Wyffels Hybrids sets high quality standards for seed production.
Wyffels Hybrids is widely recognized by the seed industry as a leader in quality seed production. There's a reason for Wyffels' tight standards throughout the seed growing and conditioning process. Quality seed means excellent plantability, vigorous emergence, improved stands, and maximum yield potential for Wyffels customers. From the company's beginnings, standards have been high at Wyffels Hybrids—it's how we do business. And, it's part of being "your kind of seed company."
Field Operations
Quality seed production starts with the basics at Wyffels Hybrids—developing a veteran roster of experienced seed growers whose highly productive soils support our goal of being a reliable seed supplier, year-in and year-out.
Field selections are made across a wide geographic area of the US Corn Belt to spread weather-related risks. In addition, Wyffels has enjoyed a long relationship with growers in fertile regions of the southern hemisphere where winter production activities allow the company to bring advanced products and high-value technologies to the market quickly.
As each Wyffels seed production field is selected, an intensive isolation plan is developed to protect the purity of the growing seed crop. Field inspections are continuous during the growing season, resulting in intensive control of insects, weeds, and diseases before they can impact seed quality. Roguing and detasseling are conducted to the highest possible standards. The field operations team takes great pride in their work, and seed harvest is an exciting conclusion of that phase of seed production. Seed is picked on the ear (so that the husks stay on and protect the viable kernels) and brought to the production plant in trucks with "walking floors" that can gently unload the ears for the next phase, seed conditioning.
Seed Conditioning
Seed corn is a living product. From the truck to the bag, everything possible is done to assure gentle handling of the kernels that will someday be called on to come to life in a customer's field. The seed ears pass through sweet corn style huskers, rubber conveyers, and hand-sorting beds on their way to the low-heat, high-air volume, reversible-flow dryers designed to efficiently dry the seed on the ear without damaging seed viability. As soon as the seed reaches the target moisture, the ears are conveyed to specialized shelling and pre-cleaning equipment.
Wyffels' seed continues through a number of stringent cleaning, sizing, and application functions that insure customers receive clean, attractive, vigorous seed in every bag.
Quality Assurance
After initial new-crop testing, each hybrid, size, and lot of seed is placed on a schedule for routine, repeated warm and cold germination testing in Wyffels' Quality Assurance Lab. The tests simulate both ideal growing conditions and conditions encountered with early planting into cool soils. Purity and trait checks are conducted using DNA testing, seedling growouts, and field growouts to confirm genetic makeup and seed purity. Any seed not meeting Wyffels' rigid standards is pulled from inventory.
We're proud of the dedicated work by our seed production staff and believe the trust growers have in Wyffels quality is a tribute to their unflagging efforts. |
 |
| Copyright © Wyffels Hybrids Inc. All rights reserved. |
|
|
Wyffels Hybrids Investing in the Future
by Lynn Grooms, Seed & Crops Digest
Over the last five years, Wyffels Hybrids has done what a lot of seedcorn companies would like to do— double its business. While the second generation family owned company may not necessarily do that again in the next five years, owners, William Jr. (Bill) and Robert (Bob) Wyffels expect continued good growth, so much so that they invested about $4 million in capital improvements in 2002. The brothers believe that these improvements coupled with valuable products/traits and employees committed to customer satisfaction will help their family-owned company continue to succeed in a competitive market.
To view entire article, click here.
|
|
|
|
