But the MSGA said it is pleased many of its members took time to study the issue and vote.

“Our take-home message to our members is to please stay engaged in your industry,” MSGA president Daniel Sanders said in an email Sept. 3.

That’s going to be important as the seed industry faces some threats, the Manitou-area seed grower wrote.

“The CFIA could see seed regulatory modernization as an opportunity to reduce its support for the national seed program, and seed certification in particular, in order to focus its resources on health and safety programs,” Sanders wrote. “Over the years, the CFIA has privatized seed crop inspection and oversight of the registered seed establishment and accredited seed laboratory programs, resulting in cost increases for seed sector stakeholders.

“Further privatization and/or fee increases may be more than some small and medium-size enterprises can bear. The seed sector needs to present a common and united front to insist that the CFIA continues to provide essential oversight, enforcement, and science support for seed. Seeds Canada would have ensured a strong voice for the seed sector when speaking to government.”

The post Manitoba seed growers weigh in on failed merger appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Seed Synergy, a plan to unite Canada’s five main seed-related organizations, could be put to a vote in July at the Canadian Seed Growers Association’s (CSGA) 116th annual meeting.

It would see five organizations combine into one single group, with a united voice, including the Canadian Seed Growers Association, the Canadian Seed Trade Association (CSTA), the Canadian Seed Institute (CSI), the Commercial Seed Analysts Association of Canada (CSAAC), and the Canadian Plant Technology Agency (CPTA). CropLife Canada, which represents the life science companies that produce and market new varieties and crop protection products, was part of the group, but later opted out. It intends to work with the new organization, if it passes the vote, through a memorandum of understanding.

Outgoing Manitoba Seed Growers Association president Andrew Ayre told the group’s annual meeting, held late last year, he thinks there’s a good chance the proposal will be voted on this summer.

“It’s just a case of getting the details worked out,” he said.

Canadian Seed Growers Association president, and New Brunswick seed grower, Jonathan Nyborg told attendees he’s hopeful the vote will happen, but there is a Plan B. A ratification vote could be delayed six months if necessary, he added.

Nyborg said he hopes the CSGA’s board of directors will be able to approve a “target operation model” for the ‘New Seed Organization’ (NSO) in early March.

The next step would be to send out ratification packages by mid-March to the CSGA’s 3,400 members — farmers who produce pedigreed seed.

That would be followed by sending out the final ratification packages in May to CSGA members as well as other members of the Seed Synergy Collaboration.

At least two-thirds of voting members of each of the five organizations will have to vote in favour of the merger for it to happen.

In the meantime, the CSGA will hold a special members’ meeting Feb. 18 in Saint-Hyacinthe, Que., in hopes of changing its rules allowing members to vote on the merger without necessarily having to attend the July annual meeting, Nyborg said.

If the merger vote isn’t held in July, the goal is to do it in December, he said.

Long road

The merger process isn’t easy, consultant Jaiman Chin told the Manitoba Seed Growers’ Association (MSGA) meeting. Chin is with Strategy Corp, the firm hired by the Seed Synergy Collaboration, to assist in the process.

While the five organizations have ‘seed’ in common and some overlap in members, they each have different roles and organizational structures.

With about 3,400 members the CSGA, which represents pedigreed seed producers, is the largest. Most of its members are farmers.

In addition to representing seed growers the CSGA has the statutory power to certify pedigreed seed.

The CSTA represents the seed trade, which includes some farmer-seed growers, as well as large, multinational seed companies. It has 130 members.

CSI delivers accreditation and monitoring programs for the Canadian seed industry.

The CSAAC represents seed-testing laboratories.

CPTA supports intellectual property protection in the Canadian seed industry.

A merger will affect how the MSGA operates. The MSGA is a stand-alone legal entity that will retain all its assets and liabilities if the NSO is created, Roy Klym, a Regina seed grower and member of the merger oversight committee, told the MSGA’s meeting.

However, to be recognized as an NSO chapter the MSGA will have to meet certain criteria, including opening up membership to regional members of the other seed organizations, Chin said. Work is underway on how to do that.

“The feedback we’ve been getting so far is a lot of folks across the branches are very open to looking at changes in membership and allowing the trade in, allowing the analysts in,” Nyborg said.

MSGA members will automatically be members of the proposed new organization, he said.

