Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60MARCH 2017 GERMINATION.CA 15 CANADA USA MEXICO BRAZIL PARAGUAY CHILE ARGENTINA seed associations to use on LLP cases and discuss with their respective authorities. This was presented during ISF’s 2016 World Seed Congress in Uruguay, distributed to all the national seed associations and presented in a South American regional workshop with authorities. Kiekebusch says efforts such as these will continue with the goal of getting countries to recognize that legal cer- tainties are needed for LLP management. Just as SAA encourages regulators to recognize the natural biology of ecosystems, it also advocates for the use of sustainable technologies advantageous to both farmers and the environment — seed treatments. The Seed Treatment Working Group, which aims to reduce trade barriers throughout the Americas associated with treated seed, is charged with collecting data on how each country regulates seed applied technologies and the labelling of those technologies. Paula Bey of Dow AgroSciences, who serves as vice- chair of the Seed Treatment Working Group, says the working group is concerned about some of the new restrictions of using neonicotinoid treated seed in Canada, specifically Ontario. This doesn’t just negatively impact corn and soybean growers in Canada — Bey says it could have a trickle effect, setting a precedent and making it easier for others in the Americas to disregard the science and follow actions called on by vocal activist groups. Seed Treatment Working Group chair Antonio Tejada of Syngenta says that the SAA is working jointly with national seed associations to minimize the impact that new regulations might have on growers and prevent unnecessary ones in the future. To help, SAA members have adopted and translated the Guide to Seed Treatment Stewardship, developed by the American Seed Trade Association in partnership with CropLife America, and translated it to Portuguese and Spanish. The document is available on the SAA’s website. “Our hope is that members will download these mate- rials and share them with others in their company and regulatory officials at the local, state or provincial, and national levels,” Tejada says. In addition, Bey says through the working group, members also have access to a spreadsheet containing all the SAA countries’ regulatory officials and their contact information. “We are currently working on technical specifications for all treatments of seeds being imported and exported,” she shares, noting they hope to complete the project by mid-year 2017. Raising Their Concerns SAA through ISF submitted comments to the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) to improve its future implementation. “I’m very proud of the comments we sent to ISF for submission,” says Inés Ares, SAA senior adviser on phytosanitary. “In pull- ing together our comments, we tried to work through many different levels, includ- ing the national seed asso- ciations and regional plant protection organizations. “This is the most important stand- ard for advancing the international movement of seed, and I’m cautiously optimistic it will be approved at next year’s IPPC conference.” To make sure member needs are being met, the Phytosanitary Working Group surveyed members, compa- nies and national seed associations about their concerns regarding phytosanitary issues. “For us, the survey was very informative and sets the stage for future work,” Ares says. “From it, we know that we need to support and strengthen international, regional and national actions.” As such, the Phytosanitary Working Group examined the phytosanitary requirements for different seed species that have been harmonized at COSAVE (regional plant protection organization in South America), to initiate an exchange of information and opinion. This is an abbreviated version of this story. For the full feature, visit germination.ca/saa-makes-monumental-strides/. URUGUAY