April 16, 2024

Check Your Inbox For Your 2024 CSGA Application Package!

It’s renewal season! CSGA’s Application for Seed Crop Certification and Membership/Renewal Forms for the 2024 crop season are now available online in SeedCert and application packages were sent out via email.

All applicants are encouraged to refer to the 2024 Fee Schedule and read the Application Support Document that outlines application requirements and instructions on applying for seed crop certification and membership and highlights changes for the 2024 crop season. Submit your applications by the following deadline dates:

• May 5 for winter canola/rapeseed
• May 25 for fall seeded cereals
• June 10 for fababeans, forages, flax, canola, mustard, corn, and field peas
• June 20 for all other crops not listed here
• July 10 for field beans and buckwheat
• July 25 for soybeans

We encourage all seed growers on your farm who are active in seed production to be listed on the account. Contact our office for assistance in adding someone to your group account.

Those looking to start their plot probation in 2024 to obtain the CSGA designation of an Accredited Plot Grower can still apply and submit Form 154 through SeedCert.

What’s New

This year, a grower can use the “modify application” button in SeedCert to update nearly every data point on the Crop Application form, including the Variety and the Seed Source(s). As a reminder, once the crop has been inspected, modifications can only be made by contacting CSGA.

Also, new in 2024, the CFIA has provided a summary of last year’s activity of their Variety Verification Program! This program is a vital health check of Canada’s pedigreed seed system, ensuring that varieties are what they claim to be and identifying potential issues at the beginning of the seed multiplication process.

Please reach out to the office if you have questions or require assistance through the application process.

The CFIA SRM Survey

Seed Regulatory Modernization (SRM) is a comprehensive review of the Seeds Regulations designed to make the Canadian seed certification system more efficient, nimble, and easier to use – and now it’s time to share your perspective.

The CFIA’s current SRM consultation survey is now open for your feedback on the future of our seed system.

Your perspective and participation in this survey is critical, and you only need to answer the questions that resonate with you. A great place to start is Section 4 – Big Picture Concepts. Before you answer the survey, we invite you to read our survey responses and the reasons behind them. The survey is open until May 1.

Together, we can build this next-generation seed system for the greater good of Canadian agriculture.

Our Vision

Through SRM, we are looking to create a modern seed system that is more efficient at getting new genetics into the hands of farmers, a system that continues to provide high-quality seed and customer protection, and, in the future, – a system that brings more accountability and transparency through new tools like our digital single window and digital seed tags. Please visit our SRM webpage for more information.

READ OUR RESPONSES TO THE CFIA
SRM WINTER 2024 SURVEY

Did You Miss the SRM Hot Seat Webinar?

With the recent release of the CFIA’s SRM survey, we wanted to do something a little different to build awareness, foster dialogue within our community and get people engaged in building our future seed system.

On April 9, Seed World Canada and editor Marc Zienkiewicz hosted a live webinar in which our Executive Director, Doug Miller answered your most challenging SRM questions with a twist—every round featured progressively spicier SRM questions alongside wings with even hotter hot sauces. Don’t worry if you missed it; you can watch it all here.

CSGA’s 2024 AGM - Save The Date!

Please join us for CSGA’s virtual 2024 Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Wednesday, June 26, 2024, from 1:00 – 3:00 pm ET. 

Members may submit Member Proposals to the office by Monday, June 3, 2024, for presentation and discussion at the CSGA Annual General Meeting. The Member Proposal process allows our Grassroots to present issues or concerns for discussion and provides input to CSGA on our policy development. All proposals received will be circulated in advance of the AGM through our Seed Scoop newsletter.  

To present a Member Proposal, please complete this form and submit it via email to Mike Scheffel, who compiles submissions on behalf of the Governance Committee. Please contact Mike if you need assistance completing the form.

More information on the AGM will be provided shortly, and details will be posted on our AGM webpage. We hope to see you there!

Join Us in Victoria, BC in 2025!

Welcome to Victoria! We are pleased to announce that our 2025 Annual General Meeting will be held in the stunning city of Victoria, British Columbia from July 3 to July 5, 2025.

The beautiful Inn at Laurel Point is our perfect host hotel with stunning harbour views, tranquil gardens, and serene surroundings.

Mark your calendars, and stay tuned for more information on group activities, registration, and sponsorship opportunities.

Your Seed Guide Listings Start with Your Membership Applications

Want to be listed in seed guides? You have to opt in! When you fill out your membership application, please carefully review your consent options for seed guides. Your consent is needed to release your personal information and crop production information in these seed guides.

As outlined in the Application Support Document, to publish pedigreed seed crop listings in CSGA’s national online Pedigreed Seed Locator and the Provincial Seed Guides, certain personal and crop production information must be shared with third parties. To include your production in these guides, you must consent via the Membership Application/Renewal Form in SeedCert. For assigned fields, the Assignee’s consent and information choices will apply.

Please review your contact information and consent options through the ‘My Account’ tab in SeedCert before the provincial Seed Guide deadline dates. If CSGA has not received your membership application, or if you did not consent to share personal and crop production information by the published deadline dates, your information will not be included in the Seed Guides. When providing consent, please note that provincial Seed Guide magazines require a telephone number for each listing. CSGA’s Seed Locator website will publish email and telephone numbers if provided.

Seed Guide Deadline Dates

• Alberta and British Columbia: September 4, 2024
• Manitoba: September 30, 2024
• Saskatchewan: October 15, 2024
• Ontario: October 31, 2024

Do You Have a Biosecurity Plan?

A biosecurity plan provides a framework to manage or control the spread of harmful biological contaminants such as disease, insects, and weeds. Every grower should consider whether there are any contaminants that could significantly impact their business and how the exposure or effect can be mitigated or managed.

The first step is to consult the Canadian Food and Inspection Agency (CFIA) webpage of invasive species, plants, and diseases of concern. This webpage describes federally monitored pests for which follow-up requirements may include management, reporting, removal, and, potentially, isolation. Additionally, each province maintains its own lists describing varying requirements should contaminants of concern be found. It’s not easy to get contaminants listed here, so these are things that you genuinely do not want on your farm!  

How to Develop a Biosecurity Plan

If you don’t have a plan already, the CFIA has published a Farm-Level Biosecurity Planning Guide, which can be used to develop or refine your own strategy. 

Biosecurity During Crop Inspection

During the seed crop certification process, inspectors are only required to report those weeds described as Prohibited Noxious in the federal Weed Seeds Order 2016. If other weeds or diseases pose a risk to your production, ask your inspector if they have been trained to identify those contaminants. If they are, they may be able to provide you with additional information regarding its presence in the fields they inspect, depending on the terms of your contract with them.

If you have a biosecurity plan, inform your inspector beforehand. Ensure the inspector knows if they should wear special gear (i.e., a suit or booties) or if there is something present in your fields that shouldn’t be spread. A well-implemented and -communicated biosecurity plan will help your inspector protect your and your neighbour’s production.

Seeds Canada Issues Warning of Suspicious Purchase Requests for Seed

In an email from early March, Seeds Canada says foreign organizations are inappropriately approaching seed growers and retailers in Western Canada to secure Canadian genetics. Under Canada’s Plant Breeders’ Rights Act, the rights holder has the rights to control the sale, production, reproduction, import, export, conditioning, and stocking of their variety.

If you receive any suspicious purchase requests, please contact your seed distributor to report the activity. For more information, click here.