The evolution of Hedley Seeds

By Sheila Phibbs

The Haldimand Press

CANFIELD—Haldimand soil is infamous for its heavy clay composition, but generations of farm families have worked the land to make a living. In Canfield, the Hedleys have been growing seed crops including wheat, barley, and oats since the 1970s, later adding soybeans. Today the farm is operated by brothers Allan and Neil Hedley and Allan’s son, Cameron.

The farm expanded to establish Hedley Seeds Ltd. in 1981. Neil explains, “We were not getting paid well enough selling to other companies, so the decision was made to set up our own place.” They purchased on old forage mill in Canfield around 1986 knowing that cleaning seeds themselves would improve profit margins.

Neil and Allan manage Hedley Seeds together with Neil’s son, Colin. They retail for Dekalb and grow seed under the SeCan brand for both wholesale and retail. Allan says they are more diversified as they provide two options to customers; they process and store grain and take care of the marketing, or they clean seed for customers to re-use. The grain seeds harvested have to be cleaned to meet the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) standard.