All of Monsanto’s Canadian seed dealers will sell Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans by seed count instead of by weight starting this year.
Bags of the Roundup-tolerant soybean seed varieties will contain 140,000 seeds per unit, compared to the varying seed count in the “traditional” 22.7-kg (50-pound) bag, Winnipeg-based Monsanto Canada announced Tuesday.
A precise seed count will help farmers move “seamlessly” from seed purchases to field planting calculations, the company said.
Farmers “will know exactly how many units to buy based on the number of acres they need to plant. This, in turn, will help with planting accuracy, which ultimately contributes to improved yields and economic returns.”
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Selling by seed count is already a “well established” practice in marketing seed corn, and will help those soybean growers who are still focused on planting by the pound, according to Ontario provincial soybean specialist Horst Bohner in Monsanto’s release.
“Planting by the pound is not as accurate as it should be,” Bohner said. “If seed is sold by count and not by the pound it should lead to more accurate seeding rates being used.”
As well, given the “increasing value” of seed, soybean growers sometimes “look to cap those investments by selecting smaller seed varieties,” he said.
“However, not all small seed varieties are the best in terms of genetics or yield potential,” Bohner cautioned. “Seed selection should not be based on seed size.”
The practice of selling by seed count will also be extended to new soybean trait technologies Monsanto introduces in the future, according to Mike Nailor, Monsanto’s trait marketing lead for the Eastern Canada region, in the company’s release.
