Earlier reports that certified seed supplies may be tight across the Prairies in 2003 are proving true.
The supply crunch is especially bad in feed barley, malting barley, oats, durum and many of the more popular canola varieties.
Drought and untimely rain get much of the blame.
“It’s just generally a bad situation throughout,” said Gerald Girodat, a farmer and seed grower from Shaunavon, Sask.
Drought in Alberta and Saskatchewan meant less seed was produced, while wet weather during harvest in much of the Prairies might have damaged seed, creating the risk it will not germinate properly when planted.
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Adding to the challenge, according to seed growers, is greater interest in cereal crops and canola because of improved commodity prices.
To compensate for the seed shortage, producers may have to change planting intentions for 2003 or use common seed.
Possibilities for bringing seed from outside the Prairies are limited, because farmers need varieties that are suited to local soils and climates.
Lorne Hulme, president of the Manitoba Seed Growers’ Association, predicted shortages of certified seed will be most acute in barley, oats and certain canola varieties, particularly the hybrids.
He said Manitoba produced an adequate supply of quality barley and oat seed in 2002, but demand from Saskatchewan and Alberta is depleting the province’s supply.
“Good quality seed is going to be gone very quickly, if it isn’t already,” said Hulme, a grain and pedigreed seed farmer at MacGregor, Man.
As for canola, he noted that many of the hybrid varieties are grown in southern Alberta, where excess moisture set the crops back. Hybrid canola has become popular among prairie producers because of the potential for higher yields.
However, Alberta oilseeds specialist Murray Hartman said Dec. 17 that he had not been getting calls from growers concerned they can’t find the canola seed they want. As well, he said some canola was still being harvested, although he couldn’t say what the quality would be.
Hartman said he doesn’t expect canola shortages to be as severe as those in cereals and peas.
Meanwhile, Hulme and Girodat believe there will generally be an adequate supply of certified spring wheat seed this year.
Girodat, a director with the Saskatchewan Seed Growers’ Association, anticipates shortages in some of the newer varieties, such as Superb, Bounty and Abbey.
While Saskatchewan farmers will be able to buy some certified cereal seed from Manitoba, seed import restrictions to combat Fusarium graminearum in Alberta will cause problems in that province.
The fungal disease has hampered cereal crop quality and yields in Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan for much of the past decade, and Alberta’s restrictions mean wheat and barley seed cannot be imported unless it has been tested and shown to be free of that disease.
Carryover of certified seed from previous years has been depleted in Alberta because of back-to-back years of drought in that province, said Mark Kaun, president of the Alberta branch of the Canadian Seed Growers’ Association.
“If farmers want a good choice of variety, they should be deciding what they want now,” said Kaun on Dec. 17. “They should be booking stuff as soon as they can make their decisions.”
Hulme predicted there should be an adequate supply of certified seed for most pulse crops, partly because producers are more interested in growing cereals and canola.
But Girodat said certified lentil seed is already in short supply and there might be a shortage of field peas, because much of the field pea crop is grown in northeastern Saskatchewan where drought and sprouting have caused problems.
For farmers thinking of planting common seed this spring, Girodat and Hulme advise testing it for germination at an accredited lab, and ensuring that the samples provided are an accurate reflection of the quality of seed they will be using.
Girodat said the effects of 2002’s tough growing conditions will be felt for years to come. It slowed the multiplication of seed stocks of new crop varieties, meaning it will take longer to make them widely available to producers.
It also caused problems for private and public plant breeders who are testing potential new crop varieties in trial plots in regions where there were weather extremes. The unfavourable weather made it difficult to evaluate how well those crops might perform in a more moderate growing season.
