NAIRN, ONT - Grahame Hardy, Hardy Seeds, Inkerman, and Tim Beatty, Beatty Seeds, Bloomfield, are two of four independent cereal seed producers in Ontario to partner with Hyland Seeds in a new seed production and marketing program.
Hardy says the business affiliation announced here June 27 by John Cowan, general manager of Hyland Seeds, will be a boost for cereal grain production in Eastern Ontario.
"From Kingston east to the Quebec border we can now offer farmers Hyland’s industry leading cereal varieties," Hardy said.
Beatty describes the business as a major step in providing the farmers of east-central Ontario with superior cereal seed.
"The agreement gives us access to the technology, breeding programs, and varieties that are leading the industry," Beatty says.
In addition to the partnership with Hardy Seeds and Beatty Seeds, Hyland announced pertnerships with Snobelen Farms, Lucknow, and Maple Farm Supply, Thornton.
As a result of the new alliance Hyland Seeds’ production of seed wheat, barley, and oats will be locally grown and processed in four separate regions of the province.
Hyland’s sales manager Ivan Warriner says, "The new agreement will permit us to strategically locate the production close to the point of sale." Transportation charges will be reduced substantially, and the strength of the four local dealer-processors will enhance Hyland’s leading position in the cereal seed market.
Warriner says the business agreement brings together Hyland’s superiority in cereal agronomics with four of the premier, independent seed producers and processors in Ontario. He describes the agreement as "a let’s go situation" that will provide the opportunity to service seed markets competitively in all regions of the province.
The new partnership will expand the dealer network especially in the central and eastern regions of the province where most of the cereal grains are grown, Cowan says. "The local partners will have access to superior products that are bred for eastern Canadian conditions, and Hyland gets closer geographically to the major market for cereal seed."
Hyland has recently introduced two new varieties of winter wheat, one new spring barley, two new varieties of forage barley, and a new variety of oats to its already impressive line-up of cereal grains. "We are now number one in cereal seed sales and our research program is a commitment to more new introductions despite the overall decline in cereal acreage in the province," Warriner says.
Hyland Seeds is a division of W.G.Thompson & Sons Ltd. and is the largest privately owned multi-crop research facility in eastern Canada.
From the Archives:
AgriBusiness, July 2000
