b'RYAN FLOYDE STEVEN REIDALBERTA TERRITORY MANAGER, NEXEED HEAD OF LAWN & CONSUMER rfloyde@nexeed.ca TURF R&D, DLF @NexeedInc sreid@dlfna.comnexeed.ca dlfna.com @DLFCANGood Enough isnt GoodA Global Approach to Enough Anymore Breeding Climate-Smart Grass VarietiesMODERN SEED PLANTS and their operators are benefitting from tech-nology that is taking them well beyond the quality standards thatIN MY PREVIOUS column, I talked about how have traditionally helped them to be successful. DLFs global approach to research is revolu-Many cleaning co-ops were in the past concentrated on howtionizing grass breeding in ways that positively many bushels an hour can they could put through the system.impact our world. As an example, DLF breed-Things began to change when quality began to move beyond thaters are working to lower methane production and into the realm we see today, where seed needs to hit qualityin livestock farming.specifications for other uses, including food. Thirty-six percent of methane emissions A customer recently told me, I cant believe the quality that wecome from natural sources. The remaining used to sell. For years his plant would clean seed within the spec- sixty-five percent of methane emissions are ifications for certified seed, and he was primarily concerned aboutfrom human sources like the production of capacity. Since their addition of an optical sorter, it was apparentfossil fuels, landfills, and livestock farming.to him how much better a product he could create, opening upCows, sheep, goats, deer, as well as the new business opportunities. giraffes and camels at your local zoo are The modern processing landscape is changing; adopting aruminant animals. During the normal diges-quality mindset can help you in many ways: tion process, ruminants depend on micro-It bolsters your reputation as a standard setter. Plants built withflora in their rumen to digest fibrous plant modern quality standards in mind are known as go-to sources formaterial. seed processing. Everyone knows who they are. Word spreads fastOne of the by-products of the fermenta-at the coffee shop in regard to whos at the top of their game intion that occurs in the rumen is methane. processing.The ruminant animal releases methane when It makes you more money. One of my customers invested inthey chew their cud and belch. If you have a colour sorter. Of course, he needed to pay for it. He raised hisever home brewed beer or wine, it is much prices a bit. When customers came in and found out about thethe same process.rise in cost, he said, Heres the product weve been selling forStudies have shown we can get increased years. Heres the product I can sell you today. Just look at whatmilk and meat yield with increased fibre the colour sorter took out. What would you rather have? Nobodydigestibility while also lowering the methane wanted the lower quality product once they saw all the stuff thethat is produced from the ruminant livestock colour sorter removed.that are grazing on those grasses. That not It makes you more versatile. The key to building a good plantonly helps the farmer that grows our grass, is to build one that doesnt ever require you to say no to a job, asbut also the environment and the climate in a colleague of mine says. When we talk about next-level quality, Iwhich we all live.remind clients that they should leave space for whatever that nextWith DLFs global research model, we opportunity is or whatever other piece of equipment they mightcan utilize all the different locations we have want to add, like a destoner. It could make all the difference whenwithin the company to innovate in breeding. new opportunities come your way. Whether that is our Kentucky research site Good enough is no longer good enough when it comes toor our research site in Brazil, we can get a your seed plant. A quality mindset will lead you to success andhandle on those diseases and create genetic ensure your operation prospers in the future. improvement that is going to benefit the world. Reducing disease levels means reduc-ing the use of products designed to quell those diseases; those products can often This is just one installment in Nexeeds Seed Processing University series! contribute to climate change as well.Check out the all the entries at germination.ca/spuniversity40GERMINATION.CAMARCH 2023'