“Regional chapters are very much part of the model and have an important role to play in ensuring there is a regional voice on the board of directors,” Chin said.

Voluntary

Membership in the new organization will be open only to those with a direct interest in the seed sector and will be voluntary. As a result, Manitoba seed growers will no longer have to be members of the MSGA to get pedigreed seed certified.

That, and the fact that currently the MSGA is funded by services paid to the CSGA by Manitoba seed growers, raises questions about how the MSGA will be funded if the NSO is created.

Dauphin seed grower Rod Fisher asked Chin if membership in the provincial associations shouldn’t remain mandatory otherwise a few members could end up doing all the work for non-members.

“Membership should be a benefit in its own right,” Chin said earlier in the meeting.

Voluntary membership is an incentive to keep membership fees low and for the new group to provide enough value that those in the seed sector will want to join, he added.

Initially the merger plan called for 11 directors to oversee the proposed organization, but the number has been raised to 15 to ensure representation from across the seed sector, Chin said.

There will be a minimum of two seed grower directors on the NSO board, he said.

Each member of the new group will get one vote. That means, to start, seed growers will make up a large majority, Chin said.

The merger idea was first floated in a brief by the CSGA and CSTA in March 2015, Klym said.

In November 2018 the Seed Synergy Collaboration issued a ‘white paper’ entitled “The Next Generation Seed System in Canada.”

The document lays out three challenges for the seed sector to tackle, Chin said — stimulate innovation, modernize seed regulations and create a single, united seed organization.

One of the ideas for stimulating innovation is to collect more money from farmers through seed royalties on cereal crops. However, so-called “value creation” has encountered a lot of farmer opposition. Some farmers say they don’t want to pay any more than they do now for seed, while others say they might agree to pay more, but only if farmers have control over how the money is invested in variety development.

The ‘New Seed Organization’

The Seed Synergy collaboration’s white paper from Nov. 2018 says the seed industry needs to focus on the following:

• Update novel product regulations for plant-breeding innovation. (Under Canada’s current regulations all novel plants are subjected to intense scrutiny, even if they aren’t genetically modified organisms. The seed industry sees that as a disincentive to developing new varieties.)
• Implement a seed variety use agreement system for Identity Preserved protected seeds.
• Streamline seed requirements and modernize the regulatory framework.
• Define a new industry model for the seed certification program.
• Create a ‘single window’ for all seed regulatory and member services.
• Create a more efficient and effective industry organizational model.

The paper says the result will drive more investment in the seed sector, level the playing field for all members in the value chain, and enhance efficiency of the services provided.

Jaiman Chin, a consultant with Strategy Corp, the firm hired by the Seed Synergy Collaboration, spoke about the principles for a proposed ‘New Seed Organization’ at the Manitoba Seed Growers’ Association’s annual meeting in late 2019.

They are as follows:

• Maintain broad representation and authority for members.
• Enhance member experience through a single window for support.
• Eliminate uncertainty and duplication.
• Focus services and resources on maximizing value for members.
• Improve the ability to engage and influence regulators and stakeholders by speaking with a unified voice.
• Maintain and expand capabilities to deliver on delegated regulatory authorities.
• Balance seed industry advocacy with service and regulatory mandates.
• Increase the capacity for professional development across the seed sector.

The post Come together? appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

“I think there’s a will to move along the path and to protect our interests and protect our rights and do it right,” the Reston farmer, seed grower and chair of the Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association (MWBGA), said in an interview Feb. 14, after the association’s annual meeting held during CropConnect in Winnipeg.

“If they could just tell us what the number is — how much money they think they need to have — then we’ll figure out a way to make it equitable.”

Seven other commodity groups held their annual meetings Feb. 13 and 14 during CropConnect, and royalties were discussed at three of them.

The federal government started consulting farmers in November on two models — an end point royalty and a trailing royalty. The former would be collected on grain when sold; the latter would be remitted by farmers on farm-saved seed through a per-tonne or per-acre payment. Federal officials say the cost could be $1.50 to $3 a tonne or per acre.

Either option developed by Canada’s seed industry would see farmers pay more to plant breeders who in turn would reward farmers with better varieties keeping them competitive, according to federal officials.

The MWBGA, along with the wheat and barley commissions in Saskatchewan and Alberta and Prairie Oat Growers Association, issued a new release last month saying reaching a consensus on either option was unlikely. However, they also said consultations should continue.

