Western Canada’s soybean and corn seed industry is seeing some changes, as Delmar Commodities is dropping its Legend Seeds business and signing new distribution agreements with Sevita International Corporation and Horizon Seeds Canada Inc.
Delmar will also be rebranding its Legend Seeds Canada trade name to “Ceres Global Seeds,” reflecting the name of the Minneapolis, Min.-based company that acquired Delmar in 2019.
The shake-up follows news earlier this spring that South Dakota-based Legend Seeds Inc. will no longer be licensed to grow or sell seed products containing traits owned by Bayer after the 2020 growing season. The loss of access to Bayer’s traits led Delmar to seek different partners who could supply seed containing the common herbicide-tolerance genetics, including Roundup Ready 2 and Roundup Ready 2 Xtend varieties.
Delmar has become one of the largest independent soybean seed distributors in Manitoba since becoming the exclusive distributor for Legend Seeds in Western Canada approximately 10 years ago.
The Winkler, Man.-based grain processor and seed distributor was acquired by Ceres Global Ag last summer.
“By acquiring Delmar less than one year ago, and through the inclusion of its seed and processing division, we made significant progress on our goal to diversify into agriculture-related businesses in regions we know and understand well,” says Robert Day, president and CEO of Ceres, in a statement.
“To enhance that diversification, we conducted a rigorous review to identify the best possible seed companies that will allow us to continue delivering superior value to our dealer network and their growers. Our team identified Sevita and Horizon as partners with high-quality products and a strong commitment to service, which is consistent with our corporate vision to be the most trusted and valued partner to quality-conscious customers.”
Sevita International is an Ontario-based soybean company that develops and sells varieties under its ProSeeds brand with the Xtend and Enlist traits, and has a strong focus on non-GMO food grade soybean genetics. Horizon Seeds is a family-operated corn seed business based in Courtland, Ontario.