A Word from the President

Welcome to the 2024 Detasseling and Derouging Season with WR! We are looking forward to working with you this summer. Whether this is your first experience with WR or perhaps you have been with us for years — we are very happy that you have reached out to us.

WR Detasseling will continue to implement effective safety policies at the workplace and will provide employees with PPE. We want our employees to be safe and comfortable while working so that we all can be effective in the fields. Please take some time and review our policies and video links that will help to educate you

Corn detasseling is a very important essential service that acts as the starting blocks for the food chain. Without seeds, we will have no ability to have food in 2025. It is therefore necessary to accomplish the task of corn detasseling and derouging this summer.

It is my goal to match up hard working and caring workers with Supervisors who have very similar characteristics. Our Supervisors are all teachers, which means they are used to working with students. We love to work as a team and take great pride in our safety, our “team approach”, and our capabilities as an organization.

Please refer to our registration page and sign up today!

We have been doing this for a long, long time and we know what it takes for you to be successful. Read our website, listen to our staff, and you will have a great working experience.

All the very best.

Kent Willmore
President WR Detasseling Ltd.

About WR

WR Detasseling began in 1984 with the company’s founder and a few friends tackling 7 acres of seed corn. Within two years we hired our first students and detasseled 300 acres. We grew, changed, evolved and gradually became who we are today. We will employ over 650 students this 2023 season and expect to detassel thousands of acres, removing millions of tassels. Our success is directly linked to the quality of detasseling that we provide our customers each summer. This is why we place high value on training, safety, good attitudes, and reward excellent performance.

There are many benefits for working on a WR Detasseling corn crew. Read through this list to learn about some of them. Sign up to work on a WR crew to experience them for yourself.

  • Employee Health and Safety is our number #1 priority at WR. WR has prepare a comprehensive health and safety plan to address the risks associated with COVID-19. Working along side the Ministry of Labour, Occupational Health and Safety, Workplace Safety and Prevention Service, Health Canada, and Chatham-Kent Public Health WR will continue to advise, and adjust safety guidelines as they evolve.
  • The season is short, but WR will work more days and hours than any other detasseling company. More opportunity for work means more opportunity for pay.
  • We believe that keeping our work days no more than 8 hours is using our resources wisely. Not overworking our employees means strong attitudes and bodies day after day.
  • Quality work and dedication will be rewarded. Those who perform to standard will be paid fairly. Those who exhibit outstanding quality performance, leadership skills, independent work ethic and exceptional attendance may receive the elite detasseler hourly wage if nominated by their.supervisor
  • There is a team spirit that develops with each crew. A respectful and motivating environment is fostered and good attitudes are encouraged.
  • Training is provided and supervisors work with and encourage you until you are working at pace with the rest of the team.
  • WR Supervisors are well-trained and know what they are doing. This gives detasselers the freedom to focus on their work without the need to be concerned with details like when their next break should be taken, whether they will reach their goals, or whether they are being pushed too hard.
  • Performance expectations are reasonable and everyone contributes to a job well done.

The National Post wrote a special article on WR Detasseling and the corn detasseling industry. It has an excellent description of the job, the business and the people. Read the article entitled Children of the corn by Brian E. Case in PDF format. The Chatham-Kent Daily Post also wrote an interesting article that can be found online entitled ‘Children of the Corn’ Read the article by Bob Boughener, photos and videos by Aaron Hall  

Corn days Come to a Close
. This is a must-read for anyone interested in working in the fields this coming season. Producing hybrid seed is part of a multi-billion dollar global industry. Detasseling is the act of removing the female pollen-producing tassel (the top of the plant) from the female corn plant. Seed corn fields that will be detasseled are planted in distinct patterns of male and female rows of corn. By removing the tassels from the female plants, the male plants and their tassles are left behind to fertilize the female rows. The result of this pollination process is a superior breed of seed containing specific genetic qualities. The superior seed can then be marketed and sold around the globe for the production of commercial grade corn for food, ethanol and many other products. Removing the tassels from the corn plants is actually the simplest part of a very complex business involving seed corn genetic research and development. When the employees of WR Detasseling step into the fields, seed corn producers have already invested a great deal of time and money to develop the best possible hybrids. Detasseling is one of the crucial last steps to bring this hybrid seed to market. Mechanized detasselers exist, however, detasseling by hand is still necessary because of the variation in height of corn plants and the necessity to remove 99.7％ of the tassels that machines simply cannot acheive.

Our Success

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