Germination put out the call for nominations to identify some of our industry’s most important mentors who have played a role in helping the next generation develop their skills. We had three main criteria: they be a person who’s demonstrated proven mentorship skills; they be at least 55 years of age; and they be retired from their main seed industry job. Here’s the third of who we selected for 2022.
Cathy Breadner
Age: 66
Location: Ontario
Known for: Inspiring others to become seed analysts
Cathy Breadner worked in the seed testing business for more than four decades as a senior analyst and seed lab auditor and was heavily involved with the Commercial Seed Analysts Association of Canada and served as national president. She was one of the first analysts to start an independent seed testing lab called Canadian Seed Lab, notes Sarah Foster, president of 20/20 Seed Labs.
“Cathy was very influential and inspiring, bringing seed testing to the forefront of industry leaders and government. Cathy has always been a true mentor and gave selflessly of her time,” Foster says.
Breadner says being a seed analyst takes a lot of patience and a lot of time, which likely helped her learn to be a good mentor.
“Seed analysis is not in a book. You work with a lot of seeds and a lot of samples. You need someone with you to help you describe them and explain them, and then you make your own collection. That becomes a reference for your life’s work,” she says.
“I’ve had people call and say, ‘Can you send me the seed analyst book? I’m thinking about being a seed analyst myself.’ There’s just no such thing. It takes about three years of on-the-job training to become an analyst and you need a good teacher.”
For more Top 10 Mentors Who Matter:
Never Stop Learning and Nourish Your Network, says Plant Breeding Legend Bryan Harvey
Plant Breeders! Do Your Work With a Collaborative Spirit, Says Harvey Voldeng
