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 44SUPPORTED BY: 16 on the consultation committee,” she says. “We promoted the pre-audit pro- cess with our members because we believed it was a great way to get a third-party assessment to help them make a decision on whether to proceed with any capital investments that would be required to be accredited. Thirty- four of the 40 facilities that apply seed treatments participated in the pre-audit program.” The program has some “good sense” elements to it, even if a business decides not to become fully accredited, Klaas adds. Todd Hyra, SeCan’s business man- ager for Western Canada says that many of SeCan’s independent seedsmen members are working toward compli- ance, but initially had some concerns. “There were concerns raised by independent seedsmen that the cost of potential upgrades would be difficult to recoup,” he says. “SeCan had guest speakers at our fall business meetings to review what needed to be done. “Our members learned that most of the upgrades were just good steward- ship or management practises, and in many instances there were economi- cal ways to reach compliance with the requirements.” SeCan also encouraged members to participate in the pre-audit process to ensure they had the information they needed to make a decision about accreditation with ample time to make the changes that would be required to be in compliance with the standard. One of SeCan’s members, Chris Ens of Ens Farms and Ens Quality Seed in Manitoba says his operation is almost ready to seek accreditation, but it has been a fairly onerous task. “We went through the pre-audit process and it was helpful; however, it is a great deal of work for the 10 to 20 days a year that our facility is used,” he says. One thing that could be improved is the coordination of information, Ens points out. “We have asked a lot of questions and at times have difficulty getting answers, and sometimes the information from our auditor conflicts with what we receive from the people in charge,” he says. Rod Merryweather, FP Genetics CEO, estimates that about one-third of seed growers will likely choose not to seek accreditation. “They are not treating with seed treatments and do not plan to in the future so do not need to implement the program,” he says. “However, our shareholders who do treat seed are fully supportive of the program and see the value of the new regulations. “Some are building larger warehouses and seed treating facilities to prepare for the sale of additional seed applied tech- nologies and other crop inputs if that fits their future business model.” Mobile Treaters Must be Accredited Mobile seed treating operations are a large part of the sector, and they too must be accredited. Hurst says, while mobile treaters will not be required to comply with the siting and structural protocols unless they have permanent storage facilities, their process systems will still need to comply. “Mobile treaters still need to meet health and safety requirements. They still have to prove that product is being properly and safely stored, training has been provided, as well as personal pro- tective equipment,” he says. “They will also need to ensure that all documenta- tion and operational plans are complete and available.” What is a Designated Product? Only operations that wish to treat seed with “designated products” will have to be accredited. It will be enforced by a “no ship” policy, which means starting Jan. 1, 2017, designated products will not be provided to a seed treater unless an accreditation number is provided. Designated products are identified by the product registrant. When prod- ucts are registered, the intended use must be identified. Designated prod- ucts to which the standard will apply are those that are labelled for commer- cial use. Commercial use is defined as “treating seed for sale or gain.” “A list of designated products will be available on the AWSA website,” Hurst says. “The list will expand as registrants choose to designate new products for the commercial seed treating sector.” What About On-Farm Treating? Products that have a use statement on the label identifying them for use on farm will not be subject to the stand- ard. Hurst says: “It has always been our policy that the standard would not reach the on-farm treatment segment. Farmers will continue to have access to non-designated seed treatments, and to seed treated by a commercial treater, but likely have never had access to treatments labelled for commercial use to treat seed on farm.” What Next? Hurst is confident that most commercial seed operations will be ready Jan. 1. However, operations can seek accredi- tation at any time. “Our 31 auditors will continue to be facilitative, working with operations to help them understand options for achieving accreditation,” he says. “We are developing, and will maintain, a dynamic website that lists auditors and designated products. “New communication and training materials are being developed and updated. We are working with Ridgetown College to develop online training courses, and the program itself will be continuously monitored by a stewardship leadership committee to ensure that we are accomplishing the goal of environmental stewardship in a way that can be managed by the industry.” Patty Townsend