Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 5216 ATits 2016/17 dealer launch in Winnipeg, Man., Semences Prograin and Quarry Seed came together to announce Quarry’s exclu- sive distribution of Prograin soybean varieties in Western Canada. Founded in 2002, Quarry Seed has quickly become a major player in the distribution of soybean and corn seed in Western Canada. Prograin, based in Québec, is the largest private added- value soybean company in Canada. “It’s the right timing for us,” says Prograin president and CEO Alain Létourneau. “We’ve had a relationship with Quarry Seed for awhile, but it’s the first time we’ve truly introduced our brand in Western Canada.” Ron Gendzelevich, president of Quarry Seed, adds that the partnership is an opportunity for it to offer dealers, and ultimately growers, some of the best soybean genetics in Western Canada. As news of further consolidation within the seed and agriculture industries makes headlines, the announcement offered a different narrative from others made in recent weeks, notes Prograin marketing director Alexandre Beaudoin. “We’re not a big multinational, but we have all the same equipment and capabilities as anyone else,” he says. “But we really have something no one else has, and that’s flexibility. Being smaller and independent definitely has its advantages.” Independent Advantage “Independents have a tendency to grab what’s leading-edge,” Gendzelevich says. “The best analogy I can give you is that conglomerates are big, but they’re slow. They try to beat you on size, where the independents can quickly seize an opportunity and run with it.” Gendzelevich has a long history in the industry, going back to his days on the family farm. But rather than take it over, he embarked on his own, earning a degree in plant science at the University of Manitoba and working for a variety of industry players before founding Quarry Seed. “I started from basically zero,” says Gendzelevich. “If I was going to get ahead, I had to learn about as many new crops as I could.” The new crop that opened that door for him was soybean. He’s now credited as one of the people responsible for the soybean explosion on the Prairies, so it’s fitting his company would partner with Prograin, founded by Létourneau’s family in 1980. Besides being the largest private soybean company in the country, Prograin is known for its development of early-maturing soybean varieties adapted to the northern climate. Genetic Potential It has 85 employees in four countries, exporting to 15 countries. “We can easily adapt our portfo- lio and varieties for the market here,” Létourneau says, noting Prograin is the only independent company doing GMO soybean breeding in Canada.” For 2017, Quarry Seed will distrib- ute four of Prograin’s Roundup Ready soybean varieties: CBZ814A1 R2X, Torro R2, Kosmo R2 and Domingo R2X. Gendzelevich says working with Prograin has led, and will lead to more, advanced soybean genetics. “We found a variety that could adapt to places in Manitoba — that six or seven years ago everyone said you couldn’t grow beans there,” he says. “We went back and told Prograin, ‘This variety has something special to it.’ “So they used molecular markers to check things out, and they found two ultra-early maturity genes that they were able to use to expand the program even further.” Marc Zienkiewicz In an industry where mergers and acquisitions often steal headlines, two Canadian seed companies show that smaller, independent businesses are as relevant as ever. From left: Alexandre Beaudoin, marketing director for Prograin; Ron Gendzelevich, Quarry Seed president; Alain Létourneau, Prograin president; Shawn Rempel, Quarry Seed general manager.