b'GIANT VIEWSITS CRUCIAL WE ENGAGE PRODUCERS IN THE SEED SYNERGY DISCUSSIONWHEN I WAS A BOY, if someone wanted to be an amazingimportant partner in the seed sectorhockey player, they played hockey in the winter, butthe producer. I have seen many times played baseball in the summer. But that wasnt all that when an explanation is shared, they played volleyball, basketball, badminton and moreand the future vision laid out, there is throughout school and knew that each one of thoseextensive buy-in. While I realize you sports built their ability to play hockey, too.will never have absolutely every single Then parental thinking shifted to focusing on one sport.person come onboard, the majority Winter hockey became spring hockey and spring hockeyof people with a long-term vision see became summer hockey, and pretty soon hockey was thethe viability and necessity of working only sport being played.together to define and create the evo-Shawn BrookWe hear from pros all the time that they believe theirlution of the Canadian seed sector. Publisher strength and love of the game comes from NOT playingThe concept of focusing on the Germination only one sport for their entire youth and that young peopleideas that we agree on will only get should be doing many different sports in an effort to keepus so far, and there will have to be an overall engagement, participation and mastery of eachcompromise to get the job done. Are component.our leaders up to the task? It would I couldnt agree with this more and I would invite ourseem to me that we MUST continue to Canadian seed industry partners, specifically the six mem- enhance our level of communication bers of Seed Synergy Collaboration Project, to be remindedabout this subject and the industry in that exclusively focusing on just one facet of your gamegeneral. does not enhance your ability but may very well hurt it.I knownot much of a surprise that the guy who owns a communica-tions company is saying we need to communicate more. That does not change the fact that in this day and age, if we expect to create any change IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCEat all, we had better be prepared to share, story-tell, share again, answer BETWEEN GENERATING ENGAGEMENT ANDquestions, be open to hearing both positive and negative feedback and GENERATING CONSENSUS? willing to engage at an almost con-stant level. If we dont move the needle, the weve always done it this way men-tality will win out. And weve always The evolution of the Canadian seed sector is comingdone it this way are the six words ofwhether you or I want it to or not which is drivena fading entity.by governments request that we evolve. This is no smallIn your opinion, what is the ask and needs all parties to work together and negotiatedifference between generating a solution that keeps everyone in the game, with an evenENGAGEMENT and generating focus with all voices heard and, at the risk of hauling outCONSENSUS?an old clich, it must be a win/win solution.I believe knowing the difference With a bit of a false start, the seed industry didnt putbetween these two things is key asenough attention on sharing the plan with an extremelywe move forward.48GERMINATION.CA SEPTEMBER 2019'