b'region to region. We have a resilient system in CanadaPlanning for the Futurethat protects growers. With heat records being broken in many areas of the West Helping seed growers right now is crucial for thethis summer, its wise for seed companies to take extreme Canadian Seed Growers Association (CSGA), saysweather events into consideration as a formal part of their Executive Director Doug Miller. The 2021 seed crop con- business plans, Derkatch says.ditions have raised concerns about seed stock availabilityYou need to be paying a lot closer attention to your for 2022. production planning. Its not just about the certified seed Were encouraging growers to apply for inspectionsupply that you know meet the year-by-year needs of the where feasible. Weve heard that there are growers whomarketits also the stock seed, the higher generation didnt apply for inspection on fields that may be eligibleseed, that needs to be considered. If you have disrup-because of the weather or questions around the qualitytions to supply in those early generations, when youre and viability of the seed crop, Miller says.just getting breeder seed of a new variety in the ground, To help increase certification options and stabilizefor example, that could have pretty significant impacts seed stocks for 2022, CSGA has suspended all late appli- on your planned variety release dates and when you can cation penalties and cancellation penalties for Section 2actually get that product out there, he adds. cereal crop applications received after July 12. HavingWeve certainly been focusing a lot of our energy seed crops inspected this year will provide greater flex- in the last few years on faster production cycles, espe-ibility in 2022 and beyond.cially as we work collaboratively with Limagrain Cereals Within a week of this announcement, CSGA receivedResearch Canada, to try and bring new varieties to farm-almost 100 new applications. ers faster. Whether its drought, or more extreme storm There is zero risk to these producers if they get theactivity, multiple generations of seed production is defi-crop to inspection, says Miller.nitely something that were all paying very close attention to these days. NUMBERS SHOWS PRAIRIES HIT HARD BY DROUGHTThe drought conditions in southern Alberta over the summer were equivalent to or lower than the 2002 drought, Statistics Canada says.Crop reports from across Western Canada have described the effects of record-high temperatures and lack of rainfall that have stressed crops. These reports have noted some crops have matured faster than normal or stagnated in their development, StatsCan reported.In mid-July, the Alberta government reported 36.6 per cent of the crops were in good to excellent condition compared withVegetation growth index as of the week of July 19 to 25, 2021 compared with the five-year average of 74.1 per cent. normal (1987-2020), by census consolidated subdivision for Western Canada. Photo: Statistics CanadaAshley RobinsonSEPTEMBER 2021 GERMINATION.CA 5'