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Seed Smart was created to promote and educate industry partners and producers about the importance of seed health and testing your seed.
The goal of the Seed Smart program is for farmers to know the quality parameters of the seed they plant. If a farmer is using pedigreed seed, asking for the seed analysis from the seed retailer will assist that grower in planning for success. If a grower is using farm saved seed, getting a full seed test from an accredited laboratory will determine seed health parameters.
Although many growers are currently getting seed tested for germination and fusarium, there are seed tests available such as 1000 Kernel Weight (TKW), fungal scans and vigor testing that unlock more information regarding seed health. Even more surprising, there are still acres that get planted without the seed being tested at all.
We believe that seed testing is a crop input that has massive payback in the crop production chain of events. Using the knowledge of quality seed, coupled with professional processing, the recipe for successful crop production is now in motion.
Why test? In some cases, a grower may find that the crop that he planned on using for his farm saved seed source does not meet quality standards. Subsequently, that grower should then purchase new pedigreed seed. This information is vital to crop production planning.
The Alberta Seed Processors are working with our Industry partners to get the word out that seed testing is just “smart”. Alberta Seed Processors and our seed lab partners encourage all farmers to be “Seed Smart”, by knowing as much about the quality of the seed they’re planting as possible: regardless if it is farm-saved or pedigreed seed.
Farmers can contact their local seed cleaning plant to submit a sample.
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