A Saskatchewan-based seed company has come up with a novel plan aimed at boosting seed sales in Western Canada.
FP Genetics is guaranteeing commercial wheat growers that fields sown with any one of FP Genetics’s CWRS wheat varieties will generate greater returns than fields sown with bin-run seed.
Rod Merryweather, chief executive officer with FP Genetics, says the program allows commercial wheat growers in Western Canada to access new seed genetics without taking on any financial risk.
“We’ve developed a program that allows a grower to upgrade their wheat genetics at no risk to them,” Merryweather said.
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“The grower simply has to register … (and plant) … any number of acres of our variety side-by-side with their current variety and use the same agronomic package. If our variety doesn’t net out more on the bottom line, we’ll pay the grower the difference.”
FP Genetics is a six-year-old company based in Regina.
It is owned by more than 150 seed growers across the Prairies who grow and sell certified seed.
The company owns the rights to 60 different seed varieties.
CWRS offerings at FP Genetics include CDC Utmost, AC Muchmore and CDC Plentiful.
According to Merryweather, approximately 80 percent of the wheat acres planted in Western Canada each year are seeded with bin run seed.
FP Genetics shareholders believe that commercial farmers are leaving money on the table by not upgrading their wheat varieties more frequently.
The production guarantee applies only to CWRS wheat varieties. More details on the guarantee are available from any FP Genetics seed grower-shareholder.
Merryweather said FP Genetics shareholders are confident that their varieties will outperform bin-run CWRS.
“We know what the outcome will be,” Merryweather said.
“We’re confident that our certified seed will beat the current (bin run) seed being used by the farmer.”
Recent advances in wheat genetics have resulted in higher yielding CWRS varieties that offer improved disease protection, earlier maturity dates and better harvestability, according to the company.
