14 GERMINATION.CA JANUARY 2019 “Listen to people. It’s tough, but important when looking to build relationships inside and outside your organization. When you won’t hear other perspectives and sometimes opinions you don’t want to hear, you won’t find common ground, and that’s the basis of all relationships.” — Kelly Chambers, executive director at Alberta Seed Growers “What we’re very much interested in is models that can get a better rate of return for breeders on farm-saved seed. So… we’re exploring that right now and are in consultation with the value chain as a whole.” — Anthony Parker, Commissioner of the Plant Breeders’ Rights Office, Canada “The big thing is making sure our long-term goals are aligned. I don’t want future generations to look back at what’s happening in the industry right now and say, ‘Tom, what did you do?’ We need to put a lot of thought into what we’re doing so that those future generations will see success.” — Tom Greaves, President, Pitura Seeds SUCH A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF YOUR CROSSES PRODUCE NEW CULTIVARS OR ACTUALLY BECOME COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS, EITHER THE PARENTS DIDN’T COMBINE WELL OR THE HYBRID DIDN’T HAVE THE TRAIT YOU WANTED. THERE IS A LOT OF FAILURE FOR EACH NEW CULTIVAR REGISTERED. — Rob Duncan, plant breeder at the University of Manitoba “The feedback we’ve been receiving has been consistent, and members are looking for some concrete direction and action.” — Jonathan Nyborg, new CSGA president giant HIGHLIGHTS