With the high price of fertilizer and other crop inputs these days, it’s more important than ever to be mindful of cash-back rebates and other grower reward programs as you prepare for the 2023 growing season. With this in mind, here’s our annual roundup (in alphabetical order) of rebates available to farmers in Western Canada this year.
BASF
BASF’s rebate program for western Canadian farmers is called BASF Ag Rewards. It includes the InVigor Reward — those who buy InVigor hybrid canola can earn up to 15 per cent off of BASF canola herbicides and up to 17 per cent off of BASF canola fungicides. As well, you can save up to 15 per cent off of BASF pulse crop establishment products, up to 17 per cent off of BASF cereal fungicides and up to 25 per cent off of BASF cereal seed treatments. An Ag Rewards calculator is available online at the BASF website.
Read Also
Good news, bad news for fungicides meant to fight stem rot in canola
A report shows overall insensitivity of sclerotinia to three fungicide groups hasn’t changed in a big way between 2010 and 2024 — but shows some sclerotinia populations have been discovered with elevated insensitivity to all three.
“We have made some small changes, but for the most part it’s consistent. This was important to us coming into this year so that growers could expect the same level of rewards from BASF,” says Tim Bodvarson, commercial operations manager at BASF.
To qualify for BASF Ag Rewards, farmers must buy at least $20,000 worth of BASF products including seed and crop protection offerings and purchase 300 acres or more of eligible BASF products from different crop solution segments. Bodvarson notes there is one new herbicide on offer — Voraxor Complete, a pre-seed herbicide for pulses.
BASF also has the Pulse Pack Offer, which provides pulse growers with a $2 per matching acre rebate if they buy a minimum of 120 acres of Dyax fungicide as well as at least 120 acres of qualifying BASF imidazoline (IMI) herbicides and/or pre-seed herbicides.
The eligibility period for BASF Ag Rewards and the Pulse Pack Offer ends October 1, 2023. For more program details visit agriculture.basf.ca/west/programs/ag-rewards.
Bayer CropScience
This year, Bayer CropScience has included close to 30 brands in its BayerValue West Program that offers up to 25 per cent in savings on eligible purchases.
With a minimum 500-acre purchase of seed treatments, you can access five per cent savings on qualifying products across three segments (seed treatments, herbicides and fungicides).
If you buy qualifying products from more than one segment (minimum 300 acres per segment), you can save an additional five per cent (for two segments) or 10 per cent (for three segments).
There’s also the new BayerValue West Trait Bonus, which offers another five per cent rebate on eligible crop protection purchases when using any combination of Bayer traits for canola, soybean and corn (minimum 500 acres).
The Incredible Bayer Offer is back again this year. By booking 1,000 qualifying acres of cereal herbicides by March 10, you can save an additional five per cent on your eligible herbicide purchases.
Signing up for BayerValue West Rewards also gives you a complimentary one-year subscription to Bayer’s Climate FieldView digital platform and up to 50 per cent off of the cost of FieldView hardware purchased on the FieldView order portal (maximum $1,000 discount). More details on the Climate FieldView offer are available at climatefieldview.ca/bayervalue.
John Hanson, programming and pricing incentive manager for Bayer CropScience, says BayerValue West has increased savings for farmers who take advantage of both the seed treatment rewards (five per cent rebate) and seed traits rewards (five per cent rebate) for 2023. Those choosing not to buy traits can still save up to 15 per cent on qualifying seed treatment, herbicide and fungicide purchases.
Hanson notes whether farmers are looking at the brochure, checking out the online rewards calculator, or discussing options with their retail reps, the depth and breadth of the BayerValue West portfolio should enable them to find solutions to their agronomic needs. “That’s one thing we’re very proud of,” he says.
BayerValue West includes several new products in 2023, including cereal seed treatment Raxil Pro Shield (all-in-one formulation), XtendiMax 2 and Roundup Xtend 2 soybean herbicides and Minuet biological fungicide for potatoes (see BayerValue Hot Potatoes Prairies Reward Program).
The eligibility period for 2023 BayerValue West Rewards ends September 30, and you must register by July 31 to be eligible for program benefits. For more program information visit cropscience.bayer.ca/Grower-Programs/BayerValue-West.
Corteva Agriscience
Corteva Agriscience calls its farmer rebate program Flex+ Rewards. If you max it out, Corteva will rebate up to 18 per cent on your eligible crop protection products.
Lorne Thoen, customer experience and marketing communications manager for Corteva, says the Flex+ Rewards program is intended to provide lots of flexibility for farmers.
“We try to make sure we can access as many growers as possible with our rebates without hindering their ability to access the agronomic products they need,” says Thoen. “We want to try to get folks who have chosen one of our brands and had a great experience to be open to choosing us again for other needs on their farm, and for us to be able to earn that right to get a shot at that business.”
