10   SEEDWORLD.COM/CANADA   NOVEMBER 2026
WHEN THE FUTURE of Agriculture and 
Agri-Food Canada’s Indian Head and 
Scott research farms was thrown into 
doubt, the Saskatchewan Seed Growers’ 
Association (SSGA) could have issued a 
statement and stopped there.
Instead, it put ideas in front of the 
provincial government for how critical 
research activity might continue.
For an association historically known 
for representing pedigreed seed grow­
ers and promoting certified seed, it was 
a high-profile step into a much larger 
discussion. It also reflected a changing 
understanding of what Saskatchewan 
seed growers contribute to agriculture.
They do not simply multiply seed 
after breeders finish their work. They are 
the link that turns an experimental vari­
ety into something a commercial farmer 
can plant.
“We represent seed growers and their 
individual business interests, and we 
want to see that through,” says SSGA 
Executive Director Chris Barker. “But 
seed growers as a group also represent 
that transition from research to real 
implementation. No new variety really 
gets out there without a seed grower’s 
hands on it.”
That places the association — and 
its roughly 500 members — near the 
centre of Saskatchewan’s crop innova­
tion system. When research capacity 
disappears, seed growers can be among 
the first to notice. Eventually, however, 
the consequences reach every farmer 
looking for better yield, improved disease 
resistance or genetics suited to changing 
growing conditions.
“If we see a gap where innovation is 
being stifled, we want to try and nudge 
it along in our rather small, perhaps 
understated way,” Barker says. “But we’re 
prepared to stand up and say, ‘This is 
going to be a problem for everybody, not 
just seed growers.’”
Nearly a Century at the Centre of 
Saskatchewan Farming
The SSGA was formed in 1928 as an 
incorporated, non-profit organization 
dedicated to improving pedigreed seed 
production and encouraging its use by 
commercial farmers.
Its work has traditionally included 
advocacy, education, networking and 
providing information to members. 
The association also partners with 
Seed World Group to publish the 
Saskatchewan Seed Guide, supports learn­
ing opportunities and represents seed 
growers in discussions with industry and 
government.
The scale of that work is significant. 
Saskatchewan seed growers produced 
approximately 340,000 acres of pedi­
greed seed across more than 25 crop 
kinds in 2022. The association estimates 
the pedigreed seed industry contributes 
$790 million to the provincial economy 
and supports an $11-billion crop sector.
That reflects Saskatchewan’s unusu­
ally important place in Canada’s seed 
system. Cereals, pulses and other open­
pollinated crops occupy a large share of 
the province’s farmland, meaning locally 
and publicly supported breeding pro­
grams remain especially important.
Saskatchewan does not have the 
same concentration of corn and soy­
bean production — or the same level 
of multinational seed company involve­
ment — as some other provinces. New 
varieties emerging from the University 
of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development 
Centre, AAFC and other Prairie breed­
ing programs therefore depend heavily 
on local seed growers to increase seed 
supplies and introduce those genetics to 
farmers.
They may grow a new variety for 
three or four years before enough seed 
is available for broad commercial sale. 
During that period, they learn how it 
performs under field conditions, where 
it fits and whether farmers are likely to 
want it. They also assume the risk.
Not every new variety becomes a 
commercial success. A variety may excel 
in one part of Saskatchewan and offer 
little advantage in another. Seed grow­
Saskatchewan Seed Growers Move Beyond 
the Blue Tag
After nearly a century representing pedigreed seed growers, the Saskatchewan Seed Growers’ 
Association is taking a larger role in protecting research capacity, accelerating variety adoption 
and shaping the province’s innovation system.
SSGA Executive Director Chris Barker 
says seed growers are the frontier farmers 
of innovation, particularly on the variety-
development side.

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