b'Its just human nature that the more effort we put intoINFORMATION ON SEED CERTIFICATION: WHO DO SEED GROWERS TRUST?something, the bigger it ends up getting. Weve made the seed system more complicated than it needs to be, and we need toSlightly ModeratelyHighlycontinue working towards simplifying it. Source of information trust (%) trust (%) trust (%)What does that look like? Its hard to say, Martin says. The firstOther seed growers 8 36 56three SRM task team reports (theres four more to come) deal with seed certification, variety registration and seed standards/ Certified agronomists/agrologists 24 52 24grade tables. Together, they comprise over 7,200 words of mate- Third-party certified inspectors 12 55 33rial. And thats just the executive summaries found on the CFIA website, not the full reports available by request from the CFIA. Seed companies/distributors 39 45 16The summaries focus on a range of potential changes to theCrop Development Centre 11 47 42regulatory system, a big one being the questions of whetherAgriculture and Agri-Food Canada 13 48 39Canada should continue to have a variety registration system and whether it should continue to have one national body estab- Grain marketers/buyers 66 32 2lishing and determining the seed crop varietal purity standardsAg media (radio, TV, newspapers, to issue a seed crop certificate. magazines) 68 29 3Variety registration is complex, especially when consider-ing the perspective of plant breeders. The survey discussesSocial media 76 24 -certification and seed standards separately, despite them reallyFarm trade shows 51 46 3part of a continuum. As a select grower, I receive breeder seed, which I assess and then grow. Certification of the crop is a stepCanadian Seed Growers Association 9 38 53in the process but is far upstream from when a quality product isSource: University of Saskatchewan. In a 2022 survey, seed grower participants said they trust obtained, Martin says. mostly other seed growers and the CSGA as reliable sources of information related to their business. Many quality issues can occur during post-certificationGrain markets, agricultural media, social media, and farm trade shows are the least trusted sources stages, he explainsincluding improper storage and handling.of information about seed certification. The conditioning process can improve upon the seeds quality, but the final critical control point is when it leaves the last piece of conditioning equipment. Martin believes that not looking at the process as a single holistic one leads to inefficiencies, as adjustments made in one section may overlap or conflict with those made in another section. WHAT INFO SOURCES DO SEED PRODUCERS As for having one national body responsible for setting stand- TRUST THE MOST?ards, Martin believes thats best given to an independent stand-ard setting body like is being proposed by Seeds Canada.Creating another body may seem like an additional chal- University of Saskatchewan researchers Rim Lassoued and Stuart Smyth lenge, but this is a significant enough issue to warrant a separaterecently reported on the opinions of Prairie seed growers regarding seed entity to ensure fairness and impartiality, he says. regulation. Surveyed participants trust mostly other seed growers and Martin says he and many of his colleagues hoped that SRMthe Canadian Seed Growers Association as reliable sources of information would result in a complete rebuild rather than what he calls justrelated to their business. Grain markets, agricultural media, social media, a renovation of the system. As the SRM project has progressed, he says it seems that a renovation is more realistic than a com- and farm trade shows are the least trusted sources of information about plete reconstruction. seed certification. Trust in media as a source of information has been largely The SRM process has brought more people into the conver- declining. Certified agronomists and inspectors, seed companies, the Crop sation, which is positive, and more people now have an under- Development Centre and AAFC are moderately trusted.standing of the challenges that we face if we keep the statusSource: University of Saskatchewanquo. However, those of us who were hoping for a complete reconstruction were perhaps a little naive, Martin adds.SW52/ SEEDWORLD.COMOCTOBER 2023'