justin
4009dc0b78
Add the fifth MCP tool — crop_seed_api_lessons(topic?) — backed by docs_mcp/lessons.md, the ONLY source of opinionated content in the server. Everything else (search_docs, get_page, lookup_variety) returns verbatim from vendor catalogs; lessons.md fills the gaps the corpus can't cover. The Pioneer fallback is the critical anti-hallucination piece: Pioneer's ToS bans automation, so the corpus has no Pioneer data. Without this tool, an agent might surface Bayer/Asgrow chunks as mediocre matches for a Pioneer query. The tool's docstring tells the agent to call it on any Pioneer / P-series question; the 'pioneer' section says clearly: "I don't have Pioneer's variety data indexed... please consult Pioneer or an extension service." "Do NOT invent Pioneer hybrid ratings." Other lesson sections cover knowledge the agent needs to interpret search_docs / get_page output correctly: - rating-scales: Bayer 1-9, Golden Harvest 9-to-1, what R/MR/S/Rps1c/R3 mean in soybean disease columns - maturity-semantics: corn RM days vs soybean MG vs wheat class + qualitative early/medium/late - trait-glossary: SSRIB, VT2PRIB, XF, E3, Conkesta, Clearfield, etc. - scn-resistance: race coverage + Peking vs PI 88788 source - regional-listings: how to interpret Bayer's "local profiles" - sources-not-yet-indexed: which vendors aren't in the corpus yet - checking-your-work: always call lookup_variety before quoting Lesson lookup prefers slug-match (returns just `rating-scales` for topic="rating", not every section that mentions ratings); falls back to body-match only when no slug matches. Smoke-tested with topic=pioneer, topic=rating, topic=trait, topic=zzzzzz (no match), and topic=None (full index = 10K chars, 8 sections). Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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# crop_seed API lessons
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Curated knowledge that **does not live in the scraped corpus** but
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that an agent needs to interpret search_docs / get_page results
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correctly. This file is the source for `crop_seed_api_lessons(topic)`.
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Each section starts with a `## <slug>` heading; the tool returns
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sections whose slug matches the topic (substring match) or all
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sections when `topic` is None.
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This file is the *only* place the MCP injects opinionated content.
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Everything else returned by the server comes verbatim from a vendor
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catalog. Lessons here should be: factual, well-cited, and conservative
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about what the corpus actually contains.
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---
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## pioneer
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**Pioneer (Corteva) is NOT in the seed-mcp corpus.** The MCP intentionally
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does not scrape pioneer.com. Per Pioneer's published Terms of Service:
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> "you shall not use any manual or automated software, devices or
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> other processes (including but not limited to spiders, robots,
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> scrapers, crawlers, avatars, data mining tools or the like) to
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> 'scrape' or download data from the Services"
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Pioneer additionally runs Imperva WAF on their catalog API and
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login-walls dealer lookup, so a polite scrape isn't technically
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feasible either.
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**Agent behavior when a farmer asks about Pioneer / P-series hybrids:**
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1. Tell the farmer plainly: "I don't have Pioneer's variety data
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indexed — Pioneer doesn't allow automated indexing of their
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catalog."
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2. Recommend pioneer.com → *Find a Sales Rep* (or call 1-800-247-6803)
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for hybrid specs and local recommendations.
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3. If the farmer wants an independent third-party rating for a
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specific Pioneer hybrid, mention that **university extension
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performance trials** (Iowa State, Illinois Crop Sciences, Purdue,
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Nebraska, Ohio State) publish multi-location yield data on
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Pioneer hybrids alongside competitors — useful if they want
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apples-to-apples data without going through Pioneer's own
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marketing.
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4. **Do NOT invent Pioneer hybrid ratings.** If asked "what's the
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disease tolerance of P1142AM?", the only correct answer is
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"I don't have that data — please consult Pioneer or an
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extension service."
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This is the canonical anti-hallucination policy for the seed-mcp.
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There is no Pioneer data; there is no inference. Direct the farmer
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to a primary source.
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---
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## rating-scales
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Different vendors publish ratings on different conventions. The
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chunker normalizes the *labels* in the chunk preamble but always
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preserves the source's `_scale_direction` field in the sidecar.
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**Bayer (DEKALB / Asgrow / WestBred)**: `1-9 (9 = best)`. A
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GRAY LEAF SPOT rating of 8 means EXCELLENT tolerance. A rating of 2
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means SUSCEPTIBLE.
