Albert Lea Seed, a Minnesota-based company, announced its continued commitment to and expansion of the Viking Pure and Viking Ultra-Pure seed lines. These products bring both farmers and food companies the assurance of seed purity. Food companies and grain aggregators can confidently recommend these hybrids and varieties to their contract-growers and farmers can plant this seed with confidence, knowing that the seed they plant is of guaranteed purity.
Viking corn and soybeans currently offers two seed labels, Viking Pure and Viking Ultra-Pure, which guarantee the purity of the seed. With a 99.9 percent GMO-free guarantee, Viking Ultra-Pure hybrids have generated great interest.
The brand is also in the process of expanding the seed purity project to include soybeans for 2018 and alfalfa in 2019. Four purification projects are currently underway to create the breeder seed for Ultra-Pure soybean and alfalfa lines. Each plant grown in these projects is tissue tested, and if it tests positive for GMOs, it’s pulled out of the ground.
“We know that purity is incredibly important to everyone, from the farmers planting the seed to the consumers looking to buy organic or Non-GMO food. Unless starting with guaranteed clean seed, it’s difficult to meet the demands of the market,” says Albert Lea Seed owner Mac Ehrhardt, whose grandfather, Lou, founded the business in 1923. “We’re proud to be part of a growing and changing food movement, bringing more options to farmers, and ultimately consumers.”
According to Packaged Facts, annual sales of non-GMO certified products increased from $349 million in 2010 to more than $19 billion as of March 2016.
Albert Lea Seed is proud to also share that all Viking Ultra-Pure corn hybrids are now Non-GMO Project Verified. Viking Ultra-Pure hybrids are produced are produced from pure inbreds in an agricultural zone that nearly eliminates the potential for cross-contamination. Stringent testing guarantees that the resulting hybrid seed is pure enough to merit the Ultra-Pure designation.
As part of Viking’s exclusive focus on non-GMO and organic seed, their seed selection and purity program continues to expand to meet the needs of a growing organic movement. Viking Ultra-Pure conventional and organic hybrids are available for planting in 2017, and the Ultra-Pure product line will continue to expand for 2018.
