A seed company better known for corn, soybean and wheat varieties will soon be adding hybrid canola seed to its Canadian product mix.
Officials with Syngenta Canada are still working out distribution arrangements for the company’s first-ever canola seed offerings — SY4135 and SY4114.
Duane Johnson, the company’s head of operations for Western Canada, said the new varieties will be available this fall to commercial growers across the Prairies.
“One of the things that we really wanted to focus on when we entered the market was to have some new products that are pretty well-adapted right across Western Canada,” Johnson said.
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“We’re evaluating (both varieties) right across the West … and so far the results have been very good …. We think they will have a really good fit, right from one corner of the Prairies to the other.”
SY4135 and SY4114 are Syngenta’s first-ever canola seed varieties but according to Johnson, they won’t be the last.
The company is evaluating other lines and will eventually broaden its canola seed portfolio to include varieties that are adapted to specific growing conditions and different regions of Western Canada.
Johnson described SY4135 and SY4114 as competitive mid-season varieties that offer yields similar to those of 45H29 and 7345.
Both varieties contain the Genuity Roundup Ready trait and are rated R for blackleg.
In 2013, Syngenta’s new varieties are being grown on 5,000 to 10,000 acres across the West by approximately 200 farmer co-operators.
Johnson said the company will evaluate those results before finalizing the details of its product rollout.
Pedigreed supplies are being produced this summer in southern Alberta.
“We’re producing seed right now and we’ll have that ready for distribution and into the hands of our retail channel this fall,” Johnson said.
“We’re working on our distribution strategy and … finalizing that in terms of who will be retailing the products ….,” he added.
“That’s not completely finalized yet but that will be happening over the next number of months and once we have that completed, we will communicate that information to growers and the industry in terms of where the product is available.”
Johnson did not specify how much seed would be commercially available this fall but said regional availability will be determined based on the varieties’ performance in co-operator fields this year.
“We want to make sure we have our products positioned in the right place (so producers) have a good experience with it,” Johnson said.
Syngenta was late to enter the Canadian canola seed market but is hoping to gain significant market share in the next few years.
Securing market share will hinge not only on the strength of Syngenta’s new varieties but also on and the reputation of its crop management products.
Johnson said the new Syngenta varieties are part of a larger canola package that offer farmers better returns and more predictable results.
“What we’re really trying to focus on is not only the seed but the entire package that we can offer to the grower … so not just focusing on the genetics but focusing on all the enabling technologies as well,” he said.
“That’s a big part of our strategy and that’s what we believe will differentiate us in the marketplace versus just offering canola seed.”
