14 SEEDWORLD.COM/CANADA NOVEMBER 2026 What Manitoba Seed Growers Refuse to Lose HARVEST HAS A way of shrinking the seed world to the size of a field. In the weeks leading up to the print ing of Seed World Canada’s November issue, members of the Manitoba Seed Growers’ Association (MSGA) have largely been occupied with combines, weather and getting crops safely into the bin. Meetings slowed. Policy discus sions have briefly taken a back seat to the immediate demands of the season. “We’ve kind of all been in our own little bubbles lately with harvest going on,” says MSGA Vice-President Tracy Court, a seed grower from Plumas, Man. Outside those bubbles, however, Canada’s seed system is undergoing some of its biggest changes in decades. Seed regulatory modernization is moving closer to proposed regulations. Questions are emerging about the future of merit testing for several crop types. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) is reduc ing staff and closing research facilities, including its satellite research farm at Portage la Prairie. At the same time, industry organizations are considering new approaches to seed certification, inspection and governance. For an association founded in 1928, the challenge is not simply whether the system should change. It is deciding what must be protected as it does. But easier cannot mean less dependable. Nearly a Century of Seed The MSGA was established almost a century ago, when Canada was building many of the institutions that would come to underpin the modern pedigreed seed system. Today, the incorporated non-profit Nearly a century after its founding, the Manitoba Seed Growers’ Association is navigating regulatory modernization, public research cuts and a simple question: who will give farmers the independent data they need? represents approximately 680 pedi greed seed growers. In 2025, its mem bers produced about 315,095 acres of pedigreed seed across more than 22 crop kinds. Manitoba’s broader seed industry contributes an estimated $700 million to the provincial economy, according to the association. Its purpose has remained remark ably consistent: represent seed growers, promote certified seed and help move improved genetics from plant breeders into farmers’ fields. The practical meaning of that mis sion, however, has expanded. Today, it includes participating in national policy discussions, supporting education and grower development, advocating for the seed quality assurance system and helping Manitoba farmers interpret an increasingly complex variety market place. One of its most visible contributions Jennifer Seward serves as MSGA executive director. Tracy Court is vice-president of the Manitoba Seed Growers’ Association. is Seed Manitoba, produced through the Manitoba Crop Variety Evaluation Team (MCVET) in partnership with Seed World Group, Manitoba Agriculture and other industry organizations. The seed guide delivers independent, standard ized performance information collected through replicated trials across the province. That work is central to the issue now occupying MSGA Executive Director Jennifer Seward. Faster Registration, But What About the Data? Canada’s variety registration system divides regulated crop kinds into three parts. Part I requires pre-registration testing and an assessment of merit. Part II requires testing without merit assess ment. Part III requires only the basic regis tration requirements. A proposal being discussed within the seed sector would
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