Cool growing conditions last summer and a wet harvest across much of Western Canada could leave farmers scrambling to secure enough high quality seed this spring.
Dan Kirkham, president of the Saskatchewan Seed Growers Association, said pedigreed seed supplies for some varieties might be in short supply this year because frequent rain and unusually cold temperatures last summer slowed plant maturity and caused extensive crop damage in many areas.
Quality problems were exacerbated by a cool, damp fall that delayed harvest and saw many crops downgraded because of staining, bleaching and sprouting.
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“We had a frost on the 20th of August followed by a fairly wet harvest season and several more frosts, so seed quality and germination levels were definitely affected,” said Kirkham, a pedigreed seed grower from Saltcoats, Sask.
“There was also a higher degree of fungal disease on some seed so that will be a concern to growers as well.”
Kirkham said there will likely be local shortages of some varieties of certified seed. He also urged producers using common seed to ensure their stocks have been tested.
Lyndon Olson, a pedigreed seed grower from Archerwill, Sask., said some crops fared better than others in his area.
He said there will likely be sufficient local supplies of barley and oats but some wheat varieties could be scarce.
Much of the flax grown in the province’s northeast was still standing in the field in mid-November, Olson added.
“To find good germinating flax seed will be a challenge,” he said. “We might have to look elsewhere for that.”
Gearald Girodat, a seed grower from Shaunavon, Sask., said pedigreed seed supplies for most varieties grown in his area should easily meet local demand. Southwestern Saskatchewan was not affected by the Aug. 20 frost so crop quality was good.
“We had a late spring so there were some problems with maturity but we didn’t get our first frost until the end of September so we were probably a bit better off than a lot of other areas.”
Girodat agreed that quality flax seed could be scarce this year. Field peas could also be tight, particularly if growers wait until the eleventh hour.
“The most obvious advice is to get out there early,” Girodat said. “Try to locate pedigreed seed as quickly as you can and if you’re thinking of using your own seed, get it tested … and do it early so that if your seed doesn’t measure up, you’ve still got time to go out and locate some supplies from seed growers.”
Lorne Hulme, past-president of the Manitoba Seed Growers Association, said supplies of quality seed vary in his province.
“It just depends on how the rain showers hit,” said Hulme, a seed grower from MacGregor, Man.
“I know up in the Russell area they had a frost back in August and it did enough damage that they have poor germinations up there.”
He said the seed situation is good in his area.
“It was a difficult harvest but we were lucky enough to get our crop off in pretty good shape so most of our seed is of good quality with decent germination.”
According to Hulme, high-quality supplies of oats and some wheat varieties could be tight, particularly for farmers who don’t buy early.
“It’s going to be close. There’s going to be seed available but you may not be able to get the variety you want,” he said.
“It sounds like Barrie wheat may actually be in short supply and good quality oat seed is probably going to be hard to find by the spring. Right now, there’s a decent supply of good quality oats with good germination, but I expect they’ll probably disappear over the winter and some guys might have to settle for second best.”
Hulme said cereal producers in Manitoba will probably seed more acres with No. 2 certified seed.
Bruce Brolley, a pulse crop specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, said bean growers will face an even greater challenge.
At a recent conference in London Ont., Brolley estimated that only 60 percent of Manitoba’s edible beans were combined last fall and much of the crop was of questionable quality.
He said supplies of early-maturing soybean varieties as well as navy, pinto and black beans would be tight this year and suggested Manitoba producers may be forced to import less popular varieties from Ontario and the United States.
The quality of seed samples in Alberta is also reported to be down because of last fall’s cool, damp weather.
Brenda Winnicki, quality assurance manager at 20/20 Seed Labs in Nisku, Alta., said germination levels for most cereals are lower than normal and many samples of wheat and barley, particularly malting varieties, are well below the germination threshold for No. 1 certified seed.
Disease pressure is also more prevalent, said 20/20 disease expert Rita Stevens.
Fusarium is more prevalent in wheat and barley samples and ascochyta levels are unusually high in field peas, she said.
