Golden Harvest has announced it will sell its line of seed corn hybrids in Canada.

Beginning with the 1999 sales season, Golden Harvest Member Company, Sommer Bros. Seed Co., will team with seed distributor Direct Seeds Inc. of Chatham, Ontario. Jim Shearl, Golden Harvest Executive Vice President, says this trade area expansion gives Golden Harvest access to an additional 3,000,000 acres of corn production.

"We are very excited about this opportunity," Shearl says. "Golden Harvest has quickly become one of the five largest seed brands in the United States through superior genetics and unprecedented customer service. Now producers in Canada can enjoy the same benefits."

Dale Petrie, president of Direct Seeds, says his company entered into the agreement because Golden Harvest has made a strong effort to incorporate the newest biotechnology genes into highly productive hybrids.

"Canadian farmers now have another choice for buying technology products like Roundup Ready(R) corn, YieldGard(R) corn and IMI-CORN(R)," Petrie says. "This is good news for the
farmers and great news for Direct Seeds. The agreement gives us access to the new technology we need in order to provide our customers the newest and best products available.

"In addition to the technology, Golden Harvest is the only company I know that gives so much attention to agronomy with their Agronomy Up Front(TM) program. Our representatives can give the best hybrid recommendations for our customers' soil types, tillage regime, available heat units and herbicide programs."

Canadian growers interested in learning more about products available from Golden Harvest can call Dale Petrie at 1-(800)461-CORN.

Direct Seeds Inc., an independent Canadian company, is headquartered in Chatham, Ontario, and supplies quality seed corn, soybeans and forage seed directly to Ontario and Quebec
growers.

The Golden Harvest brand of hybrid corn, soybeans, sorghum and alfalfa is produced and marketed by five family-owned and managed seed companies serving farmers throughout the U.S.
Corn Belt, Europe, South America and Canada. These five companies share research and marketing resources nationally, while continuing to offer the nearby service that is the heart of the
seed industry.

Company news release
N1971