Canadian seed companies Canterra and Pride Seeds have reached a new seed distribution deal that gives Canterra exclusive rights to distribute Pride seed products in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.
The partnership with Pride Seeds will allow Winnipeg-based Canterra to continue distributing Pride’s line of seed products, which include varieties of silage corn hybrids, grain corn hybrids and soybeans.
Curt Baldwin, Canterra’s director of canola, corn and soybean business units, said the new deal expands on a previous agreement that’s been in place for three years.
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“Now, we are (their exclusive) … seed partner for Western Canada,” said Baldwin.
“We are the sole seed partner for Western Canada, whereas before we were not.”
Canterra Seeds has a western Canadian seed distribution network of about 60 retail outlets.
Canterra’s line of seed products includes canola, wheat, oats, barley, peas and specialty crops, but it did not previously market corn and soybeans. That makes the agreement with Pride a good fit for both companies.
The agreement with Pride “allowed us to partner with a company that has … the expertise and are able to deliver a very strong product portfolio to our retail network,” Baldwin said.
Doug Alderman, vice-president of sales and marketing with Pride Seeds, said the arrangement enables his company to reach more growers.
“As we grow our business across Canada, our promise has been to enable more farmers to truly experience the advantage of Pride Seeds. That means providing high-performance seed corn hybrids and soybean varieties together with the highest standards of customer service.”
Asked about the suitability of Pride’s products to the western Canadian market, Baldwin said Pride has been working closely with growers in Western Canada to demonstrate the value of its seed varieties.
Pride, based at Chatham, Ont., conducts annual WATCH Trials (Western Advanced Testing & Commercialization Hub) in partnership with farmers across the Prairies.
The trials assess the suitability of Pride’s corn hybrids to the western Canadian environment.
Uptake of Pride’s silage corn products has been strong among western Canadian growers, Baldwin said.
