Fall Seed Preview #3

This is the last of the NWGG Seed Department's electronic newsletters for this fall season. There is a lot of content in this edition, and we tried to have some fun throughout, so read along carefully.

A print edition will be mailed to NWGG members soon that will have seed prices and other updates.

Don't forget to share your feedback with us on this series. We need your input to get better at what we do!

You can reply to this email or reach out directly to CEO Chris Peha at cpeha@nwgrgr.com

If you missed the first two newsletters, you can find them on our homepage at www.nwgrgr.com.

"To have what the customer wants before they know they need it."

NWGG Seed Department Strategic Vision Statement

As always, we encourage you to pre-order your seed as soon as possible and contact a Seed Department representative for more information.

Employee Highlights

We can't do it without them & neither can you!

Sprinkled throughout this newsletter are pieces about some of the folks we all rely on to help make NWGG's Seed Department the largest and most successful in the region.

Anthony Arellano

Walla Walla

Years in Industry: 10

What's one thing you enjoy about working for NWGG's Seed Dept.?

"Working with great people and interacting with farmers from all over the PNW."

Joey Arellano

Walla Walla

Years in Industry: 4

What's something you think is exciting about NWGG that most people won't know?

"Our new chemical room design will give us even more precision when treating your trucks.

Daniel Bailey

Lancaster

Years in Industry: 14

What's one thing you've found interesting about this role that you didn't expect?

"I like learning about the different diseases that effect wheat and the soil, along with how we help to combat those with the different treatments that we have."

"High Rainfall" Seed Trial Plots

The below seed plot data sets were compiled by NWGG, OSU, and WSU,

either in partnership with each other or separately.

Several of the plots have a few HRW varieties mixed in with the SWW. Their protein results will be skewed as such.

Note: NWGG's Dayton plot was omitted due to higher-than-allowable variances in datasets.

The below tables are clickable links that will open full screen images for you to view.

Walla Walla

NWGG

Walla Walla

NWGG CL+/AX

Walla Walla

WSU SWW

Dayton

WSU SWW

Dayton & WW

WSU HRW

Pendleton

OSU

Stand Establishment is something we're BIG on

NWGG's Seed Department carries several "growth promotor" and stand establishment products to treat your fall seed with.

We feel the use of these products is even more critical in years with poor soil conditions!

The CoAXium Blends

NWGG will be featuring three CoAXium soft white wheat (SWW) variety blends this fall that are purposefully built for different agronomic zones. They're designed to be competitive with each other and no blend is "better" than the others - they're just more suited to certain farming practices than others.

The variety names have clickable links built into them that will take you to snippets of each variety from LimaGrain Cereal Seeds' Pacific Northwest Soft White Winter Wheat Seed Website.

The "KHYS" Blend:

• A formidable mix of LCS Kraken AX, LCS Hydra AX, and the new LCS Scorpion.
• Features strong yield potential and great standability.
• A later maturing and best suited for earlier seeding/germination date.

The "Re-Dag" Blend:

• A robust 4-way blend of LCS Sol AX, LCS Mani AX, LCS Dagger AX, and the new LCS Reaper AX (too new for a clickable link!).
• High ratios of REaper and DAGger tip the scales towards even higher straw strength for plant standability.
• Geared towards operations that plant later and need quick, early growing genetics.

The "Scol-Man" Blend:

• You maybe guessed it - LCS Scorpion AX + LCS Sol AX + LCS Mani AX.
• Great yield potential, good standability, and improved stripe rust resistance are the highlights for this grouping.
• Built as a blend of maturities to suit almost any planting situation that a grower would need it for.

Lupe Benavides

Dayton

Years in Industry: 42

You've seen many changes in your career - tell us something that sticks out for you.

"The advancements in technology. When I first started, we used to pump chemicals out of a five-gallon bucket - now we control everything from a computer or cell phone. It's truly amazing!"

David Brock

Dayton

Years in Industry: 4

What's a highlight to you about working in the seed industry?

"I enjoy working with new varieties and seed treatments most, but also all of the new technology.

Tony Emineth

Walla Walla

Years in Industry: 4

You're busy during harvest, but you're even busier in the fall...are you ready?

"My favorite time of year is fall. Treating and loading seed for farmers is fun and enjoyable to me. We all work together and are a tightknit group of co-workers which makes the job fun and worth doing to me."

An aerial view of NWGG's seed plot in Garfield, WA

The "Plot Work"

Did you know NWGG's Seed Department offers the most varieties and seed treatment choices in the Pacific Northwest?



In order to stay on the cutting edge, NWGG employs our own seed trial plots in different areas, often in conjunction with universities, agribusiness companies, and plant breeders.

But, why...and how?

Why: Plot work is typically conducted on new and upcoming products/varieties that producers of seeds, chemicals, fertilizers, and other crop inputs wish to bring to market. A field trial is often the culmination of several years (sometimes decades) of laboratory and greenhouse experiments that need a "real world" example. Some plots are even purposefully inoculated with high rates of funguses and diseases can be evaluated against.

