b'PARTNER CONTENTIMPORTING SEED INTO CANADA? SEEK THE HELP OF A SEED LABSEED IS REGULARLY IMPORTED into Canada fornoxious weed seeds, minimum purity stand-a variety of reasons, be it research purposes,ards and acceptable germination percentages.sale, conditioning and more. What isnt asThese SACs must provide sufficient infor-well known is the fact that you should usemation on purity and germination to verify the services of a seed lab to help you importthat the seed lot meets the minimum stand-said seed. ards for importation. Many grade tables in Sometimes, people will rely on a staffCanada have requirements that do not exist member to go through the complicatedelsewhere. These may include ergot or sclero-process of interpreting a foreign seed test- tia bodies by count or percentage and special ing report. Or, they may turn to a CFIA- requirements for Brassica species and sweet accredited grader to help them. clover.This is problematic. Its difficult for anyone Morgan Webb, Presidentwho works outside a seed testing lab to be able & Senior Seed Analyst,to understand what an out-of-country lab has Seed Check done in order to make sure that seed meets the standards for being allowed into Canada.It can be complicated for foreign labo-ratories to cover the requirements of the Canadian grade tables. It can take a great deal of detective work for a SICA (Seed Import Conformity Assessor) to decipher if the for-eign report has all the required information. A SICA working in a Canadian seed labora-tory definitely has an inside edge because they understand International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) Rules and Association of Official Seed Analyst (AOSA) Rules. A seed lab can also determine when the Navigating the intricacies of seed importa- addition of hard seed or a tetrazolium test is tion can be tricky as a result of this. acceptable. It is often important that a SICA Anyone importing seed into Canada mustunderstands the importers end use of the comply with Canadas Seeds Act and Seedsseed as that sometimes determines which Regulations and other applicable legislation.table is appropriate.This may include the: I work with a lot of companies to do this.Plant Protection Act and Regulations We go over the seed analysis report thatPest Control Products Act came with the seed and we provide a releaseControlled Drugs and Substances Act for them which aids them in securing authori- Fertilizers Act and Regulations and/or zation to import that seed. Canadian Environmental Protection Act Seed analysts have a testing background,On top of that, municipalities, provinceswhich means they speak the language of and territories may have legislation relat- seed testing reports and can help decipher ing to weedy plants. them and ensure your SAC is sufficient to The Seeds Regulations prescribe specificallow the seed to be imported.document requirements in order to importTo make the importation process go seed into Canada. Heres where a seed labsmoothly and avoid any legal issues, seek the comes in. help of a seed lab. Youll avoid headaches The importer must provide an acceptableand have peace of mind knowing you wont Seed Analysis Certificate (SAC) in order torun into any problems that could cost you ascertain the seeds freedom from prohibitedtime and money. MARCH 2021 GERMINATION.CA 23'