The first step is to find your program tier (spend tiers based on MSRP):
- Core – $15,000 to $24,999
- Core Plus – $25,000 to $99,000, or 300 acres of Corteva seed
- Core Max – $100,000 or more, or 800 acres of Corteva seed
Then, choose the products you need from several different categories, which include:
- Pre-seed herbicides
- Grass herbicides
- Broadleaf herbicides
- Fungicides
- Canola and corn herbicides and biologicals
- Cross-spectrum herbicides
At the Core tier, choosing products from three categories earns you a six per cent rebate, while purchases from four or more categories gets you a 10 per cent rebate. For the Core Plus tier, it is seven and 11 per cent respectively, and then in the Core Max tier it’s eight and 12 per cent, respectively.
There’s another three per cent rebate available through the Seed and Seed Treatment Booster Bonus by buying at least 300 acres of Pioneer seed or Brevant seed products and/or Lumivia CPL, Lumisena and Lumiderm soybean insecticide seed treatments. You can also save 28 per cent on Lumivia CPL by matching acres with pre-seed, grass, broadleaf or cross-spectrum herbicide purchases (300-acre minimum).
Lastly, you can earn an additional three per cent rebate if you book your products by March 15, 2023.
The eligibility period for the Flex+ Rewards program runs until August 31, 2023. You can find the details and full product lists at corteva.ca/en/offers/flex-rewards.
With the 2023 FMC CashBack program, there are no ties to seed purchases and/or matching acres with products. Jordan Brisebois, product manager for FMC Canada, says that’s because the idea behind the program is to keep things simple and reward growers for making agronomic decisions for their farm.
“When we designed this program three seasons ago, we thought, ‘we’ve got some great solutions for growers. Let them go to the solution first, find out what works for their farm, and then let’s reward them for that purchase afterwards. Make it simple,’” says Brisebois.
“For example, if you like Authority 480 as a product that helps solve a kochia problem on your farm, you start with the agronomic problem and then fit the solution into the programming piece after that.”
Under the 2023 FMC CashBack program, farmers in Western Canada who buy at least $5,000 worth of eligible products in FMC’s slate of pre-seed and in-crop herbicides between November 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023, will receive a rebate cheque at the end of the season.
The rebates for qualifying products are based on these four spending levels (based on MSRP):
- $5,000 to $29,999 — two per cent rebate on pre-seed herbicides, six per cent rebate on in-crop herbicides
- $30,000 to $49,999 — four per cent rebate on pre-seed herbicides, nine per cent rebate on in-crop herbicides
- $50,000 to $74,999 — six per cent rebate on pre-seed herbicides, 12 per cent rebate on in-crop herbicides
- $75,000 or more — eight per cent rebate on pre-seed herbicides, 15 per cent rebate on in-crop herbicides
“Purchasing key builder products like Aim, Express brands and our broad spectrum of industry-leading insecticides, helps add to your rebate spending levels, increasing your savings,” says Brisebois.
For the FMC CashBack calculator and more program details, visit ag.fmc.com/ca/en/programs/fmc-cashback-grower-program.
Nufarm
Nufarm has a grower rewards program called Nufarmer Nation. It’s the second year of the program, which Nufarm’s head of marketing, Holly Nicoll, contends is “simple to qualify for and easy to understand.”
According to Nicoll, “Nufarm has products for pulses and cereals from the time the crop is seeded until it reaches the bin at the end of the year. Nufarmer Nation provides rewards for all farm sizes that purchase Nufarm products. There’s a lot of flexibility in the program for farmers and at the end of the day, they’ll be rewarded with some dollars back in their pockets. They don’t have to cut corners in terms of agronomics or economics on their farms.”
Nicoll says, “We want farmers to have a good experience with Nufarmer Nation. Our priority is ensuring rebates are paid on time for the correct amount to each customer.”
The first step in the program is to buy at least 160 acres of Valtera EZ or Fierce EZ soil active herbicides or Conquer II, a pre-seed burndown for canola.
From there, you can choose products from four different categories — seed treatments, pre-seed burndown herbicides, in-crop herbicides and fungicides — and qualify for rebates ranging from four to 12 per cent depending on how much you spend on builder products from Nufarm during the growing season.
Here’s how the purchase levels break down (spend categories based on suggested retail price):
- $5,000 to $39,999 — four per cent rebate on all qualifying products
- $40,000 to $84,999 — eight per cent rebate on seed treatments and pre-seed burndown herbicides, six per cent rebate on in-crop herbicides and fungicides
- $85,000 or more — 12 per cent rebate on seed treatments and pre-seed burndown herbicides, eight per cent rebate on in-crop herbicides and fungicides
An online calculator for Nufarmer Nation rewards is available at nufarm.com. The eligibility period for the program ends August 31, 2023. For more details and to register for savings visit nufarm.com/ca/nufarmernation2023/.
