Every crop begins with a seed.
In today’s world of specific-trait, genetically modified and hybrid crops, those seeds are worth their weight (at least) in gold, and in the span of a generation, seed costs have increased exponentially, but in many cases the resulting crops offset that input cost.
“Twenty years ago, you were looking at $15-$20 an acre,” said Jim Mead, owner of Delta Grains, a seed and grain brokerage service near Jonesboro. “Back in our day, that’s what it would cost you, versus $150-$160 per acre cost now.”
Mead recalled a time when many rice farmers would broadcast their seed, distributing it widely rather than in rows, covering the seed using an implement. Now, techniques are much more complex.
“We were trying to get 20 pounds to an acre. Now, everything has to be a lot more precisionally planted,” he said.
Dr. Brian Ottis, global solutions development lead for RiceTec Inc., agreed that planting methods have evolved as the seed technology has.
“Our data indicate that a grower can maximize the return from RiceTec products by matching their seed selection to their soil type and production practices,” Ottis said. “For example, our internal data as well as university data have found that Clearfield XL729 tends to perform better on heavy clay soils than Clearfield XL745. Additionally, Clearfield XL729 has better ratoon crop performance than Clearfield XL745.
“Multiple seed choices also provide growers and millers marketing opportunities as every rice cultivar has different characteristics. Rice cultivars may have specific functional properties or grain size characteristics that lend themselves to certain types of post-harvest processing and final products.”
A “ratoon” crop is a second rice crop during the same growing season. For the most part, ratoon crops are only viable in the southern part of Arkansas and in locales south of there.
Ottis said the increased seed costs are a part of the simple input-output equation, one that he contends RiceTec has capitalized on.
“We price our seed relative to the value delivered. The value is the balance between the additional income generated minus the additional cost of the seed. In a period of low rice prices where margins are being squeezed at the farm gate, maximizing productivity of inputs is more important than ever,” he said. “The University of Arkansas yield trials and economic analysis have consistently demonstrated the financial benefit of planting RiceTec products. At the end of the day, a bushel of rice produced with RiceTec seed costs less than a bushel of rice produced by other competitive products. Additionally, our products have been found to be better for the environment than others by using nitrogen and water more efficiently and reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the need for fungicides.”
Today’s seeds offer high-yields and chemical-resistant traits that simply weren’t available in generations past, but the technology revolution didn’t just begin.
“Round-up Ready soybeans have been here since 1993. They just lost the 20-year patent on them,” Mead said. “So, of course, now there is Roundup 2.”
And even chemical-resistant crop varieties aren’t perfect. Mead noted that traditional soybean varieties would out-yield the chemical-resistant varieties where they were viable.
The business of the seed industry has evolved over time, Mead said, in that today a handful of companies control most of the market.
“Monsanto — I remember when that was just a little old company, just a little bitty old company. They started inserting these traits, making Roundup-Ready soybeans, and they turned it into a multi-billion-dollar company. Now, they control the whole industry,” he said.
Mead explained that hybrid rice varieties — a new seed created from marrying the traits of one variety with those of another without genetically modifying either variety — have not only provided specific traits to rice crops but have also funded ongoing research at universities around the country.
“At the University of Louisiana (LSU) they sprayed New Path, which at one time was a soybean chemical. They had a few varieties survive. That was just a natural deal, and the university has made millions and millions of dollars off it,” he said.
Ottis said that producing technologically advanced seed varieties requires a large investment of resources and time.
“The key to success of our seeds is a combination of access to the widest collection of rice germplasm across the world, and a global team of scientists, technicians and agronomy professionals that combine and test these materials in more than 200 locations across the rice growing regions of the U.S.,” Ottis said. “In order to get a breakthrough product like XL753, it takes between six to eight years of crossing, testing and validation. This process requires a high investment in research and development. RiceTec reinvests a large percentage of our annual revenue into new product development and customer service.”
Ottis explained that the process of bringing a new variety to market involves extensive field testing, and in the big-money market of commercial seed, bringing to bear resources around the world is an advantage.
“Having the ability to increase seed at our winter nursery in Puerto Rico helps move this process along more quickly and increase speed to market,” he said. “All the steps along the way are important; therefore, we have dedicated, experienced teams of people throughout the process that deliver the final product to market. While the breeders get much of the credit for a successful product, the folks behind the scenes and out in the field do the important work of advancing the product and supporting it in the market, thereby making the company successful.”
Despite the fact that there are more seed varieties than ever, shortages of popular varieties are not unheard of. Ottis said that this happens because a particular variety’s success isn’t always obvious until late in the cycle for the next year’s seed production.
“Excesses and shortages of one particular product are normal in the seed industry,” he said. “This happens because the production of the seed is done prior to receiving the results of the last harvest campaign. RiceTec is working closely with processors, distributors and growers to minimize this common deviation.”
Mead said that medium grain rice seed in Arkansas is somewhat tight on supply based on an increased expectation of planting this spring.
“But the only thing that is probably going to run short is non-GMO soybeans. There is a poultry company doing a lot of non-GMO soybeans for their feed so they will have chicken to sell in the stores that are non-GMO products,” he said.
In an industry where the fiscal stakes are high, one might expect that some players would try to get an upper hand through nefarious means. Ottis acknowledged that corporate espionage can be a factor.
“We are aware of some recent events of alleged seed espionage in other crops and one possibly involving rice in Arkansas,” Ottis said. “We do not condone this type of activity. Respect for intellectual property rights is the key to keeping investments in new product development high so that the best possible products are available to customers. We go to great lengths to protect our intellectual property rights for this very reason.”
What is on the horizon for seed technology? Ottis said that creating seeds that improve energy, water and fertilizer efficiencies is key. Sustainability is the new buzzword.
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