JULY 2018 GERMINATION.CA 27 KEEP THE FARMER IN MIND “The biggest challenge for a plant breeder is taking all that research and technology and packaging it in a way that’s useful for the farmer. That’s what leads to success as a company. The challenge for the wheat industry is to find a way to enable companies like ours to be financially viable.” Jason Reinheimer Senior breeder, Limagrain Cereals Research Canada FIGHT THE URGE TO MICROMANAGE “I will lay out the vision and point out the path, but I’m not going to tell people how to get to the end point.” Greg Stokke Western Canada area leader, Corteva Agriscience LET YOURSELF GET HOOKED “Working with germplasm is addictive. You see two pieces of it and you ask yourself how it might work to combine them — but anytime I ask myself that, my answer doesn’t come for three to four years, so I have time to think about how I might promote a new product.” Francis Glenn President, Glenn Seed MAXIMIZE EFFICIENCY “Imagine going to the bank and needing a different teller for every kind of transaction. In the seed sector, that’s kind of how we currently operate. A single window will bring all those stakeholder contact points into one spot.” Doug Miller Managing Director, Certification and Technology Services, Canadian Seed Growers’ Association BE PASSIONATE “As a professor, I have the opportunity to interact with undergrad and graduate students and it’s a common theme I see in those who are highly successful — a genuine interest and passion in what they are doing. Having that interest makes it less of a job and more of a vocation — with passion your career is never a struggle.” Curtis Pozniak Professor and wheat breeder, College of Agriculture and Bioresources, University of Saskatchewan TOP 20INFLUENCERS