In an industry dominated by large corporations, local seed company Seitec Genetics has found a way to stand out.

The company, started in 2007, has used several innovative techniques to offer a wide variety of quality corn and soybean seed to farmers in Nebraska and eight other states.

In recognition of the local companys innovation within the industry the Fremont Area Chamber of Commerce has named Seitec as Innovator of the Year.

Obviously we dont do what we do every day thinking about awards or anything like that but it is sure nice to be recognized and know that people are noticing the hard work and what we have been able to accomplish, President Dennis Bracht said.

The company will be honored at the Excellence in Agriculture Awards Luncheon on Tuesday at Fremont Golf Club. The event is scheduled from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

We have a couple things that we do differently than most seed companies; we pay special attention to quality and actually have higher testing standards than other companies in the industry, Bracht said.

One innovation was implementing the LEAP testing program, which stands for Local Environment Advancement Plots, and allows the company to determine how a variety of seeds will perform in a specific of environment.

We test a broad array of genetics across a lot of different environments and pay special attention to moving forward with products that have local area advancement, Bracht said.

Basically, Seitec is able to plant a variety of seeds with different traits, such as herbicide tolerance and insect resistance, on a variety of plot fields to determine which seed will grow best in that specific environment.

The company uses that data to see which seeds produced the highest yields in a specific environment, and then sells the highest producing seeds to farmers whose fields closely match the test plots.

Our unique process of evaluating products by environment leads to hybrids and varieties that are more highly adapted, more reliable, and higher yielding than traditional product selection, Bracht said.

With help from a specially designed planter, Seitec is able to plant 66 varieties of seed on a single test plot to determine which variety will grow best in that specific environment.

When we are testing we have 60 locations that we are hauling our planter and tractor around to, and that gives us an idea of which traits and genetics will work best over a variety of field conditions, Bracht said.

Along with using testing methods that go beyond industry standards, the independent company can offer a wider variety of seed traits and genetics than most seed dealers.

Some of these other brands they have parent companies like a Monsanto or Syngenta and they have certain traits that they spent a lot of money to develop. We are able to license from all of those companies and really be able to test them all head to head and what it really does is open up the genetics, Bracht said.

Many seed brands are confined to the traits their parent company offers which in turn limits the genetics to which they have access.

Unlike most seed dealers in the area, Seitec has been able to keep most of their operation local, or at least confined within the state. The company conditions their seeds at Blair Seed Services and grows most of their seed in Nebraska.

Blair Seed Services is one of the most modern and seed safe plants in the nation and we grow most of our seed under irrigation right here in Nebraska, Bracht said.

Most of Seitecs seed is grown in areas surrounding North Bend, Geneva and Wood River.

According to Brasch, the Fremont area has provided an ideal place for the business to grow and flourish.

We are a nice sized town and we are right on the edge of where all the actual agriculture is happening so we can remain connected to farmers and still be able to draw resources from surrounding cities, he said.

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Seitec Genetics honored as innovative business - Fremont Tribune