seed production

Each year, we grow seed for other seed companies with which we do business.

Whether it’s for cereals or soybean, we can’t grow everything ourselves.  We need to have growers from our area grow seed for us to fulfill our contracts.

For more details, click on the following link

http://seedgrowers.ca/seed-growers/getting-started-in-seed-production/

Steps to follow

Before planting, make sure all the equipment in which the seed of production will have to pass are duly cleaned to the prerequisites:

• Gravity box
  
• Auger
  
• Planter or air seeder

We strongly suggest to all our producers that the variety you do seed production be the first, in the case that you would be growing different varieties of the same species, to be sown and harvested.  This will help avoiding any possible contamination.

During the season, ensure you practice an excellent management of your fields.  Either by the control of weeds, insects and diseases.  In the case of soybean, if you have volunteer corn in your fields, it must be totally eliminated.  When there is not much, we suggest removing them by hand.  Do not leave them between rows of soya because they will be picked up by the combine at harvest.  For larger volumes, there are products that can be applied with the sprayer.

Before the harvest, a cleaning of the storage silos, augers, elevator leg, unloading pit, all equipment used to transport seeds as well as the combine due shall be clean.  As mentioned previously, it is ideal to harvest the variety in seed production the first if you grow more than one variety for this species.

Make sure you have sufficient storage for your crop.  

When unloading the crop in your storage bin(s), it is very important to keep a representative sample (±5kg) and to send it to us.  This sample will have to be analysing prior to cleaning to ensure it passes all criteria for seed.

Make sure the silo is well ventilated when needed, no water infiltration or snow.  If you know that there has been an infiltration, make sure to remove any moldy grain or snow prior to remove any seed from the bin.

Before shipping out any seed, make sure check the quality of the grain in the bin and the moisture.

Any auger use to load seed into transport will need to be clean prior to loading.  You also need to check what was the transport carrying before you and was it clean properly.  Go up and check in the transport yourself.  An inspection form will be sent to you prior to shipping and will need to be fill up by the driver for each load.