BEING A 95-year-old organization, it’s no surprise that the Canadian Seed Trade Association (CSTA) was a product of its time and place. In the early 1920s, the seed landscape looked much different than today. “Seed production in the early part of the last century was largely focused in Ontario, including forage seed produc- tion,” notes Dorothy Murrell, former CSTA president and currently the project direc- tor for the University of Saskatchewan’s Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence. At the time, the federal government and its agriculture minister, William Richard Motherwell, were looking for an advisory board to advise them on matters pertain- ing to the Canada Seeds Act. The CSTA was officially formed in 1922 to provide such an advisory board. The association began to expand its influ- ence, and in time went from an advisory role to the function it serves today — as a major voice for the Canadian seed trade. It now represents over 130 member com- panies in all matters pertaining to all aspects of seed research, production and marketing, both domestically and internationally. As Canada’s agriculture industry became more varied and began spreading out, the CSTA adapted to suit the chang- ing times, Murrell notes. The seed indus- try gradually expanded into the Prairie provinces. Seed companies were set up in Western Canada to process and sell seed. In the 1940s, the CSTA expanded to form eastern and western seed trade asso- ciations. A consolidated convention in the 1940s was where the tradition began of having CSTA presidents alternate between East and West. PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE | PART 1 | CANADIAN SEED TRADE ASSOCIATION CSTAChangingAlong withitsIndustry For 95 years, the Canadian Seed Trade Association has helped lead the way in a shifting Canadian seed landscape. “That tradition continues today, serv- ing to help in maintaining strong linkages between Eastern and Western Canada,” Murrell says. The CSTA office moved from Winnipeg to Ottawa in the early 1980s, and remains based there today. Its executive director, Crosby Devitt, recently left the organiza- tion to serve as vice-president of the Grain Farmers of Ontario. As CSTA looks for his replacement, he looks back on the last two years he spent in his role with CSTA. “Generally, if you look at how agricul- ture has changed, the seed industry has changed a lot and has a lot of influence on how agriculture looks today in Canada. The crops we grow today are different than the ones we grew 100, 50 or even 20 years ago. One example is canola,” Devitt says. “Fifty years ago, CSTA wouldn’t be working on canola, but now we have major efforts around this crop. CSTA works based on the wishes of its mem- bership. That’s the kind of flexibility that has helped it be successful over almost a century of being a major voice in this industry.” “Major voice” would be an understate- ment. CSTA has evolved over the years to form a strong committee structure dedi- cated to dealing with a number of issues concerning the seed industry in Canada. It has committees for biotechnology; forage and turf; corn, soybeans and eastern cereals; intellectual property; oilseeds, pulses and western cereals; seed-applied technologies; international issues; eastern and western researchers; and stakeholder relations. While CSTA has changed to suit a shift- ing agricultural landscape, its membership 8 GERMINATION.CA JULY 2017 Dorothy Murrell is a former president of the CSTA and a project director at the University of Saskatchewan. Crosby Devitt is the former executive director of the Canadian Seed Trade Association.