Seed Company Thrives With Conventional Varieties

Seed Company Thrives With Conventional Varieties CROPS Miscellaneous Canadian Vince Trudell worked nearly 30 years for seed companies until the late 90’s when GMO seeds were introduced He didn’t like the way customers were being pressured to buy the new seed so he started his own company Trudell focused strictly on conventional seed products when he launched De Dell Seeds in 1999 He started small with a few devoted customers and ran the business himself until 2010 gaining higher volume and new customers each year He says farmers who used the conventional corn hybrids he started with had consistent yields and they were able to save $20 to $30 an acre by not having to pay the technology fees associated with traited GMO seed His son Will who’d helped his father in the business as a young man joined the company in 2010 as the first full time employee Since then the father-son operation has seen continuous year-after-year growth “Over the years we’ve expanded the product line Now it includes 34 conventional corn hybrids 6 of which are specific for silage and 28 for grain “says Will Trudell ” We’ve also added organic seed corn which was a natural fit into our company philosophy We employ leading-edge genetics with an in-house breeding and development team that works to provide well-tested and high-performing hybrids Our products use a diverse genetic base and our hybrid mix has a diverse background to meet a variety of farming practices ” De Dell now has 5 additional full-time employees that have really helped the company grow market share in Ontario and Quebec “We have a few customers in other provinces and just recently began selling in the U S after getting inquiries from farmers down there ” says Trudell De Dell has test plots in 6 different locations that cover all maturity groups the company offers Prices range from $141 to $209 per bag for the conventional corn seed and $249 for organic seed The company doesn’t sell soybeans Trudell says he and his father really feel the conventional or non-GMO market is growing because it’s consumer-driven De Dell’s silage products in particular are gaining wider acceptance because livestock producers are realizing that cattle respond well to conventional grain Al Nixon a customer from L’Orignal Ontario says “Once I switched back to a conventional feeding program my herd has never been healthier I’ve significantly reduced my veterinary bill and at the same time increased production ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Will Trudell De Dell Seeds 2479 Main Street P O Box 129 Lambeth Stn London Ontario N6P 1P9 Canada ph 519 203-2676; will@dedellseeds com; www dedellseeds com

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