WinField United Canada, Country Farm Seeds announce partnership

WinField United Canada and Country Farm Seeds are joining forces to provide Canadian farmers and ag retailers with an expanded seed portfolio featuring the WinField United CROPLAN seed brand. The partnership will be effective September 2020, in time for the start of the 2021 seed purchasing season.

The combined offering will fuse the size and scale of WinField United Canada, located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, with the strong local seed production capabilities of the Country Farm Seeds brand and C & L Seed Production Group, Country Farm Seeds' production arm, both located in Blenheim, Ontario. The resulting synergy of this business partnership will provide farmers in eastern Canada with high-performance genetics that are produced in Canada, at a competitive price.

"WinField United Canada is thrilled to be partnering with Country Farm Seeds, which has provided top-quality seed to Canadian farmers for many years," said David Van Dam, director of business development, WinField United Canada. "C & L Seed Production Group excels in local production of corn and soybean seed, growing it in the prime southern Ontario geography that's well-known for its unique topography that is ideal for hybrid corn seed production. This production capability, along with the established regional Country Farm Seeds brand and the proud history of the Giffin family, made the possibility of a partnership appealing as a way to further provide value to our CROPLAN seed customers," said Van Dam.

Lyle Giffin, chief executive officer of Country Farm Seeds, started in the seed business in 1972. In 2000, Giffin recognized the demand for a local corn and soybean seed brand, so he launched the Country Farm Seeds brand. Country Farm Seeds has proudly supported Ontario and Quebec farmers for 20 years.

"This marks an exciting new phase in our company's history," said Lee Giffin, president of Country Farm Seeds. "We wanted to grow the operational side of our business and have strongly invested in doing that. This partnership with WinField United Canada enables us to pool our resources for greater reach in Canada."

Through the partnership, WinField United Canada will have access to state-of-the-art corn and soybean production to offer a highly regionalized seed portfolio through the CROPLAN brand. WinField United Canada and CROPLAN can also provide volume, which will enable C & L to optimize its production efficiencies. The Country Farm Seed lineup will be combined into the CROPLAN seed portfolio sold through WinField United Canada, which will enable C & L to further solidify the operational side of the business.

Farmers can find out more about this partnership by talking with their local WinField United Canada or Country Farm Seeds representative.