Zeneca Seeds Inc. and Pickseed Canada have announced the signing of a long-term collaboration agreement between these two established seed companies.

Under the terms of the agreement, Zeneca Seeds will acquire the germplasm, breeding material and inbred lines from the Pickseed corn breeding program. This program, established in 1976, is noted for producing high performance hybrids for early maturity and livestock production areas in Eastern Canada.

"Pickseed research, under the leadership of Jim Cooper, MSc., has led to the development of excellent silage varieties, which are characterized by having high yield, improved digestibility and soft starch grain for added energy", notes Martin Pick, Vice-President of Pickseed Canada. "This agreement will ensure that Canadian producers in early maturity areas will continue to have access to elite hybrids that provide both high yield and excellent feed quality."

Zeneca Seeds markets Garst brand seed corn in Canada. Zeneca Seeds and Garst Seed Company are both member companies of Advanta, the fourth largest seed company in the world. Garst is recognized as a leader in the development of high performance hybrids and leading edge technologies. This includes the patented "Whiskers" gene transformation system used to incorporate and stack novel input and output traits in crops including corn and canola. Garst is the North American 'leader in the development of SMART IT corn hybrids that are tolerant to IMI based herbicides, as well as G-STAC hybrids that combine multiple novel traits including SMART IT, Liberty Link, Roundup Ready and multiple Bt technologies. Garst is also the market leader in the development of high pH corn, which is now being tested in Canada.

As part of this agreement, Pickseed will continue to market its current, leading edge hybrids under the Pickseed trademark and produce seed corn at its Tilbury, Ontario location. New high performance hybrids will be marketed through this collaboration under the Pickseed brand with the added feature of carrying "GARST TECHNOLOGY"

"We are extremely pleased to be teamed with Pickseed through this agreement," notes Howard Morris, General Manager for Zeneca Seeds in Canada. "This agreement will benefit producers through the development of high performance hybrids that incorporate the best genetics and the latest technology developments for early maturity areas of both Eastern and Western Canada."

For more information on this unique collaboration agreement, contact either Zeneca Seeds at 1-800-661-9000 or PICKSEED at 1-800-661-4769.

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