BLENHEIM, Ont. — Global seed corn interests may have consolidated, but the seed corn production industry in Ontario remains diversified.
Jeff Wilson, chair of Seed Corn Growers of Ontario, pointed to family-owned operations in the province as a positive indicator.
“Maizex Seeds celebrated 30 years in business last year, and C&L Seed Production contracted their first acreage,” he said.
“Along with these two companies, the other processors — Pioneer, Pride, Dow and Horizon — obtained an overall average of 104 percent of contracts last year.”
Dave Baute said he moved much of his production with a scoop shovel when he started Maizex on the family farm near Tilbury, Ont. The company is now the largest Canadian-owned hybrid corn supplier with sales in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Eastern Canada.
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C&L was formed by Lyle and Lee Giffin and Chris, Craig and Dale Stewart, farmers from Chatham-Kent. The company focuses on meeting niche market demands for other companies, including for non-genetically modified and organic seed.
“The entire project is designed to accommodate small to large contracts,” Chris Stewart told Seed Today magazine.
“If a customer orders five acres or 100 acres of production, the facility will handle the acreage.”
Other independent seed producers in Ontario are Horizon Seeds in Norfolk County and De Dell Seeds near London, which specializes in non-GM and organic corn seed.
While the number of independent seed corn companies has grown in Ontario, it’s a different story globally.
Wilson said he is unsure how the proposed merger between Dow and DuPont or the proposed purchase of Syngenta by ChemChina will impact the industry.
“There is some thought that China will begin to accept GMO seed now that they have their own company with GMO,” he said.
About 14,000 acres of seed corn were harvested last year, and it’s expected to be about the same this year. More than twice that amount was harvested in 2012 and 2013, and the 2014 harvest was close to 19,000 acres.
Wilson said Ontario has proven itself to be a dependable supplier, but there’s still too much seed inventory in North America and lower than hoped-for sales to warrant an acreage increase.
He said the corn growers organization continues to work on honeybee health issues, although seed corn in Ontario is exempt from government regulations intended to reduce neonicotinoid seed treatment use.
Wilson said his organization is encouraging the Ontario Beekeepers Association to join the National Bee Health Round Table. It also wants the Ontario government to monitor the number of rescue insecticide treatments used as the regulations are introduced over the next two years.
Jim Zavitz, chief inspector under the Grains Act with Agricorp, said almost all of Ontario seed corn production is insured. More than $600 million in liability has been covered since 1975 with $40 million in premiums paid and $32 million in claims.
