2025 SEED USAGE AND WASTE REPORT

Despite best efforts to maximize seed use efficiency during the 2025 crop planning and sowing window, there was a substantial amount of extra, thus wasted, seed at the end of the season. Across all seedlots, the average amount of seed remaining after sowing was 5.75%, ranging from 0 to 40%. Three lots of Pondersoa Pine, (25133, 25135 and 25136) were redried for Warm Springs, and one lot of DF (25047) was redired for Hampton. While it may work to redry seed for some species with lots of extra, this is not a sustainable method to reduce waste for all species across all lots. Below are data visualizations and statistical analyses useful for identifying trends and improving processes. My goal is to significantly reduce this average next year to under 3%.

Figure one illustrates a general breakdown of extra seed per seedlot, color coded by species. This graph is a good general snapshot of our season.

FIGURE 1

Breaking this data down by species gives us a better picture of trends as they relate to specific seed characteristics, such as shape, size, weight, etc. These traits may influence seed usage in a number of ways: smaller seed is harder to sow, resulting in higher or lower operational SPC and subsequent discrepancies between projected and actual seed usage. Smaller seed is also typically lighter, making it more difficult to use with the drum seeder prone to blowing away, getting lost within the machine, dropped by the checkers etc. Additionally, seed/lb data is more likely to be inaccurate as the values are in the hundreds of thousands. On the other hand, large seed, because it is usually heavier, can be difficult to use with the drum seeder if there is not adequate vacuum pressure. That said, it is much easier to verify SPC and ensure seed usage is matching the projections. Below are graphs representing the percentage of extra seed per lot, broken up by species and color coded by block size. Averages are indicated in red.

Figure 2 below compares the quantities of seed-lots with no extra seed, low percentages of extra seed (1-5%) and high levels of extra seed (>5%), across all species. The species with the largest volume of high waste is where future improvement efforts may be focused.

FIGURE 2