Farmers benefit heavily from trial plots, giving a glimpse into research and development that could soon be critical to their bottom line.

An aerial view of NWGG's seed plot on Russell Creek Rd in Walla Walla

How: Each "entry," be it a variety, seed treatment application (often called a "chemistry") or combinations of both, is replicated four times throughout each plot over five different climatic regions in the Pacific Northwest. Replication of these products within a trial and throughout several growing regions ensures the results we procure are not anomalies, but more so statistical evidence that reinforces the performance of the entry that we are testing.

Every variety and chemical entry are hand treated, packaged, sorted into planting order - all in-house - and then planted. That's hundreds of small, precisely handled entries!

Throughout the growing season we measure a variety of important plant and agronomic characteristics like:

• 4-foot moisture samples (pre-planting)
• Emergence and germination notes (timing, vigor, conditions, etc.)
• Canopeo notes (a numerical value to each varieties spring regrowth)
• Disease mapping (if necessary)
• Heading notes (when, how robust, etc.)
• Plant height and straw strength/lodging figures
• Wireworm presence and trapping data

Ultimately, findings from these test plots gives NWGG's Seed Department the tools and knowledge needed to offer the best possible varieties and seed prescriptions for each grower’s environmental needs or constraints. 

This section was written and prepared by NWGG Seed Department employee Tate Gabriel

David Johnson

Lancaster

Years in Industry: 1

What's something you enjoy about your role?

"I enjoy the people that I work with and being able to interact with growers. I like learning all that I can about the varieties we have, along with new ones coming out, and the different seed treatments we offer."

Mark Schreindl

Walla Walla

Years in Industry: 28

You too have seen some major changes in your career. What sticks out to you about that?

"Seeing how much we've grown. Seeing the customer base and production grow year-after-year into one of the biggest operations in the country...being a part of that is a big deal to me."

Cody Scott

Dayton

Year in Industy: 7

You're about to be a busy guy. Are you ready for fall seed season?

"I enjoy the challenge of being as accurate as possible to ensure the growers get the best quality product. In other words, 'I love it when a plan comes together!'"

Reminder: Many modern varieties require the signing of a "No Saving of Seed" and/or "Stewardship Agreement" contract(s) as part of the terms of their propagation.

All agreements need to be signed and updated before seed is picked up.

Ask a NWGG Seed Department employee for more details.

The caption reads: Feral rye TREATED with Aggressor herbicide on the left and UNTREATED on the right. Trial conducted by Montana State University - Ed Davis

From the LimaGrain Cereal Seeds CoAXium website http://limagraincerealseeds.com/coaxium

All four of NWGG's seed plants are equipped with industry-leading cleaning, blending, treating, and color-coding technology to ensure that we can provide you with a customized seeding solution that meets your specific requirements.

Take it one step further and provide us with field maps, agronomic data, historical charts, pictures, stories, samples, and more. This will allow us to demonstrate our problem-solving approach, showcase the concept of "prescription seeding," and illustrate our dedication to delivering comprehensive solutions.

Phone a (Wheat) Friend!

We asked industry expert Dr. Christina Hagerty for her thoughts on Soil Borne Wheat Mosaic Virus (SBWMV) - an increasingly common and harmful pathogen that wheat breeders, growers, and agronomists are trying to cope with.

Here is what she had to say:

What is SBWMV and why is it a concern?

"SBWMV is vectored by a soilborne fungal-like organism that moves in the soil solution. Our past Oregon Wheat Commission funded research has indicated that SBWMV can cause yield loss of up to 40% in susceptible varieties. We also documented the expanding distribution of SBWMV from the original point of identification in the Walla Walla area in 2008."

Rain-fed commercial winter wheat field near Dixie, WA, with chlorotic symptoms of Soil-borne wheat mosaic virus. Chlorotic symptoms follow the low-lying water drainage pattern of the field. Photo credit C. Hagerty.

Published in: Duncan R. Kroese; Sudeep Bag; Ken E. Frost; Tim D. Murray; Christina H. Hagerty; Plant Health Progress 19, 163-167.

Copyright © 2018 The American Phytopathological Society • DOI: 10.1094/PHP-10-17-0064-DG

So, the organism only lives in the soil and seems to have a foothold in our area already. How does its infection process work?

• "Wheat seedlings are typically infected in winter when the ground is cool and wet (after the high rainfall in crop year 2022 we saw additional expansion of the known acreage impacted by SBWMV).
• As the wheat plant breaks dormancy at the end of winter, seedlings begin to show mosaic mottling on young tissues.
• Symptoms typically progress until daytime temperatures reach 70F and virus replication shuts down."

Irrigated commercial winter wheat field near Echo, OR, with uniformly distributed chlorotic symptoms of Soil-borne wheat mosaic virus (SBWMV). SBWMV-susceptible cultivar (right) and SBWMV-resistant cultivar (left). Photo credit B. Allstot.

Published in: Duncan R. Kroese; Sudeep Bag; Ken E. Frost; Tim D. Murray; Christina H. Hagerty; Plant Health Progress 19, 163-167.

