May 2020
Welcome to the May edition of our information exchange platform.  This month we discuss winter nursery seed production and breeding nurseries, shipping and documentation, and entrepreneurship.


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GEI Winter Seed Production & Breeding Nurseries
Seed companies use off-season production locations in the southern hemisphere to accelerate the breeding activities required to develop new products or to bring newly developed products to the market. In the temperate zones, breeders have only one season a year. Normally it takes 5 -10 years or seasons to develop a hybrid.  It is important to have access to additional seasons in counter season production areas to shorten the hybrid development time. 

The seed industry has access to winter breeding locations and experienced seed producers in counter season production areas. Chile has developed a very good network of seed service provider companies that make their services available to the northern hemisphere seed companies. Chile has an added advantage for winter nursery services. The country has designated a non-GMO area!  

GEI has integrated counter season activities for breeding and seed production of their specialty hybrids. This year, we planned the production of parent seed and hybrid seed of two of our new specialty hybrids  GEI 5121 C , a new blue corn hybrid with excellent agronomic traits, very good yield, excellent milling quality and complete blue pigmentation. And the other new specialty hybrid, Orange corn  GEI 2312  a high carotenoid hybrid, with excellent milling qualities and a prime product for making polenta.
This year has been an exceptional year for the seed industry, because of the Covid-19 virus pandemic that has affected all activities. It put to the test the infrastructure, expertise and activities of the seed industry in the counter season production areas and in all the aspects of the transportation industry. People have needed to work away from their office settings and make use of other technologies to accomplish their important work of keeping supplies moving. 

The seed from the counter season production arrived to our location in Iowa in good condition. GEI is forging ahead with their mission. The breeding nurseries are planted and we have the new seed to move the business forward. 

Learn about our specialty seeds:
Shipping and Documentation
We have related how GEI has used winter nurseries to add a generation in continuing inbred development; made crosses with new inbreds that will be used in yield tests; increased parent seed to be used in making hybrid seed and also creating hybrid seed that will be available to customers sooner than later.  We have used winter nurseries many times over the years. Sending seed to Florida, Hawaii and Puerto Rico is relatively easy.  

International nursery services are a little more complicated. To ensure that seed sent overseas is not infested with diseases, a phytosanitary certificate must be presented.  This necessitates a field inspection during the growing season by the Iowa Crop Improvement Assn. The field inspection report goes to the Iowa State Entomologist who issues the phyto.  There is a requirement for a Certificate of Origin, a packing list, a bill of lading for trucking and airfreight logistics, a GEI invoice and of course, a check.  The nursery personnel need detailed instructions on actions to be taken for each row.
Going out
Coming back
Nursery row bags
Hybrid seed, parent seed
Farmer-Owned Business and Entrepreneurship
The Covid-19 virus outbreak and the resulting business disruptions have affected the economy and the prices of farm products. Farmers have reported a 25% reduction in the price of grain. We follow the price of grain around our own crop rotation.  We planted corn last year and we held on to the grain at the elevator until the price will be higher than the Chicago price of $ 3.75/ bushel. The price never got where we expected. We did not want to sell at $3.42 sometime in January and we ended up selling it at $ 2.82 sometime in May.  We felt the pain that farmers feel with the low price of commodities.

In agriculture, we talk about farming being a business. This is a fact, but there are many unknowns. When you are in the commodity business and you cannot control the prices, the only option is to lower the cost of production and to maximize yields. In a year like this one, trade disruptions and the virus pandemic can have serious effects on the farm economy. 

We have heard many farmers looking for other opportunities and options to produce. This year GEI is cooperating with new customers that are starting new specialty grains supply chains to food companies interested in GEI specialty products and customers that will be making their own incursions in the food business from the farm to fork concept. One large processor will be integrating the grain production of one of our specialties with unique characteristics of the grain and a unique final product for consumers. I think extreme disruptions in the food supply chain can result in opportunities to exercise entrepreneurship that brings new opportunities and permanent change.
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