Nutrien Ag Solutions
Nutrien Ag Solutions and Proven Seed have a rebate program called PV Profits, which includes seed, fertilizer and crop protection components. The program enables farmers to save money across all inputs and it also rewards sustainability best practices, as a new sustainability reward has been added for 2023 for farmers who book seed and enrol their acres under the Nutrien Sustainability Program.
Under the PV Profits programs, you earn rebates by matching acres of seed and fertilizer purchases and/or crop protection products. Qualifying products must be booked before specific deadlines.
The PV Profits program adds extra rebates per acre above the current payouts on the Nutrien Sustainability Program for producers who register and qualify for the program. Payouts on the Nutrien Sustainability Program are dependent on the sustainability protocol the farmer follows.
“I like this program because it enables growers to save money on seed, fertilizer and crop protection components, and offers further rebates to growers registered on the carbon program, which is Nutrien Sustainability,” says Jeremy Lacroix of Nutrien Ag Solutions.
“We also have the Priority Acre Program, which provides growers with a secure supply of glufosinate or glyphosate herbicide to cover their matching acres of canola seed, and we’ll continue to partner with suppliers throughout the growing season to offer programs on crop protection.”
Although some PV Profits deadlines have already passed, growers can still book and save money across crop protection, fertilizer and Proven Seed products, only through Nutrien Ag Solutions. Details on all of these programs are available through your local Nutrien Ag Solutions retailer.
Syngenta
Syngenta’s 2023 Partner Program for Western Canada has three components — the Portfolio Reward, the all-new Crop Bonus and the NK Soybean Seed Bonus.
The Portfolio Reward has three product categories for seed treatments, herbicides and fungicides. Buy at least 320 acres of qualifying products from two categories and you can save seven per cent. With purchases from three categories, you can save 10 per cent.
You can also increase your rebate by participating in the Crop Bonus. By matching 320 acres across different product categories for an individual crop (canola, cereals, soybeans and pulses), farmers can save two to 5.5 per cent on the suggested grower price for these purchases. The product segments are seed treatments, herbicides, fungicides and biologicals and plant growth regulators as a fourth category. For farmers buying products that can be used across multiple crops (Envita, Miravis Neo, Reglone Ion and others), there is a five per cent savings through the multi-crop product enabler.
The third aspect of the Partner Program, the NK Soybean Seed Bonus, offers a $2 per acre rebate for farmers growing a Syngenta NK soybean variety who buy 80 or more acres of a second NK variety.
As Jon Habok, customer marketing manager for Syngenta Canada, points out, there are several changes to Syngenta’s Partner Program for 2023. The Crop Bonus is one, and there’s also no longer a $25,000 minimum purchase requirement to qualify for the Partner Program. It has been replaced by an acreage requirement instead.
Habok says the changes were based on input received from farmers and retailers. “This makes it a lot easier for farmers across Western Canada to qualify for the Partner Program.”
Syngenta has also added Envita to the Partner Program, its new biological product for canola, cereals, pulses and other crops that Habok says turns the entire plant into “a nitrogen-fixing machine.”
Miravis Era, a fungicide for farmers looking to manage fusarium head blight in cereals, is another product on the Partner Program that Habok notes will be available to more farmers in 2023. Miravis Era was launched in Manitoba in 2022 but has been expanded to the dark brown and black soil zones of Saskatchewan in 2023.
The eligibility period for Syngenta’s 2023 Partner Program for Western Canada ends October 31. For more details and an online calculator for the program, visit syngenta.ca/partnerprogram/westindex.
UPL Canada
UPL Canada’s rebate program is called UPL Grower Rewards. It offers the biggest savings during the pre-season when farmers can earn 10 to 15 per cent in Smart Buy Rewards with a minimum 300-acre purchase of eligible products within UPL Canada’s extensive lineup of seed treatments, herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, biostimulants and plant growth regulators. The deadline for Smart Buy Rewards is February 15, but there are plenty of savings opportunities after that as well.
“Our barrier to entry is relatively small, and with our Smart Buy Rewards timing, we’re rewarding growers for booking their products early,” says Tony Dalgliesh, marketing manager for UPL Canada. “If you miss that deadline, we still have our Base Rewards, which would be your in-season opportunity for different products.”
Farmers can earn Base Rewards of five to 7.5 per cent by purchasing 160 acres of eligible products from UPL Canada by August 1. In addition, those who buy Interline and Select herbicides together (300-acre minimum) can get five per cent back on their purchases.
Also available is the Rancona Trio Bonus, which enables farmers to save two to five per cent if they buy at least 300 acres of Rancona Trio fungicide seed treatment plus another one or more eligible products.
With the Rancona Trio Top-Up Bonus, customers who buy 300 or more acres of Rancona Trio and at least 160 acres of either Evito, Roxar or Zolera FX fungicides or Ohm or Wave biostimulants can double their Base Rewards rebate up to 15 per cent.
For more information and a Grower Rewards calculator, visit cloud.upl-naconnect.com/grower-rewards/western-canada-en.
