From variety trials to seed increase, four industry leaders identify the weak points between a breeding breakthrough and the farm gate.
“What’s better than what I’m growing now?” After more than 30 years in the seed business, Todd Hyra of SeCan says that remains the question farmers ask of every new variety. The answer might be higher yield, stronger standability, better grade retention or protection against a disease. Whatever the trait, it has to make a difference on the farm.
But developing a better variety is only the beginning. It must be tested in conditions that reveal its strengths and weaknesses, multiplied into enough seed to sell and priced in a way that supports future breeding. Where could that process break down?
In this Seed World Canada Retail Strategy webinar, Hyra joins seed growers Mark Keating and Greg Stamp, along with Saskatchewan Seed Growers Association president Nick Petruic, to examine the decisions between a promising variety and a farmer’s field.
Key takeaways from the discussion:
- Farmers buy more than yield. Keating explains how shatter-resistant canola and midge-tolerant wheat reduced risks on his farm, and why that matters as production costs climb.
- Good data makes a recommendation credible. Hyra warns that changes to variety registration need to account for the disease, quality and agronomic information currently generated through registration trials.
- A variety should not have to fit every acre to succeed. Stamp asks whether Canada’s marketplace gives breeders enough incentive to develop varieties for particular regions, crops and production problems.
- Seed increase is a critical handoff. Petruic explains why the work at Indian Head matters: even a valuable new variety cannot benefit farmers if there is no reliable path to produce and distribute its seed.
The panel does not agree on every diagnosis. That makes the conversation useful. They weigh the value of what Canada has built against the changes needed to deliver varieties farmers will want to plant next.
Watch the full discussion to hear their examples, disagreements and ideas for strengthening the path from plant breeding to the farm gate.
This webinar builds on Seed World’s On the Brink series, which follows the people and decisions shaping the future of Canadian plant breeding.
