26 GERMINATION.CA SEPTEMBER 2017 “If you are generating a new culti- var under highly stressed conditions, epigenetic markers are being placed on DNA, and that’s being inherited from generation to generation. That affects the seeds themselves.” In addition, students are look- ing at developing more sophisticated seed coatings that incorporate specific microbes or microbial environments. The sky is the limit for modern plant breeders, Van Rooijen adds. “You see projects at the national science fair level where students are sequencing microbes typically found in and around plant environments and then sifting through that informa- tion, trying to find out what microbes are there, what they’re doing, and how seed companies can learn from that to come up with coatings con- taining microbes known to be ben- eficial for the plant to fight diseases, increase nutrient intake and improve water efficiency.” Big Changes The new breeding environment makes things exciting for young people, and the chance to use these new tools to open doors that remained closed for thousands of years will only encourage more people to get into breeding, Nilsen says. Even at the young age of 31, he continues to be inspired not just by older breeders who came before him, but by younger ones coming up behind him. He recently served as a mentor for some high school students working on a science fair project. “When I was starting out, we didn’t have a lot of the opportuni- ties you see now. A good example is these high school kids doing some fairly complex projects. Hearing their enthusiasm about what they do, it definitely rubs off on you.” sical way, and then when we did a study on the industry, we found there is a huge need for plant breeders. The PBA filled an immediate need. We took scientists and taught them traditional plant breeding concepts,” he says. “We showed that this classical training is very important. It’s not about old school versus new school. Our training at the PBA incorporates all the new tools. We’re seeing more and more universities paying atten- tion to training plant breeders. The message from the industry is very strong — we need breeders.” The PBA now operates programs not only in North America but also in Europe, Asia and Africa. “In the U.S. alone, we need around 100 breeders a year just to replace people who are retiring. That’s a big number,” Gjuric says. Thankfully, the rise of technology will help to fill that void, van Rooijen says. “Using some of these advanced skills young people are acquiring, we’ll see niche and value-added crops. There might be smaller acre- ages, but we can use it as an oppor- tunity to diversify our economy. Seed traits that make processing easier are being developed more often and more rapidly. It used to be that breeders did their job with respect to yield, but I think there’s an opportu- nity to look at some processing traits that can be incorporated into seed.” “WHENIWASSTARTINGOUT, WEDIDN’THAVEALOTOFTHE OPPORTUNITIESYOUSEENOW.” –KirbyNilsen PACKING & PALLETIZING COMPANY PPC PROVIDING CUSTOM BAGGING, TAGGING AND PALLETIZING SOLUTIONS BULK BAG FILLER PALLETIZER T: (204) 331-3000 www.ppcinc.ca E: tp@ppcinc.ca TAG PLACER Thankfully, the number of breed- ers coming out of university pro- grams is on the rise, Gjuric notes. This is partly due to the work done at the PBA, which has attracted attention and serves to emphasize the important role plant breeders play in the industry. “For 15 or 20 years, universities weren’t training breeders in a clas-