Possible legal action | The unregistered variety is being sold as common seed in Manitoba
The Canadian Plant Technology Agency has issued a stern warning to prairie farmers growing Faller wheat and those who are selling it as common seed: cease and desist or face the legal consequences.
“CPTA regards this situation as very important,” said executive director Lorne Hadley.
“Seed sellers and growers are advised to steer clear of possible legal action by avoiding the purchase of common Faller wheat seed.”
Faller is an unregistered milling wheat variety that was developed by breeders at North Dakota State University.
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It is well adapted to growing conditions in southern Manitoba and performed well in the province last year.
According to Manitoba Agricultural Services Corp. data, almost 13,000 acres of Faller were reported grown in the province last year, producing an average yield of 66 bushels per acre.
Hadley thinks actual acreage, including unreported production, could be much higher.
Significant volumes of the variety are being sold in Manitoba as common seed.
At least one person has been fined and ordered to stop selling the variety.
Hadley declined to identify the individual. He also declined to share details on the size of the fine or the amount of seed sold.
“The person in question had accessed some out of the U.S. and had a fairly decent sized program selling common seed,” Hadley said.
“Our belief is that farmers think that … it’s OK to buy it and plant it and sell that production back into the U.S. But in reality, it could be a problem.”
Faller is not yet registered in Canada, meaning it cannot legally be sold in Canada as seed or milling wheat.
Any Faller produced in Canada must be sold as feed wheat, but it is likely that some of the variety grown in Manitoba is being sold into milling wheat markets.
Based on MASC numbers, close to 850,000 bushels of Faller were harvested in the province last year.
Unreported acres could easily push that number over a million bu.
It is believed that some of that production was trucked back across the U.S border and sold as high quality milling wheat.
It is also possible the grain was marketed in Canada without a proper varietal declaration.
Faller has slightly lower protein content than most CWRS varieties but exceptional milling qualities and good protein functionality.
In head-to-head yield comparisons, it yielded 15 to 20 percent higher than most of the CWRS varieties widely grown in southern Manitoba.
Seed Depot in Pilot Mound, Man., has acquired Canadian distribution rights for the variety and is taking steps to have it registered in Canada.
However, the process is expected to take at least two years.
In the meantime, Seed Depot has received approval from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to have the variety produced in a closed-loop system.
Production contracts are available through Richardson International and Parrish & Heimbecker.
John Smith, chief executive officer with Seed Depot, said the variety’s yield potential and good milling profile make it an attractive option for farmers.
“In Manitoba last year, there was almost 13,000 acres of reported Faller grown under crop insurance and basically no certified seed or pedigreed seed had ever been sold in the province, so it was all grown from common Faller smuggled in from the U.S.,” he said.
“Basically, the variety was so much in demand that to try to keep it out was like trying to keep water from running downhill.”
Seed Depot and NDSU are collaborating with the CPTA to monitor sales and production of Faller.
They also remind growers and seed dealers that selling common wheat seed from an unregistered variety is a violation of Canada’s Seeds Act.
NDSU’s research foundation has also indicated that it intends to enforce its rights on unauthorized Faller produced in Canada.
In other words, farmers who produce Faller and attempt to sell it in the United States must prove that they have paid a royalty or bought certified seed.
Failure to do so could result in lawsuits seeking compensation for commercial damages as well as legal and investigative costs, the foundation said.
Smith’s advice to Manitoba growers who want to grow the variety is to sign a contract with Richardson or P & H and sell their production in a closed loop program.
“You really can’t blame farmers … for doing what they did but what we’re saying is there’s now a legitimate way to participate in the variety,” Smith said.
“CFIA has given us permission to work with a few companies doing IP production prior to registration and they are fairly sizable programs that are selling certified seed to meet those needs. Going forward, we anticipate there will be good opportunities to (grow)… the variety without going the common seed route.”
