Seed Today - Q3 2008 - (Page 7)

with in 1946,” say Chad and Coby. “Being a small, family-owned business is an advantage in the marketplace. We can produce a better product at a lower cost than bigger companies because of our low overhead and personal attention to each customer’s seed.” All of Scott Seed’s production is on irrigated land to assure both quality and yield. Most of the seed is grown in Deaf Smith County surrounding Hereford. Most of the sorghum seed produced by Scott Seed is forage varieties including brown midrib (BMR) hybrids, silage varieties, sorghum-sudangrass hybrids, sweet sorghums and high biomass forages. Seed production is certified by the Texas Department of Agriculture, the official state seed certifying agency. tion plots from Texas northward through the winter wheat area into western Kansas, Scott Seed negotiated exclusive licensing rights to one of Texas A&M’s newest wheat varieties—TAM 304. “When we looked at this new variety in the light of what our customers are asking for, it was an obvious choice,” Chad says. Registered TAM 304 is available in for 2008 planting. Sorghum Revolution For many years, sorghum was a crop relegated to marginal cropland too dry to raise a good corn crop. That position began to change when BMR sorghum entered the market eight years ago as a highly digestible forage crop for livestock production. Ethanol production using sorghum grain has added another important new market for grain sorghum. In Hereford, one ethanol production facility designed to use sorghum is producing 100 million gallons per year (MMGY). Another 115 MMGY facility is being planned. Sorghum is also gaining attention as a source of biomass for biofuel production. Evaluating New Varieties Each year, Scott Seed evaluates several new sorghum varieties from many different universities and private nurseries. Varieties are usually released for evaluation two or three years prior to public release. The evaluation process has become more involved as new BRM and sweet sorghum varieties are developed. Heightened interest in sorghum as a feedstock for biofuel production has added yet another layer of complexity. “The evaluation process must begin with knowing what your customers want and need,” says Coby. “A product is good only to the extent that it is able to meet customer needs. Lately, those needs have become a moving target that is increasingly difficult to anticipate several years away.” Customer expectations for wheat products are also changing as farmers become more concerned about the possible effects of changing weather patterns. “Wheat yield has always been topmost in farmers’ minds, but now they are looking for varieties that will do well in more extreme weather conditions like heat and drought,” Chad says. “Adaptability across wide regions is becoming more important.” After two years of observing evalua- Scott Seed Company’s sorghum seed is cleaned by a Clipper airscreen (right) and an Oliver gravity separator (not shown). Second Quarter 2004

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Seed Today - Q3 2008

Seed Today - Q3 2008 Contents Editor’s Notes Cover Feature Fred Miller, Ph.D., MMR Genetics Crosbyton Seed Company AOSCA Greg Lowry Floyd Hansmeirer AOSA/SCST According to ASTA Seedsellers, Inc. BinMaster Blake Sieker Ad Index

Seed Today - Q3 2008

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