosen parameters. We can do more things with this sorter because it sees the full spectrum of colour, whereas the old one could only see dark and light, says technician, Dan Fehr. For example, if we have wheat going through and some of it is green, we can get rid of the green wheat. Whereas, before, the sorter couldnt distinguish between the red and green kernels. It fine-tunes the finished product.Battle River was one of the original seed cleaning co-operatives in Alberta established as a provincial-federal-community enterprise, and is governed by a board of 10 directors, with four staff who operate the plant. The co-operative has two full-time and two part-time employees who help out in the busy season from December to the end ofMark Kaese (left) is manager and Dan Fehr (right) is assisant manager of the Battle May, and offers a profit share incentive.River Seed Cleaning Co-operative.32seed.ab.ca'