b'PARTNER CONTENTTHE CDC AT 50: TAKING OUR BRAND TO THE NEXT LEVELFIFTY YEARS ANDover 500 commercial varietiesthe Crop Development Centres legacy is a big one.Harrington barley, Vimy flax, our spring wheat varietiesall have made their mark on the Canadian agricultural landscape. With our initial mandate being crop diversification, winter wheat production in Western Canada was once made up mostly of CDC varietiesto the tune Curtis Pozniak,of 90 per cent. Director, CropLooking back to the 1980s, the work of Al DevelopmentSlinkard put us on the map when he released Centre the Laird lentil, which became the foundationAfter 50 years, the Crop Development Centres legacy is big.of Western Canadas multi-billion-dollar pulse industry. strategy for informing the public about what is Add to that our strong connections to stake- happening here in terms of research and new holders as well as investment from growers invarieties. If the pandemic taught us anything, its the form of checkoffs and support from industrythat we have to be ready to pivot at a moments partners, and you have the foundation for suc- notice. Young farmers like to get their informa-cess that the CDC has displayed over the coursetion in a multitude of ways, and those ways are of the last half-century. changing all the time.As we look ahead to a new year, our nextMore and more, successful agricultural brands step involves building on those successes tohave to be active on multiple channels, because create a new, modernized brand for the CDC. they excel in multiple areas. Obviously, plant Over the last year, Ive been thinking morebreeding/cultivar development is our primary about how we can look to change what werefocus at the CDC, but we do so much more in doing as part of our evolution within the indus- the way of foundational research. Were excellent try. Part of this change involved restructuring theteachers, scholars and have fantastic graduate and CDCs management into two roles. Its been aundergraduate programs designed to train the next pleasure to work with Marissa Janssen who camegeneration of scientists to carry the ball forward. on as CDC manager in 2020. A good brand is more than just a logo and This has allowed us to look forward and toa nice website and a Twitter account. It needs develop strategies that will take us forward into promote knowledge transfer, innovation and making decisions and policy that will governhave clear and measurable metrics and com-how we operate and contribute to Canadianmitments around what it is that we can help to agriculture in the futurewhich is what ulti- accomplish through effective research agree-mately defines our brand. ments, funding and strategies to protect intel-The CDCs brand is a strong one, especiallylectual property. Those are all part of a good, among the farming community. Those three let- modern brand, and we intend to be leaders in ters, especially when put in front of a variety namethis area.on a seed bag, carry a lot of weight. That said, weCurrent events like seed regulatory moderni-must change the way we communicate what it iszation and the federal review of Canadas novel that we do and the science behind itespeciallyfood regulations are going to help create the to the next generation of growers coming up.business environment we need to do this. Next Theyre a very different breed in how they collectyear is going to be an exciting one, as we begin information and make decisions on-farm. to turn the corner on the pandemic and con-That means a new communications strat- tinue to make the CDC one of Canadas premier egy, including a new logo, website, and a newbrands in the world of seed. Stay tuned. NOVEMBER 2021 GERMINATION.CA 23'