Maintaining purity during seed production means paying a great deal of attention to field isolation, field inspection, and equipment sanitation. Every attempt is made to prevent off-type seeds and plants from contaminating production fields or seed lots. Complete documentation at every point during the production cycle allows our production staff to accurately track each hybrid from planting through bagging.

In the Field

• More than 95% of our seed is produced under irrigation to hedge against risks.
• Foundation seed used for hybrid seed production is produced under Crop Improvement Association certification standards and screened for all off-types.
• Production fields are properly isolated according to Crop Improvement Association standards including isolation by distance and pollen parent border rows.
• No advanced technology trait production is allowed in conventional hybrid production fields.
• Food grade hybrid production fields are given special isolation to reduce the potential for contamination.
• Planting equipment is kernel cleaned between fields.
• Field inspections occur on a routine basis throughout the entire growing season during which, among other tasks, flowering information is recorded and isolation standards are verified.

Sweet Corn Harvesting Method

For optimal seed quality, the innovative “sweet corn harvesting” method leaves the husk intact to protect the seed.

Advantages

• Reduces disease and insect damage due to earlier harvest
• Reduces field loss caused by shelling of dry seed during harvest
• Reduces damage due to seed on seed handling
• Reduces costs as more seed is harvested and there is less risk of freeze damage with later harvest
• Reduces compaction and damage to growers’ fields as seed is harvested during dryer months of August and September, thus improving the long term yield of our seed fields

At Harvest

• Prior to harvest, each field is tagged with hybrid specifications and the field tag will accompany the first load of seed to the receiving plant to be matched with other production documentation.
• Every load of seed must have a field ticket to be unloaded at the receiving location. The ticket will follow the seed throughout the conditioning plant during husking, sorting, drying, shelling, sizing and storage.
• Ear samples are taken for all fields at the receiving plant and examined for physical quality, moisture and ear type.

In the Processing Plant

• When advanced technology trait hybrids are processed, each conditioning run is designated to prevent accidental contamination.
• All conditioning plant equipment is kernel cleaned between hybrids.
• Accurate records are maintained of all lots processed including the order of processing and the quality of seed processed.
• Shelled grain samples are taken from each lot of bulk seed to evaluate overall quality, seed sizing and to identify any special conditioning methods that may be required.