Azam Nikzad, market analyst/coordinating researcher with the Alberta government, says the advantage of using certified seed often justifies the higher upfront cost.

“Producers aim to optimize their choices by maximizing productivity and reducing production risk. The expectation is that these seeds will yield better and ultimately lead to increased revenue,” said Nikzad.

Over the past decade in Alberta, certified No. 1 wheat seed showed a general upward price trend until 2022, with an average annual increase of two per cent.

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The Indianapolis-based company also forecast higher net sales in 2024, falling in the range of $17.4 billion to $17.7 billion, banking on demand for grain, oilseeds and biofuels.

Though global crop prices have fallen from last year, they remained elevated compared to historical averages, leading to farmers harvesting more to cash in on elevated crop prices.

Corteva, spun off in 2019 after a merger of Dow Chemical and Dupont, reported net sales of $17.23 billion in 2023, staying in the $17-$17.3 billion range that the company had forecasted.

Net sales were at $3.71 billion for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with estimates of $3.62 billion, as per LSEG data.

Sales from seed business were $1.64 billion, down 0.6 per cent due to lower volumes, with farmers delaying purchases due to unfavorable weather in Brazil.

However, this was offset by higher seed prices led by North American and European markets, and increased corn acres in North America.

For the crop protection segment, Corteva’s reported net sales were nearly 5 per cent lower on both falling volumes and prices especially in Latin America, and channel inventory destocking.

Brazil’s drought caused farmers to delay fertilizer purchases for their corn-planting season, denting sales for global fertilizer suppliers including Corteva, which had to sell its Brazilian stock at a discount due to tepid demand.

In 2024, crop markets may face tighter supplies due to adverse El Nino-related weather effects, export restrictions and higher biofuel mandates, analysts said.

Shares of Corteva were down 0.8 per cent after the market closed yesterday.

The operating core profit was 15 cents per share, compared with average analysts’ estimate of 6 cents.

–Reporting for Reuters by Seher Dareen in Bengaluru.

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In an Agri-News article in mid-February, Ryan Furtas said barley seed prices shot up eight per cent in a month and are now 26 per cent higher than the five-year average. The price for certified wheat seed has also increased, but at a more modest pace and is “just” nine per cent higher than the five-year average.

“Wheat prices have not increased as dramatically as barley in the past six months,” Furtas said in the article. “The warm, dry growing season led to good-quality seed in 2021. The previous years of 2019 and 2020 had higher seed volumes produced, but also had higher instances of disease and relatively lower germination rates.”

Currently, the average wheat seed price is $62 per 100 kilograms while certified barley seed cost has jumped to $54 per 100 kilograms.

“High cash prices and low yields throughout the Prairie provinces are the main driving factors of the cereal seed cost increase,” said Furtas. “Despite the low inventories, 2021 cereal seed is good quality, with samples of each showing relatively strong germination and very low instances of disease such as fusarium.”

There’s not a lot of data on use of certified seed. One oft-cited study dates back to a survey done in 2004 that found saved seed was sown on 70 to 80 per cent of Prairie cereal acres.

But many producers used certified seed on some of their acres, said Furtas.

“There are several good reasons to use certified seed,” he said. “The primary reason is to gain access to new varieties with improved genetics. The cost of certified seed can be offset with improved yields, harvest advantages and lower instances of disease.”

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