FAQ – KWS COVER+™

It is a second-generation common rye seed that comes directly from KWS hybrid rye production. KWS COVER+™ is being made available to farmers solely for the purpose of protecting soil between production of commercial crops. It is to be terminated in spring and before maturity. KWS COVER+™ is not a crop, a hybrid or a variety, it has no specific yield or quality attributes and is not fit to produce grain, forage, or pedigreed seed.

KWS understands soil protection is very important to farmers and the agricultural industry. Soil protection acres in North America are estimated to double by 2030. KWS COVER+™ will provide thousands of farmers access to known genetics and consistent germination with a common rye seed program to meet their environmental sustainability needs as it relates to soil erosion control, soil aggregation, water retention, nutrient preservation, weed suppression and carbon capture.

This provides farmers with access to a high-quality soil protection program to be used to support important environmental stewardship of soil, water, and air between crops.

KWS COVER+™ is comprised of second-generation common rye seed from hybrid with high germination power. KWS COVER+™ will provide farmers with a reliable program to optimize soil canopy establishment and development.

Yes, KWS COVER+™ comes with Terms and Conditions of use and is designed to be used solely as a terminal soil protection. It's not intended to produce a crop for commerce and must be terminated before maturity. By utilizing the KWS COVER+™ soil protection program farmers agree to these Terms and Conditions.

The Terms and Conditions are an agreement with KWS that KWS COVER+™can only be used for the purpose of a single planting by the grower to establish and develop a rye plant canopy for the soil and must be terminated prior to harvest and not to be used to produce any crop including grain, forage, or seed. All sales will be accompanied by a soil protection notice;

FOR SOIL PROTECTION USE ONLY - ALL PLANTINGS MUST BE TERMINATED. By using this product, you agree to KWS' sale and use restrictions found here: this product, you agree to KWS' sale and use restrictions found here:

Canada:

USA:

These seeds are protected by KWS' intellectual property rights.

The Terms and Conditions allow and promote the use and availability of leading rye technology in the form of common rye seed from KWS hybrid rye to be used for soil protection. This will provide farmers with leading soil protection genetics to be used to support environmental stewardship of soil, water, and air between crops.

The Terms and Conditions are an agreement that protects KWS intellectual property and associated seed quality that is imperative to the future of KWS and farmers. Investment and development of new seed technology costs millions of dollars and over ten years to come to market. It is critically important that KWS protects their technology so that KWS can continue to invest in improved technologies to increase yield, quality and pest resistance while improving sustainability of the environment.

If a farmer breaches the Terms and Conditions, KWS has the right to remove the farmer from the program and pursue legal action to collect damages for violation of KWS' intellectual property rights. KWS has an auditing program to ensure compliance with the Terms and Conditions.

Termination means destroying of the soil protection rye before maturity. Appropriate methods for this include herbicide, tillage, roller crimping or mowing.

Common seed is not a seed variety. lt is seed that could be one to many years off its parentage and exposed to outcrossing with other rye pollen sources. lt is not fit for any expressed purpose for yield or quality and has no distinguishability, stability, or uniformity in its measure. lt also has lower standards as it relates to germination and purity. Pedigreed seed on the other hand is of a known seed variety and is fully traceable to its parentage. lt is fit for the expressed purpose for yield and quality and is distinguishable, stable, and uniform in its measure. lt has the highest standards for germination and purity.

KWS COVER+™ is not a hybrid rye. KWS COVER+™ is a second-generation common rye seed that comes from KWS hybrids. KWS COVER+™ may contain progeny from any of the chosen KWS grain hybrids. Hybrids on the other hand are produced from known parents under a pedigreed seed system and exhibit distinctive yield and quality traits not found in KWS COVER+™. KWS COVER+™ and KWS hybrids are completely different products.

By planting KWS COVER+™ you agree to terminate the plants before they reach maturity. In the unlikely event that environmental factors prevent this termination the farmer must contact KWS to determine a case-by-case solution. Please e-mail coverplus@kws.com

Like many seeds, genetic makeup and consistency degrade over time. In the case of hybrids this happens much quicker than traditional technologies. KWS wishes to ensure farmers achieve consistent results every time a farmer uses a KWS product. Furthermore, the KWS COVER+™ program is governed by Terms and Conditions that strictly prohibit use, transfer or sale for production of any crop including grain, forage, or seed.

Yes, farmers can use KWS COVER+™ for grazing. At KWS we don’t see grazing as a harvested commercial crop like grain, forage or seed which are strictly governed by the KWS COVER+™ Terms and Conditions. The purpose of KWS COVER+™ is to be terminated in spring before maturity and reseeded to a commercial crop. Grazing can be integral to soil protection and is considered a practice that further enriches the soil and supports KWS interests and efforts in improving soil erosion control, soil aggregation, water retention, nutrient preservation, weed suppression and carbon capture. After grazing, farmers will still need to use the appropriate methods for termination which include herbicide, tillage, roller crimping or mowing.

There are two ways a farmer can participate in the KWS COVER+™ program. KWS hybrid rye farmers can now sell grain from KWS hybrid rye production to KWS COVER+™ License Partners. The grain will be cleaned, labelled, and sold as KWS COVER+™ common rye seed for use in soil protection. This will provide KWS hybrid rye farmers with a new and significant opportunity for marketing grain from hybrid rye production while supporting soil protection and environmental stewardship.

i. Farmers can purchase KWS COVER+™ common rye seed from KWS COVER+™ partners for use as a consistent germination program to optimize soil canopy establishment and development to protect soil, water, and air between crops. For more information on KWS COVER+™ Partners near you visit: www.kws.com/ca/en/coverplus/ in Canada and www.kws.com/us/en/coverplus/ in US

As a KWS Hybrid Rye Single Use Agreement holder you will be sent a letter of permission to sell your current crop to a KWS COVER+™ License Partner. You will also receive a new Single Use Agreement to sign By July 31, 2024 that will extend your ability to:

i. Sell your hybrid rye grain to a KWS COVER+™ License Partner. This partner will have the ability to process and clean your hybrid rye grain and to sell it for soil protection as KWS COVER+™. This will be a new grain market for all KWS hybrid rye growers including all KWS hybrids already planted in the fall of 2023.

ii. Purchase new KWS COVER+™ common rye seed from KWS COVER+™ Partner for use as a soil protection program on your farm.

For more information regarding KWS COVER+TM please email us at coverplus@remove-this.kws.com

or call 403.926.8861