Copyright © 2018 The American Phytopathological Society • DOI: 10.1094/PHP-10-17-0064-DG

Can we tell just by looking at the seedlings and young plants whether the virus is present?

"Molecular identification is highly recommended for SBWMV, because symptoms can look like many other maladies (e.g., nutrient deficiency, other viruses)."

What resources are available if we suspect we have a SBWMV issue?

"Molecular identification can be accomplished at the Hermiston Plant Clinic – plants should be collected for diagnostics as soon as you see symptoms appear in springtime."

You can also use the following link to a diagnostic guide provided by Dr. Hagerty (also the source of the photos in this section): SBWMV Diagnostic Guide

Winter wheat with chlorotic mottling owing to early season Soil-borne wheat mosaic virus infection. Photo credit D. Kroese.

Published in: Duncan R. Kroese; Sudeep Bag; Ken E. Frost; Tim D. Murray; Christina H. Hagerty; Plant Health Progress 19, 163-167.

Copyright © 2018 The American Phytopathological Society • DOI: 10.1094/PHP-10-17-0064-DG

Say we do have a problem. Can we get rid of it?

"Unfortunately, once a field is infected with SBWMV, it becomes a semi-permanent malady and future symptoms are highly dependent upon environmental conditions (e.g. symptoms are usually worse in wet years)."

If we can't eradicate it, what can we do?

"Genetic resistance due to SBWMV is our best tool for avoiding yield loss, therefore variety selection is the best opportunity to protect against SBWMV yield loss. SBWMV resistant varieties are limited and include:

Soft White Winter Wheat: SY Dayton, AP Iliad, LCS Shark

Hard Red Winter Wheat: WB4303, LCS Blackbird (coming fall 2024)

Club Wheat: Pritchett"

Market Catch-up

For this third newsletter, the NWGG Marketing Department wanted to do a "Bull versus Bear" scenario for soft white wheat & a (very) wild guess for the price of SWW on 12/29/2023. Each person was asked the same questions.

Keep in mind, these are just guesses and should not be construed as financial nor trading advice.

Here is what they said:

Bull

• "The Canadian wheat and canola crops are even smaller than expected." - Chris Peha
• "Rumors of India needing to import 10+ MMT of wheat become confirmed and cause a big round of buying in markets." - Byron Behne
• "US HRW Belt (Kansas, Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska) plantings start slow because of drought causing speculation on lower planted acres and a rally behind that idea." - Hanson Brudevold
• "A US corn crop with an overall yield under 170 bushels per acre (USDA's current estimate is 175 bu/ac) could generate more feed wheat demand which SWW might work into." - Cory Christensen
• "An Australian wheat crop under 25MMT (USDA's current estimate is 29MMT) would help SWW regain some export business that was lost over the past 3-years." - Byron, Hanson
• "Another "Black Swan" event that forces Russia to quit selling/shipping wheat." - Chris

Bear

• "Black Sea wheat (Russia/Ukraine/Romania) continues to trade at discounts to other origins and do so at any cost." - Hanson
• "China's economic slowdown continues and maybe even worsens, reducing imports of food commodities." - Chris
• "Private analyst groups that have been raising their Russian wheat production estimates get it right, and the world has to contend with another 12-months of excessive Russian supplies." - Byron
• "El Nino doesn't prove to be enough to crimp Australian production and keeps US SWW away from import markets with the help of an elevated US Dollar." - Cory
• "The big Brazilian corn crop keeps Chinese buyers fulfilled through US winter which continues to pummel US corn exports." - Hanson
• "Managed Money ("Fund") speculative traders keep heavy selling pressure on all US wheat futures throughout the rest of the calendar year, making market participation stagnate." - Cory

Neutral?

• "Slow, stubborn farmer selling (not just in the PNW, but the entire US) keeps prices from moving much in either direction." - Chris

Bonus Round!

What will the Portland price of SWW be on 12/29/2023?

Chris - $6.70 Byron - $6.90 Cory - $7.25 Hanson - $5.90

We had some extended fun with our Q & A sessions:

Do you think pineapple belongs on pizza?

"I'd rather die than eat pizza with pineapple on it" Anthony Arellano

If you got to name a variety, what would you call it?

"Stars & Stripes (maybe that'd be two varieties)" - David Brock

If the Olympics were tomorrow and you were forced to do one even, which would you choose?

"Curling, because it's kind of like corn hole." Mark Schreindl

"Is there a beer drinking one?" Cody Scott

If you had to switch careers to anything else, what might you pursue?

"Pumpkin Farmer" Joey Arellano

What's your go-to dance move?

"The Running Man!" David Brock

"You can ask anyone - I do NOT dance!" Anthony Arellano

If you had a career as a rap artist, what would your stage name be?

"2-Bushel Tony" Tony Emineth

"300 Win-Mag" Cody Scott

SpaceX called and are offering you a free trip on their next rocket. Are you going?

"No! Too much risk!" Mark Schreindl

"Yes, to prove the world is flat! Joey Arellano, sarcastically