October 24, 2023

Consultation on Circular 6 Changes is Open Until November 15

CSGA is looking for your feedback on proposed changes to the Canadian Regulations and Procedures for Pedigreed Seed Crop Production (Circular 6).

The Regulatory Services Committee has recommended revisions to the certification requirements in Circular 6, Section 6 Forage and Turf Grasses and Section 7 Forage Legumes regarding mechanical purity. Complete details on the proposed standard changes are available in last month’s Seed Scoop.

Register Here for our November 2nd Information Webinar!*

Join us at 11 am ET for a presentation highlighting the proposed changes to Circular 6 and their rationale. Key CSGA staff will be available to answer your questions.

We invite you to provide feedback by email to Gail Harris or Mike Scheffel or call 613-236-0497, ext. 227. The consultation will close on Wednesday, November 15, 2023, at 5 p.m. ET. Your input is greatly appreciated!

Congratulations Gail, the New AOSCA Standards Council Chair

Most of you undoubtedly know Gail Harris, CSGA’s Manager of Standards. With us since 2004, she has worked on the operational aspects of certification, including appraising crop inspection reports, seed grower enquiries, and all the phone calls that entails.

Gail may be best known for the Circular 6 Modernization Initiative – updating standards and streamlining where possible – and the “clean” look and feel of the document. The project’s success is mainly due to Gail’s painstaking attention to detail and her expertise in the seed certification requirements.

But you may not know that Gail has actively contributed to the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies (AOSCA). Today, we are happy to announce that Gail has been appointed Chair of AOSCA’s Certification Requirements and Standards Council (the Council).

As the previous Vice-Chair of the Council as the Global Region representative, Gail’s promotion to Council Chair follows the retirement of Mike Moore from the Wyoming Seed Certification Service.

Each AOSCA member agency appoints one representative to the Council. The Council membership elects a chairperson from within its ranks, and each of the four AOSCA regions selects one person to serve as a vice-chair of the Council. These vice-chairs help the chairperson coordinate the Council’s activities. The Council has the authority to establish, amend, and abolish AOSCA’s official seed certification standards.

Congratulations, Gail, we are all very proud of you!

Finalize Your Digital Seed Crop Certificates in SeedCert

It’s that time of year, and growers and crop certificate assignees are reminded to please complete their digital seed crop certificates and settle their accounts. Growers and/or crop certificate assignees will receive an email once a crop certificate has been authorized and is ready for completion in SeedCert.

Log in to SeedCert and review your account to see what may be outstanding. The resource section on SeedCert’s home page includes a “How To” video and a PDF guide to help guide you through the process. Please email us or call 613-236-0497 ext. 8803 if you need assistance.

CSGA on the Move

Over late summer and into fall, your CSGA management team has attended several meetings to stay informed, network, learn from sector experts, and speak to the Association’s leadership role in seed crop certification.

From an international perspective, CSGA met with the Indian Ag Minister for Tamil Nadu in Toronto to discuss Canada’s seed certification system and recently met with the National Seed Association of Ghana to discuss CSGA’s seed crop certification program.

Association representatives attended a SeedChange field day in Athens, Ontario, to learn more about on-farm breeding and attended the Outdoor Farm Show in Woodstock, Ontario. We recently presented to the Agile Regulations Table on CSGA’s unique public-private partnership with the CFIA and vision for a modern seed system. We attended the newly established AAFC Field Crops Table in Ottawa.

We remain committed to stakeholder engagement to ensure the sector is kept informed of CSGA’s work and keeps seed certification at the forefront. 

Set Yourself Apart as a Seed Leader and Mentor! Become a CSGA Accredited Seed Grower

Nobody knows more about certified seed production than successful, experienced seed growers. Your deep knowledge, authority and experience in the seed sector sets you apart as a seed leader and mentor. 

To help demonstrate your commitment to seed quality, purity, and innovation to prospective clients or seed companies, experienced growers are encouraged to acquire the CSGA Accredited Seed Grower (ASG) designation. By completing the voluntary CSGA Learn Experienced Seed Grower online program and two years of successful seed crop production, experienced growers become qualified to use the “ASG” acronym as a credential.

Our CSGA Learn Experienced Seed Grower Program is a seven-course program to benchmark your knowledge and skills against best management practices, certification requirements and sector standards.

This comprehensive program focuses on the seed certification classes, producing Foundation, Registered and Certified seed crops, and the seed certification process. You’ll get detailed roguing information, images by crop kind, best management practices on maintaining pedigreed seed purity and quality through harvesting, handling, and storage, and key information on seed testing requirements for Canadian pedigreed seed.

Seed Learning For Everyone

CSGA Learn helps everyone in seed production understand what goes into the Certified seed blue tag. Our online learning material helps to ensure the seed sector is equipped with people with the right skill sets and knowledge needed for a next-generation seed system. CSGA Learn can help you stand out in the modern marketplace and take your seed skills and businesses to the next level. 

If you have any questions, please reach out via email or phone 613.236.0497 ext. 230.

CSGA Learn – It’s Time to Invest in Yourself
Enroll Today

CFIA’s Novel Feed Consultation

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency seeks stakeholder feedback via an open consultation on the proposed guidance document: How to determine when a plant-derived ingredient requires a feed pre-market assessment.

This guidance is intended to clarify plant-derived ingredients that require a pre-market assessment under the Feeds Regulations and elaborate and describe the characteristics of a plant that could result in a novel feed ingredient.

Open until November 27, 2023, your participation in this CFIA survey is greatly appreciated.

Early Bird Deadline for GrowCanada

The GrowCanada 2023 conference is being held November 28–30 at the Hyatt Regency in Calgary, Alberta. The early bird registration deadline Monday, October 30. For more information, please review the conference program and the registration link.