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**Syngenta Golden Harvest**: `9-to-1 (9 = best, 1 = worst)` —
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this is the *direction* Golden Harvest publishes, but the *meaning*
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of high numbers is the same: high = best. Where the chunker says
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"normalize" for Golden Harvest, that just means we've already
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re-stated it as `1-9 (9 = best)` in the chunk preamble; the source's
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`_scale_direction` field still says `9-to-1` so you can detect the
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provenance.
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**Syngenta NK / AgriPro**: `1-9 (9 = best)`. Same as Bayer.
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**Beck's**: ratings live behind SeedIQ login; only identity-level
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data is publicly available, so most disease/agronomic ratings are
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absent from Beck's records in this corpus.
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**Always check the chunk's "Rating scale" line or call
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`lookup_variety(source_key)` and look at `_scale_direction` if you
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are unsure.** Cross-vendor comparisons are valid AFTER you've
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confirmed each side uses the same direction.
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**Non-numeric values** appear for some characteristics and should be
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read literally:
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- `R`, `MR`, `S` for soybean disease resistance = Resistant / Moderately
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Resistant / Susceptible (not 1-9).
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- `Rps1c`, `Rps3a`, `Rps1k`, etc. = specific Phytophthora resistance
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gene present.
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- `R1`, `R3` (under SOYBEAN CYST NEMATODE) = effective against
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SCN race 1 / race 3.
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- `A`, `B`, `C` under HERBICIDE sensitivity = grade letters where A
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is most tolerant.
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---
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## maturity-semantics
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Maturity is encoded differently per crop. Don't conflate the units.
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**Corn — Relative maturity (RM days)**: integer roughly 75-120.
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Lower = shorter season, suitable for higher latitudes / shorter
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growing windows. 110 RM is a Central Iowa default; 85 RM suits
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northern Minnesota or short-season silage; 115+ RM fits southern
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Indiana / southern Illinois / Missouri Delta. The number is
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**Pioneer-style RM days**, normalized across the industry.
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**Soybeans — Maturity group (MG)**: float 00 (zero-zero) to 9.0
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expressed with one decimal. A "3.5 MG" soybean is for central
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Iowa. Northern North Dakota / Minnesota plant 0.0–1.5 MG. Mid-South
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plants 5.0+. Each tenth of an MG ≈ 7-10 days of additional season.
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Sidecar field: `maturity_group` (e.g. "3.5", "0.7").
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**Wheat — Class + heading**: Winter / spring decision is separate
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from "class" (HRW / HRS / SRW / SWW / SWS / durum):
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- HRW = Hard Red Winter — Plains states bread wheat
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- HRS = Hard Red Spring — Northern Plains, North Dakota, Montana
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- SRW = Soft Red Winter — Eastern Corn Belt, Ohio Valley
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- SWW = Soft White Winter — Pacific Northwest
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- SWS = Soft White Spring — Pacific Northwest
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- Durum — North Dakota / Montana, pasta wheat
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Maturity is qualitative: Early / Medium-Early / Medium / Medium-Late / Late.
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**WestBred's product page JSON does not always expose the wheat class
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as a structured field** — sometimes it's only in the marketing
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narrative (e.g. "WB1376CLP is a Soft White Winter Clearfield® Plus
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Wheat variety"). Read `positioning_statement` carefully when the
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sidecar's `wheat_class` is null.
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---
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## trait-glossary
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Common trait codes that appear in `trait_stack`:
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**Corn:**
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- `SSRIB` — SmartStax® RIB Complete® corn blend (above + below-ground
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insect protection + Roundup Ready + LibertyLink, with refuge-in-bag)
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- `VT2PRIB` — VT Double PRO® RIB Complete® (above-ground insect
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protection + Roundup Ready, refuge-in-bag)
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- `VT4PRIB` — VT4 PRO® RIB Complete® (newer above-ground protection)
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- `Trecepta` — Trecepta® (Trecepta + Roundup Ready + LibertyLink, for
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earworm + western bean cutworm pressure)
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- `SmartStax PRO` — SmartStax® PRO® (RNAi corn rootworm)
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- `PowerCore` — PowerCore® Refuge Advanced (older above-ground stack)
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- `Conventional` — no biotech traits (organic / specialty channels)
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**Soybeans:**
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- `XF` — XtendFlex® (Roundup Ready 2 Xtend + dicamba + glufosinate)
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- `Xtend` — Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® (dicamba + glyphosate)
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- `RR2Y` — Roundup Ready 2 Yield® (glyphosate only)
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- `E3` — Enlist E3® (2,4-D + glyphosate + glufosinate)
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- `LL/LL+GT27` — LibertyLink® / LibertyLink + GT27 (glufosinate +
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glyphosate + isoxaflutole)
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- `Conkesta E3` — Bt-stack for caterpillar pressure (BR/AR markets)
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- `SR` — SR® (sulfonylurea-tolerant, Asgrow-specific)
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**Wheat:**
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- `Clearfield` / `CLP` — Clearfield® / Clearfield® Plus (imazamox
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tolerance)
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- `CoAXium` — CoAXium® (quizalofop tolerance) — note: AgriPro's
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catalog flag, NOT in the WestBred corpus.
