Bayer maybe you can't get any more out of us!

[AlbertaFarmer5]

Is anyone willing to share what cheaper varieties they are growing that are yielding so well?

While I am truly impressed with how invigors perform in my challenging environment, I am not impressed with the customer service, or price. Many bags of seed have the shells/coating falling right off most of the seeds. Which causes them to bridge in the drill. Has happened multiple years, the one year I had random blank strips all over from this. They sent a young student out to look. He eventually acknowledged that this was the cause, after much arguing. took a sample. Never heard from again till I complained the next winter. And now it seems that they have discontinued L120, which performs so well here.

While I'm not impressed with any current Dekalb varieties, I sure do appreciate their service. Rep comes out more than once per year, scouts, calls on the phone, free samples of seed.

[mcfarms]

Bayer has reps? If the price goes up more than the rate of inflation I will go to other companies again until they get their prices competitive.

[bgmb]

You want reps dropping in on your farm a couple times a year?????? What a waste of time. I very seldom have a rep visit my farm just pick up the phone if I happen to need one.

[mcfarms]

That is true , seems the reps for all companies are either invisible or straight out of university annoying.
Will be querying the guy I buy seed from pretty hard come Tuesday morning.

[tweety]

But you'll still buy the seed at whatever they charge.

[tweety]

BTW fellow saskfarmer, That canola looks like it should have been standing for another week or two.

[farmaholic]

Chem and seed company Reps "won't" come here because I am a whiner, constant complainer and won't drink their Kool-aid.

Actually my Bayer dude does return phone calls. But I'm only a small fish swimming with whales and sharks.....the kind of fish that get all the attention.

[freewheat]

Paid 7.50 an acre this year for my seed. Next year my cost will be cleaning more or less. Trouble is, my crops sucks, and so it is not a good trial. Will give it another go next year.

So unlike what some say, you do not HAVE to spend all that money on seed.

People seem to forget net dollars, and go for broke trying to hit that magic gross dollar figure.

It is about the NET. Trouble is, it doesn't sound great on gossip row to not have those big gross numbers. 35 bushels isn't sexy like 50 is, but what was spent to get there, and what is the NET? Finally, does no one care about risk anymore? I personally can afford to lose 7.50 an acre. But losing 80 hurts a bit more, if frost, too wet, or whatever happens.

It is all agronomy anyway that has led the yield improvements. That, and steady, more significant rainfall in general, which has helped typically dry areas look like canola heaven.

[hobbyfrmr]

Farmers need canola to make cash flow and possibly profit. It has been a few years since I looked at a map but area 9A was like 46% planted acres were canola. They need canola to gross big money to pay for operating, labour, expensive land and machinery.
They will buy the seed because they need to plant canola. No other crop can gross/net that kind of money.
Farmers growing lentils from Melville to Melfort to Meadow Lake. Some of those crops are going to be very good. Canola , lentils, canola will be the new rotation until is doesnt work. By then those farmers will have accomplished their financial goals and retire multi millionaires.
The end.

[tweety]

Which nets more, 50 bushel peas or 50 bushel canola? Or 40 bushel flax crop that you have your own seed for and half the fert cost? Or 80 to 90 bushel malt? Or 70 bushel fabas ? All relative yields on a good year.