b'SEEDS CANADA / SEEDS-CANADA.CA / OUR WINTER TOUR WAS A RESOUNDING SUCCESSRECENT MEMBER MEETINGS MAKE CLEAR THERES A BIG APPETITE FOR REGULATORY CHANGEBEGINNING IN EARLY 2023 I was happy to be partfor the agricultural industry, its important that of the Seeds Canada Membership & Clientthe legislation and the regulations allow for seed Services Winter Tour, on which I was joined bydevelopment to prosper and take on challenges Krista Erickson, Director of Member Strategy andfaced by our farmer customers and other stake-Solutions, and Roy Van Wyk, Director of Clientholders in the business.Strategy and Solutions. The current SRM review process is heavily We had productive discussions about a varietyfocused on tweaking existing regulations rather of topics related to the seed industry, includingthan undertaking a more comprehensive review. ongoing regulations and changes, intellectualIts important for members to fully understand Barry Senft,property services offered by Seeds Canada, andthe issues at hand before responding to the Seeds Canadaan upcoming Seed School in Winnipeg to besurvey, which is why we held some recent webi-Executive Director held in partnership with Cereals Canada.nars on the topic in February and early in March. There was a lot of interest in the Seed SchoolThese webinars included presentations not from meeting participants, and the agenda willjust from Seeds Canada staff but from members include presentations and tours covering the fullof the CFIA itself, who were very helpful in seed value chain. Its scheduled for early 2024.explaining the rationale behind the survey and We had a successful and informative set ofwhat they hope to accomplish with it.meetings, and I hope that the insights and ideasUltimately, it will be up to regulators to discussed in these meetings will help to furtherdetermine the extent of changes needed for the the development of Canadas seed sector. TheSeeds Regulations. However, its important for tour was well-received, and members appreciatedstakeholders to voice their concerns and provide the opportunity to have face-to-face meetingsinput to ensure that any changes are in the best after so much time in a virtual world. interests of the industry as a whole.Naturally, discussions turned to SeedWith over two years to go until the comple-Regulatory Modernization (SRM). The Canadiantion of the SRM process, we hope it will become Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has releasedmore focused on modernizing and future-the Seed Regulatory Modernization Winterproofing the regulations, rather than just making Consultation, the first of two planned consulta- minor tweaks to the existing framework.tions on the topic of SRM. The aspects of theIts a topic that will be discussed at our seed regulatory lifecycle that are included in theupcoming annual meeting to be held in St. online survey are: Johns, Nfld., from July 10-12 at the Delta Hotels Variety Registration; St. Johns Conference Centre. Seed Crop Certification, including CropThe theme of the meeting will be sustainabil-Inspection and Crop Certificates; ity. The issue of sustainability for agriculture is Harvesting, Cleaning and Conditioning ofimportant to all of us. The contribution that seed Seed; and has made to sustainable agriculture has been Sampling, Testing and Grading of Seed significant and if the relevant regulations are in We welcome the chance for our members toplace, the seed industry can be a more signifi-provide feedback to the CFIA. There have beencant contributor to the sustainability of agricul-amendments over the years; the last major reviewture.of our regulatory framework was 30 years ago,I hope youll join me in St. Johns for this and in our opinion, there are regulations on theimportant gathering to help guide the future of books that are outdated and no longer relevant.the seed industry in Canada. Given the advancements in seed development and the emphasis on issues like sustainability 42GERMINATION.CAMARCH 2023'