Comments from seed royalty meeting

[bucket]

I think the farm organizations need to come together and explore options. After all they gave the CWB away for free.. maybe they will give away the plant breeding program for the same?

If not well indeed there is a lot of farmer cash begging for an investment.

I would gladly donate my saskpulse checkoff to a farmer coop seed company.....then have one umbrella group called saskeverything....have good reps for each commodity asking for traits required from the seedCo. .....


There is an incredible amount of administration money wasted for each commodity.. maybe since everyone thinks farms should consolidate so should the checkoff groups. ...

Good reps would see the value of plant breeding for flax and other minor crops and maybe ask the question like " is there value in flax straw genetics that can be used in cereals rather than using the chemical manipulator? "

[westernvicki]

I think the farm organizations need to come together and explore options. After all they gave the CWB away for free.. maybe they will give away the plant breeding program for the same?

If not well indeed there is a lot of farmer cash begging for an investment.

[farmaholic]

So a $90+K employee of SAF uses the analogy of buying/using an old farm truck to a new farm truck with all the bells and whistles and improvements to using old versus new varieties of wheat(or what ever) seed.

But I wonder if this genius would like to pay the vehicle manufacturer of his ride a yearly royalty for the "right" to drive it? .....even after he bought and paid for it!

and then wouldn't that be a great place to deposit money stolen from farmers, (i.e. railroad cap money , grain grading overcharges, cwb equity ,lol, etc., etc.) since its to hard to give it back to us

[Puckbag]

I am a seed grower. I came in late and also sat at the front.

The debate on seed has been all of my life. But as a result of being a seed grower I have developed a respect for what I can do to achieve: incremental gain. A little better yield, a little better durability on quality, due to seed quality or attributes like stand ability, sprouting resistance, shatter, colour. From I lifetime of experience and 44 crops I have won and I have lost, nothing if for certain, except death and taxes. I find my quest for knowlege on varieties to acheive incremental gain has led to a I lobby for better data. We need better information on varietal performance. Better follow up on tests results, like seed quality in a bad year, standability in the snow, and yes this was a bad year, but a good year to gauge seed & weathering quality on varieties.

So many things we can and should do better.

The world is rapidly changing, seed technology is rapidly changing, it will take money to keep up, how much, well indeed nothing is free.

In AU, GOV & industry contribute not just farmers.

This is what I see:

Challenge government for matching money for seed royalty, the should anti up and if they do they will have an vested interest in insuring fees do not sky rocket.

Challenge government to set up a process of seed variety tender that is transparent and accountable as indeed the potential for conflict of interest and undue influence is real. The committee to award all varieties from public institutions should include fair and sound minds, at least one non farm lawyer, a non farm accountant, like Federated Coop reach beyond the farm for intellectual capital.

Make seed royalty a tax credit as it is used for research purposes it should be a tax credit.

Better Data: if we are going to pay more for varieties, then we need to have better data. Standardize variety tests, do agronomic and functionality, annual & averaged data, available by plot and by aggregate. Contract the process, data needs to be at arms length to plant breeders and the seed trade. Make it mandatory to be part of check off that you are in the program, and that some of the cost is supported by % of check off earned.

Many sectors of the industry benefit from seed, and yields, including elevators, part of the contribution of the delivery system is free administration.


Should we ask, why a nation will support dairy and poultry and dump beef, hogs and crops, of course, and so at the very least we need to ask for this to be done right, & for contribution. The world is increasingly more competitive, it has only just begun to show its face, We need efficient, competitive, transparent, accountable, a process of not just more money but better use of that money.

And we should ask: why not a farmer owned seed company like Limagrain?
Limagrain is highly successful the blue print is there.

Dare to find a solution.

Western Vicki,

You pose the question about a having farmer owned seed company like LimaGrain. Well the Feds have slowly been backing out of public plant breeding for a few years now, how do you think Ag Canada’s response would be if Western Canadian farmers proposed to buy AAFC plant breeding program outright? I realize it’s a long shot to get Western Canadian producers to agree to anything, but the way I see it, we have a program that has all the qualified breeders, tech staff, facilities, etc. If Ag Canada wants to reduce their responsibility, why not have us as growers take over?

