Certifying Canada’s Seed Crop
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Each year, seed crop inspectors take to the fields to analyze and certify that seed from a specified lot meets stringent quality standards.
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Each year, in Canada more than 2,100 varieties of more than 50 different crop kinds are certified. This includes more than 3,500 producers across nine provinces. These certified crops are grown from about 17,000 fields, representing an estimated 1.2 million acres. Each year, more than 2,500 plots are inspected._x000D_
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This is the world’s largest seed crop certification program, which received an overhaul in 2014 with the implementation of the Alternative Service Delivery program or ASD. This overhaul essentially outsourced seed inspections for certification and transitioned to the communications to an electronic format._x000D_
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In 2014, only Section 2 and Section 3 crop kinds (cereals and pulses, including soybeans), representing about 82 per cent of inspections, transitioned to the new program._x000D_
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In 2014, 1.18 million acres were inspected, of which 89.5 per cent were completed through the Alternative Service Delivery program. Additionally about 90 per cent of the inspection applications were received online, compared with only 27 per cent in 2013. And 100 per cent of inspection reports were submitted electronically, compared to just 10 per cent a year ago._x000D_
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According to survey results, more than 90 per cent of the 35 respondents were satisfied, or more than satisfied, with the quality of seed crop inspections, and 81 per cent felt they had sufficient choice when choosing a service provider._x000D_
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When honing in on the third-party inspection service, 81 per cent of survey respondents did not have any issues with third-party inspection, but 19 per cent did have an issue._x000D_
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When asked if their company benefitted from restricting service providers to third-parties, 37 per cent said yes and 63 per cent said no._x000D_
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Plans are still being made for the 2015 cropping season, so stay tuned to Germination for more information._x000D_
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Julie Deering
