Paul Adam – 2015 Robertson Associate Award Recipient
Paul Adam has been a grower for almost 30 years and was involved for 18 years with the Quebec Association and other grower and producer groups. He is a second generation seed grower on his farm located in St-Félix-de-Valois, Québec.
He is the son of Mr. Robert Adam, “Robertson Associate” honored in 2004 at the 100th CGSA Annual General Meeting held in Ottawa, and who passed away last January. Paul followed in his very large footsteps.
When he was very young, it was clear that he would work in agriculture one day. He was playing around the farm, talking about it all the time, following his father everywhere. As a teen he worked on the farm, helping with various tasks. In 1980, when the time had come to decide his career track, he chose the Institut de technologie agroalimentaire de St-Hyacinthe, opting for farm operation as a technologist, which would allow him to acquire competency in management, administration, entrepreneurship and agricultural production.
After completing his training, he worked for a canning facility in the area and then held several positions in the agricultural sector with the Government of Quebec and then worked for a fertilizer and pesticide company. Before returning to the family farm he was the territory manager for a national seed company.
While working he developed his skills in business administration, management, and marketing in various Quebec universities. In addition, he started growing grain on leased land near the family farm and kept helping with tasks on the farm whenever he could.
In 1992 he partners with his father on the farm. In the subsequent years he will grow Select seeds and in 1997, the farm was one of the first in Canada to receive CFIA accreditation as authorized conditioning establishment using a Quality Control Manual even before the Canadian Seed Institute was created.
In 1994, wishing to help and to be involved in the seed growing sector, he became a director on the board of the Syndicat des producteurs de semences pedigree du Québec where he rose within the ranks holding various positions.
He was the Association du Québec representative on the CGSA board of directors from 2000 to 2003, and then SPSPQ President from 2003 to 2006 and from 2009 to 2012. Seeing that many of his objectives had been achieved and that a motivated workforce was ready to advance the issues that challenge today’s growers and production, he retired from the Association.
