| | Background | The forage seed trade | Forage seed processors operating in the Peace River Region–Dec 2007 | Merchandising your seed | Comparing offering prices | Return to Special Commodity Marketing page
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Background
Grass and Legume seed production involves growing and harvesting seeds from turf, forage, legume and native grass species. The Peace River region of Alberta and British Columbia is the world’s second largest grass and legume seed growing region in the world (after the Willamette Valley in Oregon). Because of the significant production and acreage devoted to this industry, forage seed processors have established facilities located throughout the region. Due to the large number of growers and acres devoted to this industry, other forage seed processors operate in the area, with their facilities located outside of the Peace region. Most local processors will buy and sell bulk seed to customers, many of which are in the USA or overseas.
The Forage Seed Trade
Following are the major forage seed buyers and brokers located in the Peace Region with their most recent addresses and phone numbers. Not included are municipal operated seed cleaning plants and farmer owned plants, which only clean seed on a custom basis. Most companies listed below are large processors. You do not have to be from the region to do business with them.
Comments are included under each listing to provide a general description as to what the companies are involved with. These areas include: custom cleaning and bagging, broker, buyers, production contracts, retailers and accredited seed testing labs.
Growers are advised to deal with a reputable company and understand the specifics of the offered price, whether you are selling seed, forward pricing or growing seed under production contracts. Prices for companies will vary but this could be due to differences in how the prices are structured. For example, a price quoted at one company could be higher than another but the higher priced quote may include the producer paying for cleaning and bagging. Dockage levels have also been known to vary among companies. When signing forage seed production contracts, understand the pricing structure, length of the contract and quality requirements. Make sure that prices are compared on an even basis when contacting companies about selling and/or establishing contracts.
All seed companies have access to government-accredited labs for seed germination and purity.
Notes have been made as to which companies have their labs located in the Peace country.
Forage Seed Processors Operating in the Peace River Region–Dec 2007
| Company | Location | Contact | Ph. No. (780) |
| Bison Seeds | Hines Creek | Len Kerschbaumer | 780-494-7333 |
| Brett-Young Seeds | Rycroft | Todd Smith | 1-800-661-1289 |
| Dynamic Seeds | Fairview | Keith Lyons | 1-888-882-5435 |
| Foster's Seed and Feed | Beaverlodge | Doug Thiessen | 1-800-379-4804 |
| Golden Acre Seeds | Fairview | Heather Kerschbaumer | 1-800-481-7333 |
| Hannas Seeds | Lacombe, AB | Patricia Hannas | 1-800-661-1529 |
| Moore Seed Processors | Debolt | Raymond Walker | 1-800-563-0461 |
| Pickseed Canada Ltd | Dawson Creek | Gino Morrone | 250-782-3040 |
| Peace River Seed Coop | Rycroft | Darrell Watson | 1-800-565-7772 |
| Wild Rose Seeds | Sexsmith | Janet Roy | 1-888-568-2922 |
Bison Seeds – Hines Creek AB
Box 509 Hines Creek AB T0H 2A9
Contact: Len Kerschbaumer
Phone: 780-494-7333
Fax: 780-494-7334
Comments: Bison Seeds are processors and marketers of forage seeds. A spice plant gives them the capability of processing all specialty crops including spices. They retail all regular forages and legumes. | 
Bison Seeds – Hines Creek
View the Bison Seeds staff - Len Kerschbaumer |
Brett-Young Seeds Ltd – Rycroft AB
Box 100, Rycroft AB T0H 3A0
Contacts: Todd Smith, G.M.
Tom Lawrence, Field Rep
Shawn Pearson, Field Rep
Charolotte Kozuback, Nancy Brown - Seed Analysts
Phone: 780-765-3069 or
1-800-661-1289
Fax: 780-765-3960
E-Mail: todd.smith@brettyoung.ca
Comments: Brett Young Seeds bags and cleans rough seed.
