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 6016 GERMINATION.CA MARCH 2017 WHEN IT COMES to retailers being good stewards of seed treatments, taking a two-pronged approach is key. Knowing what to do is crucial, and there’s also a couple of definite “don’ts” to ensure you’re on the right path to good retailer seed treatment stewardship. “How do you use seed treatments in a responsible manner? Retailers are so good at it, but it’s always helpful to remind people that stewardship is something we all have to be vigilant about,” says Russel Hurst, vice-presi- dent of sustainability and stewardship for CropLife Canada. Good stewardship boils down to retailers knowing what to do and what not to do with regard to prop- erly handling seed treatments. “How do you ensure the invest- ment a grower makes translates into increased vigour of the seed out of the ground and transition into the growth period, as well as protection of that seed through the critical six- week period post-planting?” Increased education about good seed treatment stewardship means retailers are better equipped than ever to ensure they’re handling seed treatments responsibly and giving growers the information they need to successfully use them. DO: Be Up on Operational Standards. Familiarizing yourself with the latest in seed treatment warehousing stand- ards is key, according to Hurst. “We have standards that all com- mercial seed treatment facilities need A RETAILERS’ ROADMAP TO NAVIGATING THE MODERN MARKETPLACE KNOWINGTHEDOSANDTHEDON’TS to go by. It involves a lot of opera- tions details — ensuring employees have appropriate training, wear- ing proper protective equipment, a safe work environment, appropri- ate labelling of seed to ensure all seed that is treated is appropriately tagged,” he says. The Accredited Seed Treatment Operation Standards he’s referring to are intended to be used by the Agrichemical Warehousing Standards Association (AWSA) for the pur- pose of issuance of a Compliance Certificate. They were drafted by a multi-stakeholder working group, consisting of registrants, distributors, agri-retailers, seed cleaning coop- Seed treatment stewardship at the retail level all comes down to education, both of you and of your grower customers. Marc Zienkiewicz Russel Hurst serves as vice-president, sustainability and stewardship for CropLife Canada. Ted Labun is Syngenta’s technical lead for Seedcare in Western Canada. “ONCETHESEEDEXITSTHEAGRI-RETAILFACILITY,YOU CANWORKTOENSURETHATIT’SBEINGUSEDINTHEMOST RESPONSIBLEWAYPOSSIBLE.” –RusselHurst