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CLEARFIELD lentils make an ‘Impact’ - Fast Seed Farm wins top honours at Agribition Pedigreed Seed Competition

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Winnipeg, Manitoba
November 29, 2007

Joel Johnson (left), Business Representative with BASF Canada, congratulates Walter Fast of Fast Seed Farm on winning the Grand Champion, Reserve Grand Champion and Grand Aggregate Pulse Champion awards at Agribition. Fast won the awards for his CLEARFIELD lentil CDC Impact and CDC Imperial entries.

Fast Seed Farm Ltd. of Kindersley, Saskatchewan was recently awarded the highest honour in the pulses category – Grand Aggregate Pulse Champion – at the Canadian Western Agribition Pedigreed Seed Competition.

Walter and Linda Fast, owners of Fast Seed Farm Ltd., took home Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion in the lentils, chickpeas or beans category with samples of CLEARFIELD® lentil CDC Impact seed and CLEARFIELD lentil CDC Imperial seed respectively. They also went one step further and were placed at the top of the show winning the Grand Aggregate Pulse award with their CLEARFIELD lentil CDC Impact entry.

"It’s exciting," says Walter Fast. "It’s the first time ever that I’ve achieved the Grand Aggregate honour. I’ve won ribbons in individual categories before, but this time it went a little beyond that, and that’s a nice feeling."

Fast Seed Farm is a grain farm cropping just over 6,500 acres, which is split between commercial crop and pedigreed seed production. In 2007 they grew several varieties of durum wheat, red spring wheat, malt barley, flax, canary seed, yellow peas and red and green lentils for pedigreed seed production. Of these, Walter grew 160 acres each of CDC Impact CL (red lentil) and CDC Imperial CL (red lentil), and had two additional small plots of CDC Improve CL (large green lentil) and a new CLEARFIELD lentil variety CDC 3110 CL (extra-small red lentil).

“On behalf of BASF we’d like to congratulate Fast Seed Farm on winning the Grand Aggregate Pulse award,” says Scott Chapman, CLEARFIELD Brand Manager with BASF Canada. “It’s achievements such as this that demonstrate the dedication, commitment and passion that pedigreed seed growers have for the development of quality seed and seed innovations. And, we’d like to thank Walter and Linda for their commitment to helping support the industry and for growing CLEARFIELD lentils.”

Fast noted that he’s been entering the Agribition Pedigreed Seed Competition for the past ten years and selected samples of his 2006 CDC Impact and CDC Imperial crop to enter in the lentil, chickpea or bean category this year because “they were very nice looking samples. These samples were grown on a small acreage and I got terrific yields and a very nice looking lentil sample.”

2006 was his first year growing the CLEARFIELD lentil varieties, says Fast, and so far he’s impressed with the results. “In 2006 our CDC Impact and CDC Imperial lentils yielded around 34-35 bu/ac, and this year (2007) we got 34 bu/ac off CDC Imperial and 33bu/ac off CDC Impact, so we’ve gotten some good, consistent results,” says Fast. “They were also exceptionally clean fields, which was impressive for the first year we grew them. I think the CLEARFIELD lentil production system works really well. It definitely results in cleaner fields – I’ve seen it a couple years in a row now.”

“It’s experiences like Walter’s and those of other growers who tried CLEARFIELD lentils for the first time in 2007 that are showcasing this system and its ability to produce good yields, outstanding quality, and significantly cleaner fields, which is exciting as we approach the second year of CLEARFIELD lentil commercial availability,” says Chapman.

To enter the Canadian Western Agribition Pedigreed Seed Competition, seed must be a pedigreed seed sample from a declared pedigree seed lot that the grower has for sale. Growers also need to show that the seed sample has been sampled by and has met the seed growers’ standards, which includes germination testing and disease testing for pulses. Seed entries can be from the past two growing years. Samples in the lentil, chickpea and beans class are judged on various factors including cleanliness, appearance, freedom from weed seeds, uniformity, size and colour.

Winning Agribition pedigreed seed samples are auctioned off at the awards banquet each year. Money raised through the sample auction goes towards supporting an Agribition student scholarship, supporting future Agribition activities, and is shared with winning seed growers. Fast Seed Farm’s winning CDC Impact sample was purchased by BASF.

About BASF Agricultural Products division
With sales of €3,079 million in 2006, BASF’s Agricultural Products division is a leader in crop protection and a strong partner to the farming industry providing well-established and innovative fungicides, insecticides and herbicides. Farmers use these products and services to improve crop yields and crop quality. Other uses include public health, structural/urban pest control, turf and ornamental plants, vegetation management, and forestry. BASF aims to turn knowledge rapidly into market success. The vision of BASF’s Agricultural Products division is to be the world’s leading innovator, optimizing agricultural production, improving nutrition, and thus enhancing the quality of life for a growing world population. Further information can be found on the web at www.agro.basf.com
BASF - The Chemical Company. We don't make a lot of the products you buy. We make a lot of the products you buy better.®

BASF Corporation, headquartered in New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF AG, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF employs more than 15,500 in North America and had sales of approximately $14.3 billion in 2006.

BASF is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products, agricultural products and fine chemicals to crude oil and natural gas. As a reliable partner to virtually all industries, BASF’s high-value products and intelligent system solutions help its customers to be more successful. BASF develops new technologies and uses them to meet the challenges of the future and open up additional market opportunities. It combines economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility, thus contributing to a better future. BASF has approximately 95,000 employees and posted sales of €52.6 billion (approximately $66.1 billion) in 2006. Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com

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CLEARFIELD is a registered trademark of BASF. © 2007 BASF Canada Inc.

 

 

 

 

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