Farm406

Jake Baum and his brother Ben farm near Highwood. Since starting their operation 5 years ago, the brothers have used Certified Seed including spring wheat, winter wheat, barley, durum, peas, and lentils. "A lot of people think using Certified Seed means big profits for the seed companies, but really a large portion of the cost goes to research and varietal development. For every bushel of Certified Seed you buy, a big portion of that money goes right back into research and development," Baum says. "We choose to use Certified Seed for its purity, potential and marketability," says Power farmer Zack Vick. Zach owns and operates Z & A Farms Inc. and Scattered Acres Farms Inc., a three generation operation owned by Zack's father, Duane Vick. Their land stretches from the banks of the Teton River east of Dutton to the northern city limits of Great Falls. The 10,000 acre operation grows hard red winter wheat, malt barley, hard red spring wheat, durum and chickpeas. Many producers believe Certified Seed is not cost effective but Zach disagrees. "Certified Seed is the only way to go to reach maximum potential," says Zach. The Vicks have solely used Certified Seed for all their crops over the past eight to ten years. "We have seen a dramatic increase in both yield and quality using Certified Seed," Vick says. "Then add disease tolerance and weed control on top of those qualities—well it just makes sense." The use of certified seed is based on four key components: purity, potential, performance, and profit. Each of the four Ps contributes to the quality and reliability of certified seed sought after by growers. What do these qualities mean? Purity - Certified seed exhibits no varietal purity loss from one year to the next as growers use new certified seed each year. Varietal purity is confirmed with lab testing and field inspections. This process also minimizes weeds and seed-borne diseases, which can affect yields, and certified seed is professionally conditioned to make it ready to plant. Performance - It's not just the acreage you seed; it's how well the crop grows on each acre planted. Certified seed exhibits more reliability and vigor, which makes the crop more resistant to adverse growing conditions. Certified seed provides enhanced disease and pest protection to limit loss during the growing season. Potential - As more growers adopt certified seed, more research and development can be done to further improve certified-seed-only varieties, providing more options best suited for specific applications. Certified seed research will continue to address growing challenges in the future, furthering the potential benefits. Profit - Certified seed allows farmers to bypass many of the costs associated with bin-run seed. Using certified seed eliminates the risk of misapplying seed treatments and removes the expense of moving and storing seed. There's also no storage loss and growers don't need to spend time cleaning or transporting seed. Red spring certified wheat seed being augured onto a truck for delivery to the field.

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