b'Give us a snapshot of your involvement withexample. An industry-wide national seed the Seed Synergy project and the develop- organization is best positioned to pro-ment of the NSO design. vide a capable option for government My involvement started around five yearsto continue to offload program delivery ago when I was on the board of theto make our industry more efficient and Scott Horner Canadian Seed Trade Association (CSTA).responsive.General Manager At that time there were some discussions HyTech Production going on with the Canadian Seed GrowersWhats the biggest stumbling block the NSO Scott joined HyTech in 2001Association (CSGA) executive about whatfaces as we get closer to the ratification and has focused on customeran NSO might look like, the benefitsvotes in 2020?relationship management andand challenges in building it. For me, itsCommunication. Its clear people have business development. He isrewarding to see where it is today. When Idifferent levels of understanding of whats an active seed industry leader,think of all the work and hours that haveinvolved with the NSO proposal. That currently serving as presidentgone into getting this from a simple con- sense of change can be a stumbling of the Seed Association of theversation at a meeting to now somethingblock for many. The idea that we are Americas.that is very well thought-out and well- giving up something is really pervasive. structured and so close to being a reality,Were not giving up anythingwe have its a great feeling.so much to gain from this. It will be a process, an evolution. Today, the chal-As a businessperson, how will an NSO lenge is communicating effectively all the benefit you? elements that need to be taken into con-My company HyTech Production is asideration prior to the ratification vote.member of CSTA and CSGA and we pay fees to the Canadian Seed Institute (CSI)What do you mean by people having different as well. Ive been involved with CSTA forlevels of understanding?many years and I was involved with CSGAThere are some individuals who havent on a number of fronts. Eventually I wasbeen as closely involved in the process asked to represent Alberta on the nationaland theyre asking the whys and hows board of CSGA. At HyTech, we pay fees toof moving forward. Theres a skeptical three organizations right now and whengroup who maybe are having a chal-I think in terms of efficiency gains, if welenging time seeing the value in whats pay one membership fee at one point ofbeing proposed. Id encourage them to contact and have the regulatory, advocacyget involved; its been a volunteer-driven and member services in one place, its aprocess and is very open to feedback and big improvement on the use of my limitedhearing concerns and questions. Theres resources as a businessperson. been a lot of work going into building this. There will be a chance to make Whats the biggest challenge we face rightadjustments after amalgamation takes now under our current structure that youplace and people need to be involved.think an NSO will fix?Volunteer fatigue is a big issue. With soAny final words?many meetings to go to, you tend to haveTheres been a lot of discussion about the same conversation at different tables.the Oversight Committee, but its rarely If we can be more aligned, I believe therementioned who is on the committee. will be big gains for the members. Also,They have been responsible for direct-one of the big benefits is the value of theing StrategyCorp and have done all the NSO from the perspective of government.heavy lifting for us in designing this. I Government touches almost everythinghave so much respect for that committee. we do, and they can have a significantKudos to Dave Hansen of Canterra Seeds, influence on what we do. At the sameMorgan Webb of Seed Check, Roy Klym time, government agencies havent had theand Jonathan Nyborg of CSGA, Todd resources to evolve and meet changingHyra of SeCan, Claude Lapointe of Sollio market demands. This will only get moreAgriculture, and Chris Churko of FP challenging over time. Alternative serviceGenetics for their service in helping bring delivery of seed crop inspection is a goodthis whole thing to fruition.20GERMINATION.CAMARCH 2020'