Seed of the year finalists announced

Monday, July 2, 2012

by SUSAN MANN

Two soybean varieties, a forage seed and a navy bean variety are in contention for this year’s eighth annual Eastern Canada Seed of the Year competition.

The entries are: Dividend VL Orchard Grass, Ex Rico 23 Navy Bean, OAC Bayfield and DH 410. The varieties and their breeders will be honoured at the Eastern Canada Seed of the Year recognition event at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto in November. The winner will be announced then too.

The competition is sponsored by the University of Guelph and SeCan with additional support from the Ontario agriculture ministry and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Martin Harry, spokesman from SeCan, says he’d characterize this year’s entries as “all winners. They all have the potential to win.”

Formed in 1976, SeCan is the largest supplier of certified seed to Canadian farmers.

Through the Seed of the Year application process breeders are encouraged to highlight their research accomplishments in developing a new field crop, forage, fruit, vegetable or herb variety. Any publicly developed Canadian variety is eligible to compete.

Entries were evaluated on innovation, presence throughout the value chain, sustainability, marketability and overall impact on the Canadian agri-food industry. BF