Winter wheat and cover crop seed supplies are tight in some regions due to weather-related production issues, seed industry representatives report. Farmers can also expect higher prices for cover crops and winter wheat seed compared to last year, and in some cases, significantly more. Cover crop and winter wheat planting have started in some areas or will begin soon. DTN recently surveyed several seed companies and dealers to determine seed availability and pricing.
ANKENY, Iowa (DTN) -- Seed representatives urge farmers who haven't secured winter wheat -- hard red, soft red and soft white -- and cover crop seed to do so now. Seed is available, but some varieties are short and tough to get, or quantities are limited. A combination of factors contributed to increased seed costs, ranging from higher commodity prices to increased fuel, equipment and processing expenses. Here are comments from several seed industry representatives. (Editor's note: Some responses were edited for clarity and brevity.) JEFFREY KOSCELNY, BAYER CROP SCIENCE CEREALS ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT LEAD, ST. LOUIS Bayer Crop Science's WestBred brand has roughly 70 winter wheat varieties for the western U.S. Supplies are extremely tight in many areas, though availability does vary. In the Central and Southern Plains and even Montana, the drought affected harvest. Yields were down. The good news is a lot of farmers booked early. For those that are waiting to see how much (winter ...