b'Holly, what recently changed with regardWhat is the Midge Tolerant Wheat to refuge testing that breeders shouldAssurance Site?know about? Its a secure, web-based tool for use The Canadian Seed Growersby seed distributors, seed retailers Association has given the responsibil- and seed growers that makes the pro-ity for validating and testing midgecess of documenting the movement tolerant wheat over to the breeders.of certified midge tolerant wheat Holly Hamilton This means that its up to the breed- Lorne Hadley seed more efficient. It allows users to Molecular Labers and seed labs to work together toDirector of Policy create electronically signed steward-Technician develop a working test that growersSeeds Canada ship agreements and to post sales 20/20 Seed Labs can use to test their varietal blends.Lorne grew uptransactions. Its the one place that Holly providesThis is a good opportunity as it willon a mixed farmdistributors, retailers and producers growers with morelead to more competition, newernear Landis, Sask.go to confirm their compliance with information abouttechnologies are coming out, andHe attended thethe contract terms for midge toler-their seed, allowingits giving breeders a chance to haveUniversity ofant wheat. Its evergreen, its paper-them to makecontrol over their seed. Saskatchewan,less, has a high level of security and decisions that theywhere he earnedpersonal protection. The system is will benefit from inCan you talk a little bit about refugea degree inadministered and managed by AgCall the long run.testing and what tests are available inagriculture,with oversight by Seeds Canada to that regard and how they work? specializingensure privacy and confidentiality.There are lots of different methodsin agricultural and strategies that can be used foreconomics. When was it developed and how does one testing, and its really up to the labgain access?and the breeder to figure out how toThis system was set up and deployed do that. But overall, what each lab isin 2017. And since then, weve signed doing is testing the amount of eachup over 6,000 producers and over variety present in the sample. Were500 retailers. In order for distribu-looking to see what percentage of thetors, retailers and seed growers to sample is made up of the midge toler- access the new system, they require ant variety, and what percentage ofan Authorized Retailer number. This the sample is made up of the refugeis obtained by successfully passing variety. We actually have markers forthe updated retailer training located several blends, and were continu- at midgetolerantwheat.ca and by ously developing and validating testssigning a new Retailer Stewardship for new blends.Agreement at the Stewardship Assurance Site at MTWSA.ca.Whats the top question you get from people in regard to refuge testing?Why is this site necessary?People want to know why wereStewardship agreements have been doing this, or why they need to geta vital part of protecting Midge this test done. The answer is its veryTolerant Wheat technology for years, important, not only for growers,but we knew that the process could but for the industry as a whole. Webe improved. Benefits for retailers want to maintain that refuge systeminclude eliminating the nuisance of and preserve midge tolerance. Wereduplicate agreements and adding trying to protect breeders, and werereport-generating capabilities for their trying to protect that Sm1 one gene tospecific varieties. It allows for every-prevent buildup of resistant midge. one to have all of the necessary infor-mation protected, so we can have all the information in the right place to ensure the protection of this valuable technology.SEPTEMBER 2021 GERMINATION.CA 35'