Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 6042 THECanadian Seed Growers’ Association emerged from its annual meeting in Clear Lake, Man., in July with two resolutions that could serve to change the Canadian seed landscape in some pretty significant ways. CSGA resolved to update its Circular 6 document, which contains the requirements to produce pedigreed seed crops in Canada, to be more in line with modern technology and the present-day regulatory environment. The decision could see major updates made to a document that was originally written in the 20th century. At the same time, CSGA passed a resolution — looking ahead to 2017 and the federal government’s plans to legal- ize marijuana — to develop standards by which all varie- ties of cannabis can be certified. In passing the resolution, CSGA has begun a conversation that Canada’s seed industry has yet to formally discuss around a boardroom table. Pedigreed Seed in the 21st Century If Canadian pedigreed seed growers have their own Bible, Circular 6 is it. Its full name, Canadian Regulations and Procedures for Pedigreed Seed Crop Production, couldn’t be any more literal. The lengthy document details how pedigreed seed crops must be grown in Canada. Growers wishing to produce pedigreed seed must understand these requirements and plan their operations to comply with them. Circular 6 has a history that’s as long and detailed as the document itself — an early version dates back to 1929 and deals only with self-fertilizing grain crops. “It was created decades ago, but it’s not like it hasn’t changed,” says Michael Scheffel, CSGA managing director, policy and standards. “It has been revised on an annual basis in response to things that come up. “It’s done a good job of being up-to-date on things, but we haven’t stepped back and said, ‘Let’s take a more holistic look at it.’” Saskatchewan Seed Growers’ Association president Roy Klym has felt for years that Circular 6 needs to be updated to reflect the modern regulatory environment and modern technology. He was at the CSGA meeting and seconded the motion to pass the resolution. “As with everything else, as times have evolved, technology has changed,” Klym says. “We no longer drive our tractors the way we used to. Satellites run them today. Seed pro- cessing is the same — it’s changing and evolving and we have to keep up with the technology.” He feels Circular 6 is behind the times, especially considering that modern technology can solve many of the problems Circular 6 set out to fix with a number of requirements for pedigreed field crop inspection. “Circular 6 talks a lot about purity, and there was a problem with that years ago, partly due to the limitations of cleaning facilities,” Klym says. “I can very readily clean green peas out of yellow peas. Ten years ago, not possible. Does that mean you will decline a field of yellow peas because you’re above the purity level on the greens? Secondary processing can remove that.” There are numerous other examples Klym points to that he says make now the time to update Circular 6 to better reflect what modern technology can do. As president of the Saskatchewan Seed Growers’ Association, he sees a lot of growers who would benefit from a more modern Circular 6 — especially considering the document is only available in print and online in a cumbersome PDF form. At a time when farmers and seed crop inspectors are doing their work on tablets, laptops and other devices, Klym says the document needs to be accessible quickly and easily on all devices. “Part of the impetus for this comes from the fact that seed crop inspection was privatized a couple of years ago with CSGA Sparks Important Conversations Two resolutions to come out of the Canadian Seed Growers’ Association annual meeting serve to take the pedigreed seed industry into new territory.