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Always render the full trait name (`trait_descriptions`) when telling
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the farmer "this variety has X trait" — bare trait codes are
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ambiguous in print.
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---
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## scn-resistance
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Soybean Cyst Nematode resistance ratings are critical for fields
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with SCN pressure (most of the Corn Belt). Read carefully:
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- `R3` under SOYBEAN CYST NEMATODE = Resistant to race 3 (the most
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common race nationally). Most "SCN-resistant" soybeans on the
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market are R3.
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- `R1, R3` = Resistant to both race 1 AND race 3. Higher value;
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useful in long-rotation SCN fields where race shifts have occurred.
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- `MR3` = Moderately Resistant to race 3. Some yield loss expected
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under high SCN pressure.
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- `S` = Susceptible.
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- Some Bayer Asgrow XF lines (e.g. AG29XF4) use **Peking-type SCN
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resistance**, which is genetically distinct from the more common
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PI 88788 source. Peking is more durable when SCN populations
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have eroded PI 88788 effectiveness. Look for "Peking type" in the
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positioning statement.
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**Recommended workflow when a farmer asks about SCN:** call
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`search_docs` with the user's MG range + "SCN-resistant", then
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`lookup_variety` on the top 2-3 candidates to verify the exact race
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coverage and resistance source.
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---
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## regional-listings
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The `regional_recommendations` array in each sidecar is sourced from
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Bayer's "local profiles" — varieties get assigned to regional Seed
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Guide bundles (e.g. *"2026 Washington, Oregon, SEED GUIDE"*) with a
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named regional agronomist contact. This is the closest signal we have
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to *"is this variety recommended for the farmer's geography?"* but
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note:
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- A variety being absent from a regional listing **does not** mean
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it's unsuitable — Bayer's local agronomists curate these lists.
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- Listings are vendor-side recommendations, not third-party trial
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data.
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- When the farmer mentions a region, try filtering or scanning for
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varieties whose `regional_recommendations[].product_list_name`
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mentions that region.
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Other vendors handle regional placement differently. Golden Harvest
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publishes a separate "plot report" system per state/year/site;
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NK publishes ratings as PDF tech sheets without regional flags.
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---
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## sources-not-yet-indexed
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These vendors are planned but not yet in the corpus. Don't assume
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their data is present:
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- **Golden Harvest (Syngenta)** — ~175 varieties, sitemap-driven
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scrape pending.
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- **NK (Syngenta)** — 29 varieties.
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- **AgriPro (Syngenta wheat)** — 24 wheat varieties (HRW, HRS, HWS,
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SWW, SWS). The only wheat coverage we expect to have outside
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WestBred.
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- **Beck's PFR (research)** — 2,089 head-to-head trial documents.
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Different shape from variety records — these are studies, not
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hybrids.
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- **Beck's products** — 860 products. Identity-only (SeedIQ login
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gates the ratings).
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If `list_versions()` doesn't show a vendor in the `vendor` facet, the
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corpus does not have it yet. Direct the farmer to that vendor's
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public catalog or their seed dealer.
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---
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## checking-your-work
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Before quoting a specific number to a farmer, **always** call
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`lookup_variety(source_key=...)` to confirm. The chunk text inside a
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search_docs response is a faithful render of the sidecar, but the
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sidecar IS the source of truth. Quoting from the canonical sidecar
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makes you robust against:
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- Chunk-text formatting bugs (e.g. a rare unicode issue trimming a
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value).
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- Future chunker changes (a re-index might rewrite the body).
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- Cross-vendor scale-direction differences (the sidecar's
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`_scale_direction` lets you state the convention explicitly).
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If `lookup_variety` returns "not found" but `search_docs` surfaced the
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chunk, that's a bug — please report it. (In normal operation, every
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chunk's `source_key` round-trips to a valid sidecar.)
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