SASKATOON – Pedigreed seed growers in Saskatchewan want greater access to new varieties that are better than, not just equal to, existing varieties.
At its annual meeting during crop production week here last week, members of the Saskatchewan Seed Growers’ Association voted to lobby Agriculture Canada to put more money toward developing publicly funded varieties and distributing them through public channels.
“We are waltzing rapidly down the wrong road,” said Kerrobert, Sask., seed grower Lyle Wright. “We are trying to outbid each other for the privilege of buying what we’ve already paid for through publicly funded institutions.”
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Limerick seed grower Barry Reisner, Saskatchewan representative to SeCan, said members should support the general release of publicly funded varieties. “We can’t assume the people who make the decisions know what we think.”
Support breeding program
Reisner also initiated a resolution asking the SSGA put more money towards advertising and promoting the use of certified seed. Another resolution asked the association to recommend ways to financially support Agriculture Canada’s plant breeding program.
But while growers were willing to put up some cash to support public varieties, they were clearly upset with the wide range in varieties, particularly canola, that are available now. Many of them seem to have no distinguishing characteristics.
Too many to sort through
Arnold Petracek of Esterhazy moved that the association work to ensure that newly licensed varieties are better than existing varieties. Petracek said when varieties are only as good as existing varieties, it leads to confusion among farmers.
“We as seedsmen are losing credibility over this,” he said.
Bill Hetland, Naicam farmer and past president of the Saskatchewan Canola Growers Association, said the resolution would require a change, in Parliament, to the Canada Seeds Act. He supported the resolution, but said seed growers should realize it will take a lot of work.
In general, SSGA president Roy Bailey said members of the organization were in a foul mood.
“I have never seen the growers more frustrated,” he said after the meeting. “Everything in agriculture is happening at once. They’re stressed out.”
The seed industry, with the introduction of Plant Breeders’ Rights and the subsequent move to privately developed contracted varieties, has changed substantially from a few years ago.
“Some people saw it coming and some didn’t,” Bailey said. “For the ones that were prepared, the seed industry has never been better.”
