32 GERMINATION.CA JULY 2017 IN THE MERCHANTS OF SEED, a history book detailing the founding of the Canadian Seed Trade Association (CSTA), then-CSTA president Lloyd Dick notes that the people of the seed industry “are both colourful and full of character.” This year’s CSTA award winners, honoured at the association’s annual meeting in Halfiax, N.S., on July 9-11, 2017, are no exception. The CSTA awarded Bill Legge its Plant Breeding and Genetics Award. Legge was employed as a barley breeder at the Agriculture and Agri- Food Canada (AAFC) research station in Brandon, Man., for approximately 30 years. He has become an accom- plished breeder of two-row malting barley in Canada. In fact, his variety AC Metcalfe was the most widely grown two-row malting barley in Canada from 2000 to 2015, notes SeCan R&D manager Jim Downey. Legge’s variety AAC Synergy shows promise as another popular two-row malting variety. Legge’s attention to disease resist- ance also led to the establishment of a fusarium head blight nursery at the AAFC Brandon Research Centre. This nursery provides a major service to barley breeders and farmers by developing improved disease resist- ance for new varieties. “Dr. Legge’s work has been instru- mental in building Canada’s inter- national reputation as a quality malt barley supplier,” says Jill McDonald, executive director of the Saskatchewan Barley Development Commission. Aaron Beattie, associate profes- sor in the barley and oat breed- ing program at the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre, praises Legge for his help in mentoring the next generation. “Bill has been a valuable contribu- tor to me and has been a helpful source of information and advice during my early years as a barley breeder,” Beattie adds. Making a Better Industry A former CSTA president, Dorothy Murrell has had a long and storied history in the seed industry, and Bill Legge, Dorothy Murrell and Stephen Denys are all being honoured by the Canadian Seed Trade Association for their hard work in advancing their industry. Marc Zienkiewicz BOLSTERINGTHESEEDTRADE Bill Legge, awarded the Plant Breeding and Genetics Award. was honoured this year with CSTA’s Honorary Life Membership Award. For her friend and colleague John Cowan, Murrell’s life in seed mirrors the timeless message from L. Frank Baum’s literary classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Murrell was on the CSTA execu- tive when CSTA made a substantial change in direction, notes Cowan, himself a past recipient of the Honorary Life Membership Award. “CSTA went from [talking] almost exclusively with government regula- Former CSTA president Dorothy Murrell has become an honorary life member. “CSTAWENTFROM[TALKING]ALMOSTEXCLUSIVELYWITH GOVERNMENTREGULATORSTO[SPEAKING]WITHPOLITICIANS, PROVINCIALLEGISLATORS,GROWERGROUPSANDTOANEARLY EXTENT,EVENTHEGENERALPUBLIC.” –JohnCowan