NOVEMBER 2026  SEEDWORLD.COM/CANADA   35
says little about whether the breeding 
pipeline will be strong 10 years from 
now.
He suggests showing farmers what a 
seed royalty costs per acre alongside other 
farm investments. Where possible, con­
nect that spending to a trait or improve­
ment they recognize.
“Maybe be a bit more deliberate in 
our messaging,” he says. Explain “what 
that royalty brought you, the farmer.”
Stamp frames the issue around 
choice. Stamp Seeds sells varieties subject 
to variety use agreements, under which a 
payment may apply when a farmer saves 
seed for another season. A farmer who 
tries one can judge whether it earns that 
continuing cost.
“If the variety is good enough, the 
farmer will say, yeah, it’s worth it,” 
Stamp says. If it does not perform, the 
farmer can grow something else. That 
puts a demanding test on the product 
and the retailer’s recommendation.
A royalty does not establish value. 
The variety has to deliver something the 
farmer considers worth paying for. The 
transaction also carries a cost for retail­
ers. Stamp says the number of forms and 
agreements involved in selling seed has 
grown considerably. His business handles 
roughly “13 or 14 different grower agree­
ments,” depending on the crop, variety 
and organization involved.
Any funding approach needs to 
account for the businesses expected to 
explain and administer it.
Give Useful Varieties Room to Succeed
Stamp worries that Canada’s marketplace 
rewards varieties with broad appeal more 
readily than varieties that are excellent in 
a smaller area or for a specific production 
problem.
“You shouldn’t have to hit a home run 
to have success in the seed marketplace 
in Western Canada,” he says.
He questions the assumption that one 
wheat variety should fit acres across the 
Prairies. Farmers face different pressures 
from sawfly, midge, fusarium and other 
problems. Stamp would rather see several 
successful varieties serving those needs 
than require each breeding program to 
pursue a single, widely adopted winner.
Nick Petruic, Mark Keating and Greg Stamp all appeared on recent episodes of On the 
Brink. You can watch their episodes and more at seedworld.com/on-the-brink

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