b'As I got more familiar with it I realized it was a very important topic. There isnt a big investment in cereal breeding in Canada, not like we see in canola, corn and soybeans. That has to change, he says.Sure, we have good cereal varieties right now, but the more I looked into it I realized the funding for cereal breeding and research is modest at best, and if anything, its stagnant in Canada to the point of going backwards. Government is reluctant to add new money into breeding and, if anything, theyre just maintaining what we have now.With parts of the world like Australia, France, and the United Kingdom having successful royalty collection sys-tems of their own for cereals, Jochum says its time to get behind the trailing royalty model and implement it.I think the majority of the pushback from farmers inLaurie Wakefield is a past- Gunter Jochum is president of the regard to the trailing royalty model results from farmerspresident of the SaskatchewanWestern Canadian Wheat Growers not understanding whats at stake. They worry their farm- Seed Growers Association. Association.saved seed rights will be taken away, which isnt true. Breeders just want to be paid for the work they do. You can still save your seed, you simply must declare what youre saving and planting and pay a royalty on varietiesa collective pool. A new producer organization would that have an SVUA attached to them, Jochum says. be tasked with identifying the collective research priori-Yes, there will be a cost to farmers, but there will beties and distributing funds to projects addressing those a return down the road. It might take five to 10 years topriorities.see the fruits of that, but if we dont do this, I think weNeither Jochum or Wakefield sees it as a viable option.give up way too much as far as new varieties coming toThat concept could easily be incorporated into a trail-market are concerned. Change is scary but falling behinding royalty system without a lot of difficulty if we wanted the rest of the world if even scarier. to go down that path, Wakefield says.Jochum doesnt believe farmers are thrilled with the Encouraging Certified Seed Use proposed Collective Research Model. Laurie Wakefield, past-president of the Saskatchewan SeedI dont see it attracting any private business. Without Growers Association and the owner of Wakefield Seeds,the private sector, all it does is drive up the cost of cur-says in terms of safeguarding his business, the trailingrent variety development without bringing anything new royalty option is the way to go. He also spoke as part ofto the table. What we want is a model that will encour-the value creation panel in Whistler. age private investment as well as public breedingthat We wouldnt want to support any kind of system thatwill create competition and should keep the price of seed could be a deterrent to people buying certified seed. Thereasonable, Jochum says. trailing contract system would allow producers greaterIt should not be a runaway market. Theres a lot of choice of either buying certified seed or not, and at thefear about private sector breeders getting into cereals, same time know what it is going to cost them, Wakefieldbut the fact is they will have to do their best to bring says. great varieties to market in order to be competitive with With an end-point royalty system, theyre going tothe public sector, which already breeds very good cereal pay the royalty anyway on what they produce. Of the twovarieties.options, the trailing royalty model is the way to go. Wakefield believes seed growers and producers are A third proposed model for value creation has beenbeginning to come around and see the value in the trail-put forward by a few producer groups. At the July meet- ing royalty option.ings in Whistler, a model referred to as the CollectiveFor some time, a lot of people didnt have their eyes Research Model was introduced by the Alberta Federationon the prize, on what the desired outcome was. The trail-of Agriculture, Keystone Agricultural Producers and theing royalty model will have the least detrimental effect Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan. on the pedigreed seed system. Its important to think of it The Collective Research Model is proposed as beingthat way, because a lot of people are apprehensive when similar to an end-point royalty collected on deliveredit comes to change and no doubt this will have big impli-grain, but would distribute one portion of the funds col- cations for certified seed growers, Wakefield says. lected to plant breeding programs and another portion to SEPTEMBER 2019GERMINATION.CA 5'