They are involved with production contracts and retail some forage seed. Also have a government-accredited lab for both purity and germination. | 
Brett-Young Seeds, Rycroft
View the Brett-Young Seeds Ltd staff - Todd Smith, Manager |
Dynamic Seeds – Fairview AB
Box 813, Fairview AB T0H 1L0
Contact: Keith Lyons, Steve Adams
Phone: 780-835-5435 or
1-888-882-5435
Fax: 780-835-3064
E-mail: dynamicseeds@xplornet.com
Comments: Dynamic Seeds buys, cleans and bags rough seed and is involved with production contracts. Also does cleaning and is involved in retailing of forage seeds. Handles some native grasses. | 
Dynamic Seeds, Fairview
View the Dynamic Seeds staff - Keith Lyons, Steve Adams |
Foster’s Seed and Feed Ltd. – Beaverlodge AB
Box 210, Beaverlodge AB T0H 0C0
Contacts: Doug Thiessen, Stuart Foster
Sherry Corvalan, Lee-Anne Alde, Seed Analyst (Precision Seed Testing, 354-2259)
Phone: 780-354-2107 or
1-800-379-4804 | 
Foster’s Seed & Feed, Beaverlodge
View the Foster's Seed and Feed Ltd.staff - Foster’s Staff |
Hannas Seeds Ltd.–Lacombe AB
5039 - 49 Street, Lacombe AB T4L 1Y2
Contact: Nick Hannas or Patricia Hannas
Phone 403-782-6671 or
1-800-661-1529
Fax: 403-782-6503
Internet: http://www.hannasseeds.com/
Comments: Hannas Seeds buys rough seeds for its Lacombe based operation. Prior to it’s closure, Hannas Seeds owned and operated Clairmont Seed Processing in Clairmont. Hannas Seeds continues to have contract production in the region. They retail most types of forage seed. |  |
Golden Acres Seeds–Fairview AB
Box 1090, Fairview AB T0H 1L0
Contacts: Heather, John, Trevor or Erin Kerschbaumer
Phone 780-835-4508 or
1-800-481-7333
Fax: 780-835-4595
E-mail: goldenacreseeds@xplornet.com
Comments: Golden Acres offers a custom cleaning and bagging service. They handle some native grasses. They do not buy seed but they will act as a seed broker for clients. | 
Golden Acre Seeds, Fairview
View the Golden Acres Seeds staff - Heather, John, Trevor Kerschbaumer |
Moore Seed Processors Inc. -Debolt AB
Box 360 Debolt, AB T0H 1B0
Contact: Raymond Walker, Chuck Watson, Theresa Logan
Phone: 780-957-3964 or
1-800-563-0461
Fax: 780-957-2580
E-mail: mooresd@telusplanet.net
Comments: Moore’s buys, cleans and bags rough seed. Production contracts are available for most forage seed crops. Moore’s are also involved in retailing seed. | 
Moore Seed Processors, Debolt
View the Moore Seed Processors Inc. staff - Raymond Walker, Manager. |
Peace River Seed Co-op Ltd. – Rycroft AB
Box 40, Rycroft AB T0H 3A0
Contacts: Darrell Watson, Rob Henry
Dee Carby (office Manager), Kathy Barbarich, Seed Analyst (Till Jan 08)
Phone: 780-765-3737 or
1-800-565-7772
Fax: 780-765-3800
E-mail: prsc@telusplanet.net
Comments: Peace River Seed Co-op provides a custom cleaning and bagging service. PRSC buys seed as well as acts as a seed broker for growers. Peace River Seed Co-op is involved with production contracts and also retails forage seed. It also has a government-accredited lab for seed germination and purity. | 
Peace River Seed Coop, Rycroft
View the Peace River Seed Co-op Ltd. staff - Darrell Watson, Manager |
Pickseed Canada Inc. – Dawson Creek BC
Box 2407, Dawson Creek, B.C.V1G 4T9
Contact: Gino Morrone
Phone: 250-782-3040
Fax: 250-782-2252
Email: gmorrone@pickseed.com
Main Office: Box 3230, Sherwood Park AB T8A 2A6 Contact: Antonio Tejada
Phone: 780-464-0350
Internet: www.pickseed.com
Comments: Pickseed buys, bags and cleans rough seed. Production contracts are available. They also retail most types of forage seeds.
