SANTIAGO, Chile – In 1977, when he was 31 years old, Juan Gebauer rented some land from a friend to create a seed nursery. A year later his father helped him buy the 210 acres located 30 kilometres south of downtown Santiago.
Today, Gebauer is general manager of the Winter Nursery Service, and has up to 70 people working for him during peak season.
“The seed world is small. I never put an ad in any place, but you go to any meeting in the world and people know who I am. They know my work,” he said.
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“I am not so special,” he added, “but I have been here a bit. Everyone will have heard one way or another, the service does a good job.”
His research station has been recognized by governments and other agencies for its expertise.The prime location of his farm and his nursery’s reputation have led to work internationally with more than 30 companies located in Canada, the U.S., Germany, France, Holland, Belgium, Austria, Croatia, Italy and Spain.
Countries rely on his seed nursery in Chile to multiply seeds. For 100 grams of canola seed they send, they get 200 kilograms of seed at the end of the season.
Although formal trade negotiations involving Chile, Canada and the United States have only begun in the past year, it was more than 20 years ago when Gebauer began to develop his vision of the future in seed research that crosses international boundaries.
It began in 1973 when he received a scholarship to the University of Minnesota. His specialty was seed research, mainly corn breeding, for the Chilean government from 1966 to 1973. When he traveled to the United States, his one-year scholarship was extended to five years during which he was influenced by his main adviser.
“He made a phrase that I still remember,” said Gebauer. The adviser said to look at the quality of seed and the large amount of money being paid to a nursery in Hawaii. Hawaii had short day lengths and diseases and insect problems affecting seeds, yet universities and companies paid high prices for seed research there.
Gebauer realized his country could offer better service. In 1974, he began promoting Chile while he was in the United States earning his doctorate degree in agronomy.
The main advantage for Chile is the climate. “We’ve never had a crop failure because of weather. We’ve never had a crop failure as long as I can remember,” he said. Santiago has long days during its eight months of summer, with minimal rain or storms, dependable irrigation from rivers in the nearby Andes mountains, and an environment relatively free of pesticides because of its isolation by mountains and ocean.
Several crops grown
Gebauer works mainly with corn because that crop has the most demand and money for research. However, he also does research on soybeans, sunflowers, canola, rapeseed, wheat, oats, barley and flax.
“I’m willing to try different things. We have the knowledge to learn the specifics of different crops even if we haven’t tried them before.”
He admits the service is not cheap.
“But if you’re doing something here it’s because you really need it. It’s important to have good quality seed.”
