Insights shared by a local seed farm are sprouting up in an online video series.
Darcy Unger of Unger Seed Farm, located west of Stonewall, recently shared insights from his family’s multi-generational seed operation as part of Seed World Canada’s On the Brink video series
Located west of Stonewall, Unger Seed Farm is a family-run pedigreed seed-growing operation. Ron Unger started the family-owned business in 1979, and his son Darcy currently runs it.
Seed growing is the process of producing high quality seeds that other farmers can use to grow crops.
“As a seed grower, we plant higher pedigreed seed on our farm,” Darcy said. “Once harvested, this seed is cleaned by our new seed plant to remove impurities and guarantee a high quality seed for customers to buy and grow on their own farms.”
Darcy recently shared his perspective gleaned over a lifetime in the seed industry through a video for Seed World Canada. The short video is Episode 3 of the organization’s On The Brink series, which is a cross-country storytelling project about plant breeding. The goal of the series is to spark open conversations about the future of plant breeding in Canada.
In the video, Darcy speaks about his family’s new seed plant in Stonewall, an investment that sets up the family farm for the generations to come.
“We are members of SeCan, the largest supplier of certified seed to Canadian farmers, and this year SeCan is celebrating 50 years. They approached us to do a video about our new seed plant investment and the three generations currently working on the family run seed operation,” Darcy said. “This video featured in Seed World was a result of this.”
The idea for the new seed plant took root in January 2024 with a scrap paper drawing, which led to a two-year process to build and commission the new facility.
“Our machines are all state-of-the-art, including our new colour sorter using AI technology to help guarantee a clean final product,” Darcy said.
“We use our seed plant to process and clean the seed from our 4,000-acre seed farm, as well as custom cleaning for our customers who choose to reuse their own seed. We also have a few other seed companies who we clean for as well.”
The family chose to invest in the new seed plant for several reasons.
“The seed plant we were using was redone back in 1996, and the time was coming to do a major overhaul on the machines and equipment that was already in use. The second reason is I have two sons, Colton and Austin, who have decided that they want to continue on the family farm,” Darcy said.
“Both those factors led to the decision to do a completely new seed plant in a brand-new building with a new office attached. The timing of the old plant needing work and the new generation becoming involved led to the decision to invest in new.”
In total, 95 per cent of the genetics that Unger Seed Farm relies on come from Canadian breeders.
“Canadian plant breeders are important because they create stronger, more productive and more sustainable crops that support farmers and help feed people in Manitoba and Canada. Productive crops give farmers a bigger opportunity to support the local economies as well,” he said.
“Farmers tend to buy their seed, fuel, fertilizer and other products close to home, which helps support local businesses as well. Farmers support local schools, restaurants, community centres, 4H clubs, arenas, curling clubs and so on. It might not seem like it, but Canadian plant breeders are important — their work helps support a lot of people in and around agriculture.”
Genetics are also crucial to help farmers combat the ever-changing needs of consumers and as well as the changing environment, he added.
“Better genetics give you better yields, better quality crops that are more adapted to the final consumer needs,” Darcy said.
“Weather patterns are changing and the weather is more diverse. We need the ability to protect ourselves from disease, drought, excess rain and insects, and better genetics can give us that. Farmers are dependent on good genetics to help keep us successful.”
Looking ahead, Darcy shared some concerns about the future of Canadian plant breeding.
“The federal government is slashing funding for Canadian plant breeders. The abilities of the breeders to develop and adapt new varieties that are needed to combat new disease, weather and insect pressure will be greatly diminished without this funding. We are losing testing facilities where these new genetics are grown and analyzed to see which varieties will be an added benefit,” he said.
“Our ability to react will be compromised, and the effects of the decreased funding won’t be known for five to 10 years. Canada’s agriculture sector could be at a severe disadvantage going forward to react to changing environments — and the Canadian food supply, which has always been thought of as secure, could be compromised.”
To view Darcy’s video for the On the Brink series, visit Seed World Canada’s website at seedworld.com or check it out on Seed World Canada’s Facebook page. New episodes are released every Wednesday.