Note: for hard seed and timothy, contact Kurt Shmon (1-800-263-7425) or Nathan Penner (1-403-831-2752). | 
Pickseed Canada Inc, Dawson Creek
View the Pickseed Canada Inc. staff - Gino Morrone, Manager.
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Viterra (Proven Seeds) Fort Saskatchewan, AB
RR#3, W4 Sturgeon Industrial Park, Fort Saskatchewan, AB T8L 2N9
Contact: vacant (Dec 2007)
Phone: 780-992-0296
Fax: 780-992-0225
Cell: 780-940-6668
Comments: Proven seeds deals with production contracts. | 
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Wild Rose Seeds Inc. – Sexsmith AB
Box 9, Sexsmith AB T0H 3C0
Contact: Janet Roy – manager, Rodney Schwartz - plant manager
Phone: 780-568-2922 or
1-888-568-2922
Fax: 780-568-3715
E-mail: wildroseseeds@gmail.com
Comments: Wild Rose buys and cleans rough seed; prefers to act as a broker. Will do cleaning and bagging on a custom basis as well. Retailers of forage seed. | 
Wild Rose Seeds, Sexsmith
View the Wild Rose Seeds Inc. staff - Janet Roy, Rodney Schwartz |
Merchandising Your Seed
After a grower has harvested his crop, contact as many seed buyers or brokers as possible to let them know that you have forage seed to sell. Let them know how much you have for sale and what quality it is. Most companies will do dockage tests and a germination test. Seed companies usually keep lists of prospective suppliers they can contact when sales opportunities arise. However, be aware that some companies do not buy clean seed. Buying unclean (“rough”) seed helps companies keep their cleaning facilities operating as much as possible.
It is a good idea to send a company a good representative sample of your seed and ask them to estimate grade and dockage. This way, both the grower and the firm know what weeds are present and if the seed can be cleaned to qualify for certain markets. Many U.S. states cannot accept any seed containing couch and cleavers. Knowing what each company considers to be dockage is also helpful. Often companies will offer similar prices, be prepared to negotiate a better deal. Growers of pedigreed seed should contact the specific companies and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) for proper certification procedures and protocols
Many companies offer forward pricing contracts on forage seed. This provides a producer with an opportunity to lock in a price for future delivery. Forward pricing contracts may be available throughout the year but timing of the contracts is dependent on market conditions
Comparing Offering Prices
Most of the trade’s quoted offering prices for seed are based on net cleaned seed. Sometimes, the prices quoted on any given day by different companies are the same or nearly the same. However, to accurately compare the offers, each company’s dockage estimate of the sample must be known. A firm that really wants to buy seed may offer the same price as its competitors but will guarantee a lower dockage. In that case, the firm guaranteeing the lowest dockage is actually paying the higher net price for the seed.
A note of caution
Most forage seed companies are long established businesses and should be sound. However, forage seed firms do not need to be licensed or bonded or prove their solvency in the way that grain companies must. PRODUCERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO BE CAREFUL WHEN THEY ARE DEALING WITH COMPANIES WITH WHICH THEY ARE NOT FAMILIAR!
View the Forage Seed Processors Peace River Region November, 2007 Map
Compiled by:
Calvin Yoder, Forage Specialist
Alberta Agriculture & Rural Development
Spirit River, AB
Ph; 780-864-3879
E-mail: calvin.yoder@gov.ab.ca | David Wong, Market Specialist
Alberta Agriculture & Rural Development
Grande Prairie, AB
Ph: 780-538-5289
E-mail: david.k.wong@gov.ab.ca |
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