Insights from the desk of Sarah Foster, President 20/20 Seed Labs Inc.
At 20/20 Seed Labs, we believe good decisions start with asking the right questions.
As another growing season approaches, it’s worth taking a step back and asking: do you have the information you need to make confident decisions about your seed? For many growers, the challenge isn’t accessing data; it’s having the right data, delivered in a way that reflects real-world conditions and supports what’s happening in the field.
Seed testing in Canada has traditionally focused on germination and purity, but the demands on seed and on the people growing it, continues to change. Weather variability, disease pressure, and tighter margins mean that understanding how seed will perform is as important as knowing its basic quality. That shift is exactly what is driving how we think about our role as a lab.
From the moment a sample leaves your operation, our focus is on making the process as seamless and informative as possible. Whether it’s providing seed bags, arranging courier support for larger accounts, or allowing samples to be pre-entered through your own user account, we’re working to remove friction wherever we can.
With our systems linked to SeedTrakr—and more functionality on the way—you have visibility into your samples at every stage. Communication doesn’t stop following sample submission either. Through your portal, you can connect directly with our analysts, track turnaround times, and receive results in formats that are easy to work with, whether that’s a quick text notification or a downloadable CSV dataset.
We also support your ability to plan for the future by making available historical data on your seed lots available to you in one place.
The real value comes once the results are in. A germination number on its own only tells part of the story. That’s why we focus on building a more complete picture through vigour testing, seed health diagnostics, and measurements like thousand kernel weight. More importantly, we provide context alongside those results. Each report includes insights into factors like dormancy, disease presence, and how the growing season may have influenced performance. These are the details that help translate lab results into practical decisions—whether that’s adjusting seeding rates, managing risk, or planning storage.
We also recognize that not all seeds behave the same. Crops like peas, beans, and soybeans can be more sensitive to biotic and abiotic stress, requiring closer monitoring and, in some cases, additional evaluation through greenhouse grow-outs. For soybeans in particular, a full suite of testing from germination and vigour through to clean out, seeds per pound, and herbicide screening, can help ensure that what goes into the ground aligns with expectations in the field.
Seed testing is moving beyond standard methods toward approaches that better reflect real-world performance. Stress-based vigour testing is becoming more important, helping identify how seeds will respond to cold, wet spring conditions rather than ideal lab environments. Vigour is also a factor in ultra early seeding when growers attempt to access early moisture in the Spring or to avoid heat stress later in the season.
Advances in molecular diagnostics are improving the speed and accuracy of disease detection, while digital imaging and automation are reducing subjectivity and increasing consistency. The goal is no longer just to measure potential, but to better predict performance.
We’re also beginning to explore new ways of presenting our customers with information that reflect emerging needs. Informational weed seed analysis is one example, providing a quick look at what may be present in a sample and where there could be herbicide tolerance concerns. From there, more advanced testing options such as bioassay or molecular approaches may offer deeper insight. In-season plant and leaf tissue testing is another area of growth, helping bring diagnostics closer to the decisions being made during the crop cycle.
These are areas we’re continuing to develop, and they are being shaped directly by conversations with growers and partners across the industry.
At the end of the day, the most important question remains simple: what information would help you make better decisions this season?
Because seed testing isn’t just about generating results, it’s about building confidence. And that confidence comes from having the right information, at the right time, with the right level of insight behind it.
That’s the standard we’re working toward every day at 20/20 Seed Labs.
