b'SEED PLANT PROFILEWetaskiwin Seed and Grain Co-op: Open for Everyone and EverythingSmall-town charm, service, selection and location keep customers coming back to this seed plant.WHEN WETASKIWIN AREA farmers head to town to grab a burger, see a movie or do a little shopping, they have the option to add one extra item to their get it done in town list: having their seed cleaned. Wetaskiwin Seed and Grain Co-op (WSGC) has been a fixture on the southeast edge of Wetaskiwin since the early 1970s. Though the city has grown up around it over the past 50 years, WSGC holds true to its small-town charm and know-your-customers-by-name style of service.What sets WSGC apart? Obviously, the plants purely operational benefits draw many farmers, says WSGCs plant manager, Mike Mullin. Our location is a bonus being on the edge of Wetaskiwin. We offer seed treating in the spring, which only maybe a third of plants offer. And we distribute multiple varieties of wheat and barleyprobably about 10 of wheat and six of barleyso growers have lots of choice.A factor that is at least as important, though, is the personal connection and service WSGC offers its customers. Weve been around here for a long time. Farmers know us and trust us, and know well do an excellent job. We try toWetaskiwin Seed and Grain Co-op has been a fixture on the southeast edge of accommodate everyone as best we can. Well get the producersWetaskiwin since the early 1970s.who clean 150 bushels and the producers who clean 15,000. Weapproached Mullin with the suggestion. For WSGC, it added a value all our customers whether theyre big or small, says Mullin.new component and revenue stream to their business. For Viterra, WSGC cleans about 450,000 metric tonnes of grain annually.it freed up valuable bin space in the spring at their own plants. It has the storage capacity to handle approximately 300 metricThey asked if they could use our plant as a testing ground for tonnes of incoming grain and store approximately 600 metricseed distribution. It hadnt been done before that, says Mullin. tonnes of clean grain. Yet, a quick calculation of the manyThey do it at other plants now, too, but we were the first to white bins standing in WSGCs bin-yard shows significantlyprove it would work. more bin space than WSGC allocates for incoming and storedIn order not to be in competition with its own clients, WSGC grain. Thats because WSGC stores and distributes seed fordoes not sell any certified seed of its own. It does, however, sell Wetaskiwin Co-op (formerly Parkland Fertilizers) and Nutriencommon seed of varieties that are not covered by plant breeders Ag Solutions (formerly Viterra), and also stores seed that isrights. On average, WSGC sells approximately 5,000 bushels of owned and ultimately marketed by individual seed growers. barley each year and approximately double that in oats. We have approximately 1600 metric tonnes of bin space,WSGCs geographic pull is large. In addition to drawing many which includes about 30 bins. Most are owned by Co-op orof the 1,300 farms in the Wetaskiwin area, almost 40 per cent Nutrien. We dont sell those seeds; we just distribute it to peopleof the Co-ops business comes from Leduc and Nisku. More who arrange with those companies to buy it. farmers drive in from the Camrose and Ponoka areas.Acting as a seed distribution point for just a couple majorThe Wetaskiwin area is quite competitive for seed cleaning. companies is a real change from the business model a couplePortables do a fair amount of business in the area; Warburg, decades ago.Camrose, Bashaw and Ponoka all have plants as well. At one time, we probably had 50 bins outside, all belongingUltimately, producers have a lot of options. Thats a good to different seed growers. Theyd grow their pedigreed seedthing for farmers, says Mullin. The portables have their place. and sell it through our plant, and then wed get a commissionThey are a total convenience for the farmer, but they can never for handling it. Over the years, its gradually got to the pointdo the job that a seed plant can do. There will always be a place that people wholesale their seed to big companies rather thanfor seed plants. Seed plants are here to stay.selling it on their own. WSGC is here to stay, yes, but perhaps not in exactly the That shift began in the early 2000s, when Viterra firstlocation it occupies now. 46seed.ab.ca'