Winnipeg, Manitoba
November 29, 2007
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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. |
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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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