Woops ! Lets set some things straight here. This thread is full of errors. Most hybrids are not sterile. Rememeber if they were sterile they could not pollinate themselves in straight stands where hybrids are often grown. Its true you can have a sterile hybrid (interspecific hybridization/nuclear sterility genes, etc) but to paint all hybrids sterile is a gross mis-interpretation. Heritage lines breed true ? Nooo - heritage refers to the perceived origin of the plant. Just because the population it derives from was developed in the last century has nothing to do with its mode of reproduction which is the driving force on the genetic structure of the population and determines whether it is genetically uniform, or not. If you have a largely self pollinating plant like pea - it can maintain genetic continuity and stability over time. Out crosssing plants (corn/pumpkin)are extremely difficult to maintain in pure state without controlled pollinations unless they are growing in strict isolation. So, the bottom line is that a heritage label has very little to do with genetic continuity across generations. It follows that genetic purity is NOT a broad result of heritage/antique labelled material. Rather the opposite. Often such material is diverse in genetic background because of ad-mixtures, outcrosssing, segregating material, accumulated mutations and more... all this speaks to diverse germplasm not purity and uniformity. GMO=genetically modified organism. Most GMO's are mans insertions of genetic material into the genome of another recipient plant. The donor can be from the same or another species. Organic production is the PROCESS of production. Whether a cultivar is labelled as "heritage" or "antique" has little to do with process and much to do with provenance/origin and handling of the germplasm over its history. Its true, but confusing, that organic standards impose restrictions and requirements on cultivars that qualify for "organic labelling". However, these seed source restrictions are aimed at excluding certain material deemed to be undesirable. Less to do with directly qualifying the source as more desirable than another. Yes, I know some ideological purists will not agree. However, you can grow a GMO modified plant in an organic production system - it will not qualify for organic labelling, but it will have been grown organically. Confused - so is the rest of the world. So are the standards. Back to seed prices. Driving factors in price increases are rapidly escalating costs of shipping and regulatory/legal compliance.

I called the factory the other day and was told that the price increase "did not come from us." However, my local dealer, Signature Marketing, and Eurostoves all say that the price will go up June 1. My local dealer said 5 - 7 percent.

Bluestar raised their prices in Canada June 1/08 if memory serves correct. I bought before then!! :) God, I got such a SWEET deal on mine. Actually, on that subject. Since the CDN dollar plummeted so much lately(which i sooo predicted would happen.....damn, i should have bought US dollars a year ago). Anyway, it *may* be worth it for US residents in or near border towns to take a look into purchasing a Bluestar in Canada. When I purchased mine in the spring(08), when the CDN dollar was at about par with the greenback, I paid less than any price I had seen advertised in the US, and less than any price I had seen anyone on GW or elsewhere publicly admit to paying. Now that our dollar is a good 20-25% lower in value it may be very beneficial to try buying one here. I just thought about this scenerio....I know there has been talk about CDN Costco's having 30" RCS's for $2000CDN...I do remember hearing it has gone up to $2500 tho. But in any case, 2500x.80 is $2000 USD. I am not sure if I should post my price I paid for my 48" RNB, but if you could buy it anywhere close to what I had paid and factor in the current exchange, your head would spin!! lol

I got your direct email, i tried to call but the gentleman did not know what i was talking about, I guess it was a wrong number.