b'HOW CHILE MAKES CONTRA SEASON SEED PRODUCTION POSSIBLEWhen it comes to the agricultural relationship between North and South America, theres something that binds the two continents together perhaps more tightly than anything elsegrowing seed during the off-season.Marc ZienkiewiczDURING NORTH AMERICAScomparatively cold winters, the climate in several South American countriesspecifi- Ioana Stroe is Chile lab cally Chileis virtually the same as that of a Northoperations manager for American summer.20/20 Seed Labs.Its during these monthstypically September to Marchthat seed is produced in Chile and then shipped north to the United States and Canada where it is sold to farmers to grow.Its an annual tradition that has only intensified with the advent of canola, the dominant contra season oilseed crop grown in Chile for seed. Sarah Foster, president of Albertass 20/20 Seed Labs, has spent years heading to Chile on an almost annual basis to help operate 20/20s Chilean operations, based at Curimapu Export in Chilln (located about 250 milesJim Schweigert operates the Wisconsin-based Gro Alliance, south of Santiago). which conducts contra season Chile is, undoubtedly, critically important to Canadasseed production in Chile through a seed industry. Its a long, thin country that covers a bigjoint venture with CIS Agro called CIS Alliance.chunk of South Americas latitude, which is why its so suited to growing crops in the contra season. Youve got grapes, asparagus, nuts, cherries, berries, cereals, canola, soybeanthe list goes on. Its unbelievable how diverse that country is in terms of its production, Foster says.But because the landmass is so limited, everything grown there during the contra season is a high value cropeverything. Nothing is grown in Chile that doesnt have value.Sarah Foster serves as presidentHigh Stakes of 20/20 Seed Labs.In other words, the stakes are high not just for North American seed companies, but for their Chilean partners, and every piece of available land in Chile is maximized for production. Chiles mountainous landscape limits the extent andNicolas Sahli is managing intensity of its agriculture. As a result, the countrys arablepartner at CIS Agro and CIS land corresponds to less than three per cent of its totalAlliance in Chile.landmassmeaning every inch of farmland is highly valuable.The Chilean economy is heavily export dependent. The entire countryfrom government down to indi-16GERMINATION.CANOVEMBER 2022'