Saskatchewan farmers and agriculture industry stakeholders will have a chance next week to learn more about the costs and benefits of a proposed new royalty that could be collected on farm-saved seeds.

The second of three prairie consultation meetings on seed royalties will take place Dec. 4 at the Saskatoon Inn and Conference Centre, beginning at 10 a.m.

Seed industry groups, including the Canadian Seed Trade Association (CSTA) and the Canadian Seed Growers Association (SCGA), say more revenue must be generated from innovative new seed products in order to ensure adequate levels of investment in cereal breeding programs.

The Dec. 4 meeting, facilitated by Agriculture Canada, will give farmers and industry groups an opportunity to learn more about the proposal and share their views.

The meeting will seek feedback on two proposed value creation models — an end-point royalty, where royalties would be collected on bulk grain sales, and farm-saved seed contracts, where buyers of certified seed are required to sign contracts that impose conditions on the use of farm-saved seed and specify royalty rates.

Input from the meeting will allow Agriculture Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to develop, refine and work toward “implementing a value creation model appropriate for Canada and informed by a broad range of stakeholder perspectives,” says a government email publicizing the event.

The Saskatoon meeting is targeted at stakeholders in the wheat and cereal grains sector.