As his two-year term comes to a close, Brent Collins says Seeds Canada is stronger than ever—but believes seed regulatory modernization remains unfinished business.
After serving two one-year terms as president of Seeds Canada, Brent Collins is stepping away from the role with confidence that the organization is on solid footing.
In an interview with Seed World at TCU Place during the Seeds Canada annual meeting in Saskatoon, Collins reflected on how much the organization has evolved over the past two years.
“I have a really good feeling,” Collins said. “We’re just celebrating our fifth anniversary at Seeds Canada, and when I look back to where we are today versus then, we’ve made a lot of progress.”
That progress included successfully navigating a CEO transition while continuing to advance key industry priorities. Collins said the annual meeting demonstrated growing member engagement and increasing recognition for the organization across Canadian agriculture.
“I think we’ve just had a tremendous meeting and really strong member engagement,” he said. “We’re now able to bring in some really quality speakers as Seeds Canada starts to get a stronger reputation in the industry as the voice of the seed industry.”
Looking back on his presidency, Collins points to one achievement above all others: ensuring the organization remained focused on the priorities of its members.
“We took a lot of pride in making sure that what we were working on—the files we were focusing on—is really what our members were asking for,” he said. “Over the last few years we’ve really been able to refine that.”
He also believes Seeds Canada’s profile has grown significantly.
“I think we’ve elevated the brand image of Seeds Canada,” Collins said. “I think we’re a very well-respected organization now.”
Not every priority reached the finish line. Collins said seed regulatory modernization proved to be one of the industry’s most complex and challenging files.
“Seed regulatory modernization was a real octopus for the industry,” he said. “We all had expectations that perhaps we would be able to move the needle a little more than we did.”
Still, he emphasized the commitment shown by members throughout the process.
“It certainly wasn’t from a lack of effort,” Collins said. “The amount of hours and input from Seeds Canada members was so impressive. Everyone was completely committed to the cause.”
As he hands the presidency to new leadership, Collins says the organization is positioned for continued momentum.
“I’ve done two one-year terms now,” he said. “I look forward to bringing some new blood in to start another term.”
