24 GERMINATION.CA JULY 2017 THE TOWN OF Arborg has something to be proud of. A new oat set to hit the market in 2020 is being named after this quiet little Manitoba farming community, and it’s all because of its very own Ron Weik. Weik, a seed industry veteran who serves as seed portfo- lio manager for FP Genetics, has been honoured by the Crop Development Centre (CDC) at the University of Saskatchewan for his seed industry contributions with the naming of this newly registered oat variety — CDC Arborg. “I never really thought about receiving this type of honour. It is emotionally humbling to be recognized in this way,” Weik says. Weik has dedicated much of his time to the seed indus- try and over the past 15 years has served on the Intellectual Property, Western Cereals and Oilseeds, and the External Relations Committees with the Canadian Seed Trade Association. He also recently attended his 25th Prairie Grain Development Committee (PGDC) Variety Recommending Committee meeting. He has served 14 years on the Quality Committee for Wheat, Rye and Triticale.  Aaron Beattie, oat and barley breeder at the Crop Development Centre where CDC Arborg was developed, says that Weik’s contributions to the seed industry made him more than deserving of the honour. “Ron has been a good promoter of our oat varieties over the years, ensuring they are exposed to producers and the North American oat milling industry,” Beattie says. For example, the placement of CDC Ruffian in 2016 on the Grain Millers Preferred Variety list, and the concurrent use of a certified seed contracting program with Grain Millers, provides a lot of value to the CDC. “[Ron] provides an honest and knowledgeable opinion on vari- ety potential with growers and end-users, which has been much appreciated.” Kofi Agblor, managing director of the CDC, says that plant breeders rely on seed industry representatives like Weik to responsibly move varieties out to commercial success. “Consider that a few hundred kilograms of breeder seed leaves the breeders' hands and in three years, a few thousand tonnes of certified seed is released for commercial production — all done under protocols that maintain genetic purity and seed quality.”  A new oat variety gets named after a Manitoba farming community in honour of seed industry veteran Ron Weik. Marc Zienkiewicz SMALLTOWN, BIG RECOGNITION WINNIPEG ARBORG BRANDON “IT’SQUITEANHONOURTOHAVEANOAT NAMEDAFTERUS.” –LorneFloyd Seed industry veteran Ron Weik has had an oat named in his honour — CDC Arborg, named after his hometown. • 103 KILOMETRES NORTH OF WINNIPEG • POPULATION: 1,250 • FIRST SETTLED MORE THAN 100 YEARS AGO