CSAAC Executive Director
We’re well into 2020, and that means the Seed Synergy Collaboration Project is coming to a head.
This is the year that our industry associations will vote on the proposal to form a single National Seed Organization (NSO). Ratification packages will be going out soon, and I’m proud to say that the Commercial Seed Analysts Association of Canada will be the first to vote at our AGM on May 27.
It’s exciting to be the first group to vote on something that’s been in the works for many years. As we take a bold step toward ushering in a new era, I wanted to take the opportunity to say how happy we are as an organization to potentially join together with the other groups that make up the seed sector.
CSAAC has a long history. We were formed in 1944 by six seed analysts working in the private sector. The goals at the time were uniformity, education, keeping up with new technologies and cooperating with regulators. The founding members were all women, a trend that continues today — a full three-quarters of our members are female.
For many of us, this is a family affair. My mother, Marie Greeniaus, was a longtime seed analyst. CSAAC’s Outstanding Achievement Award is named after her. She always said I’d be a seed analyst. I never believed her, but here I am. In other words, seed analysts are a tight-knit group, and that’s reflected in the way CSAAC operates. As the Seed Synergy project comes to a head and we are about to vote on the NSO proposal, I want to use this month’s space to clear up some myths about CSAAC.
MYTH: CSAAC gets financial support from seed growers and the seed trade.
FACT: We are entirely self-funded. We do not charge any fees to the seed industry. We are funded from analyst member fees which are paid by the labs they work for. These fees are not passed along to other industry groups. We do receive some money from sponsorships for our AGM and workshop from laboratories, companies and associations that choose to support us.
MYTH: CSAAC is a small outdated group that doesn’t really have a purpose anymore.
FACT: While we are indeed small with less than 100 individual members, we are the quality control for the whole seed certification system. Pedigreed seed lots can’t be sold without a report of analysis from an accredited seed lab signed by an accredited seed analyst.
MYTH: All accredited seed analysts in Canada are members of CSAAC and participate in continuing education programs.
FACT: Once analysts become accredited by the CFIA they are not required to become a member of a professional association and are not required to partake in any sort of continuing education program. All of CSAAC’s analysts voluntarily choose to join our association to ensure that they stay up to date on rules and regulations and they adhere to CSAAC’s mandatory continuing education requirements. This shows that when you see the CSAAC Seal on your report of analysis that the laboratory which issued it is going above and beyond accreditation requirements. These analysts and the laboratories that they work in know that ongoing training is crucial.
We’re here to serve the growers and the trade and help them with their businesses, and I believe the formation of the NSO will only allow us to do this better. As part of the NSO design, CSAAC will perform vital functions under the Member & Client Services and Seed Certification categories, offering professional development and training as well as science support.
I look forward to reporting on the results of our NSO ratification vote in the July print edition. Stay tuned!