Now there are a lot of logistical questions on how this would be done, just kind of thinking out loud here is all I’m doing.

[SASKFARMER3]

The seed and company trials are a big thing.

I have bought lots of varieties that shit the bed.

I was out the cash.

But its funny yesterday listening all day in the truck and heard an add about a seed company that has a variety out and its the best of everything high yield, etc.

HAHAHAHA I kicked its ass from a high of 22 bus to min of 7 in our area.

But this same company is ruthless and comes down hard on producers who don't play by their rules. Almost creating and bending the rules to get the farmer if he does wrong.

But hey they pick your varieties as they sit on that board.

We have excellent seed growers in Sask and we have complete duds who don't follow any rules.

So yes I can live with change but lets protect the producer along the way also.

Duds should not be rewarded.

[westernvicki]

All I am saying, I am a pragmatist; this process is coming, the producer meetings are necessary to justify the transition, & so the questions I ask is:
What are the terms we want in return. & Who is negotiating for the producers?

I am a seed grower, I have a bias, I believe new genetics are important. Defining the terms of this agreement is all we have. And we should step in.

And so, what are our terms:

Better data is big.

Revenue matching with governments for sure.

Tax credits.

An independent committee to insure process is fair, accountable, & as free from conflict of interest and undue influence as can possibly be in an integrated world. Not all farmers, & industry, independent financial and legal folk.

What is the future of public plant breeders? How do they award varieties in a manner that is accountable, transparent and address the issue of potential for conflict of interest.
The anti on new varieties will increase: a process must be defined. Who decides where these genetics end up?

The Limagrain examples, on the table or not?


All, I suggest that we define what is being negotiated and who is negotiating producer terms, associations need to weigh in with meeting during crop week. Get their hands dirty, and negotiate for producers.

Are we at the table or are we not? Ask your associations reps to call a meeting in January at Crop show to define.

[westernvicki]

Ummm, has anyone seen any data from canola trials that are worth looking at? That is the model we are headed for in wheat! There is a plethora of canola varieties and the Provincial Seed Guides seem to barely scratch the surface or fall woefully short of meaningful comparison. Each SeedCo will promote their varieties as superior in one way or another, likely without any real competitive trials, nothing but Company propaganda that will have to be weighed against farmer's anecdotal evidence....from across various Prairie soil zones. Junk varieties with "silver bullet" promises are going to get pushed onto to market without adequate vetting. They're all going to be getting their ransom.


Exactly the reason why we need to define as producers what we want from variety tests: a process: independent, standardized, replicated, list of factors, agronomic, functionality, seed quality, and follow the variety into commercialization to rate the performance. Head to head data. Tendered.

Will it take more money, you bet. An investment in the data that is necessary to justify spending more money on a variety. Producer money well spent.

There are better models in the world, but we define a list that works for us.

https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/NorthCentralREC/variety-trial

http://plantsciences.montana.edu/mtproducerinfo.html

You want in on EPR revenue put your variety to the test.

[farmaholic]

I am a seed grower.

Better Data: if we are going to pay more for varieties, then we need to have better data. Standardize variety tests, do agronomic and functionality, annual & averaged data, available by plot and by aggregate. Contract the process, data needs to be at arms length to plant breeders and the seed trade. Make it mandatory to be part of check off that you are in the program, and that some of the cost is supported by % of check off earned.

Ummm, has anyone seen any data from canola trials that are worth looking at? That is the model we are headed for in wheat! There is a plethora of canola varieties and the Provincial Seed Guides seem to barely scratch the surface or fall woefully short of meaningful comparison. Each SeedCo will promote their varieties as superior in one way or another, likely without any real competitive trials, nothing but Company propaganda that will have to be weighed against farmer's anecdotal evidence....from across various Prairie soil zones. Junk varieties with "silver bullet" promises are going to get pushed onto to market without adequate vetting. They're all going to be getting their ransom.

What are my guarantees I'm not getting an agronomic dud or will be growing a market destroying vatiety?

I suppose I won't have any rights....

Read the fine print, the Devil is in the details, right Tom4Himself!!!!

[westernvicki]

I think the first step would be a meeting with the ag associations at crop show.