Since then, the MWBGA issued five principles it wants adopted in connection to any royalty plan (see at bottom).

“One thing we can agree on is we need public wheat and barley breeding in Western Canada,” Greig told the MWBGA annual meeting.

Most of Canada’s cereal crops have been publicly developed by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC). But reports say AAFC is spending less on variety development, he said.

While MWBGA doesn’t have a position, Greig said he personally wants a system that encourages public and private variety development. If a multinational company has a hot new variety, Greig said he’d pay for it if he believed it made economic sense.

But he insisted if farmers invest more, the federal government must stop cutting back its contribution and continue producing new varieties.

“We’re going to do a lot of work here so if you can at least commit to freezing funding, or meeting us halfway, I think it would be a lot easier to sell to producers (on contributing more),” Greig said later.

Fisher Branch farmer and one-time provincial minister of agriculture Bill Uruski tried to help shape the MWBGA’s position by moving a resolution. It called on the MWBGA to develop options that would put farmers in charge of their own research dollars in collaboration with the federal government, to ensure all farmer variety development funds, less administration costs, went to that purpose.

“The two proposals mean one thing,” he said. “We pay and have no say.”

Uruski said he won’t be farming much longer but he hoped is son and grandson — fifth- and sixth-generation farmers — would be.

Dauphin farmer Ernie Sirski said the resolution was confusing and moved to table it. That motion passed 21 to 17, ending debate.

The Manitoba Seed Growers Association (MSGA) passed three royalty-related resolutions, including one supporting a trailing royalty, at its annual meeting Feb. 13.

Of the 19 seed growers in attendance, 11 voted for the resolution, five were against and one abstained.

Lowe Farm seed grower Butch Harder opposed the resolution calling it a “seed tax,” and said farmers have no idea how much they’ll pay.

MacGregor seed grower Lorne Hulme also opposed the resolution saying he feared it could hurt smaller seed companies.

However, Brent Derkatch of Canadian seed firm Canterra Seeds, said his company supports trailing royalties.

Kenton seed grower Robert Stevenson opposed the resolution arguing a trailing royalty doesn’t give farmers control over how their money is used. He suggested exploring the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers’ model. (It funds the Crop Development Centre directly to develop new pulse crops, which the association commercializes.)

Grosse Isle seed grower Rick Rutherford supported the resolution saying a trailing royalty would encourage the world’s best genetics to come to Canada through multinational companies. Farmers will regret a system that collects their research money and ties them to one breeding institution, he said.

Manitou seed grower Daniel Sanders agreed.

“If we don’t use the trailing royalties we might not get access to that (foreign genetics),” he said.

Trailing royalties are simpler to administer than end point royalties, which grain companies have not agreed to collect, Oak River seed grower Eric McLean said.

“I think there is more to gain than to lose,” he said.

While there’s talk of a third option involving farmers collecting and controlling royalties or levies, it falls outside plant breeders’ rights regulation, McLean said.

However, that may not be the case. The regulations are quite flexible, Plant Breeders’ Rights Commissioner Anthony Parker said in an interview Feb. 20. Canada could set up an Australian model where farmers, private companies and/or the government form companies to develop new varieties funded through an end point royalty, he said. The partnerships fall outside the breeders’ rights legislation, he added.

Domain seed grower Tom Greaves, who moved the resolution, said a trailing royalty is needed so farmers invest in future variety development.

“Don’t kid yourself,” he said. “If we don’t go down this road the companies are going to do this anyway.”

Seed growers also passed resolutions in support of a royalty model that improves the sustainability of producers and the Canadian seed certification system and to make the royalty system transparent and ensure royalties generated from publicly funded breeding go back to breeding programs.

“We have to remember we no longer plow with a horse and… plant Red Fife wheat,” MSGA president Andrew Ayre said as the meeting ended. “It’s time to go forward.”

WBGA’s royalty principles

(1) Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) must continue its role in variety development from upstream research to finishing of varieties.
(2) Royalty revenue generated cannot replace or erode federal or provincial funding for public plant-breeding programs, but instead add/increase government financial support.
(3) Royalty revenue must support public breeding programs by directly returning collected royalties to the breeding programs and not into general revenue of government.
(4) If Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association continues to be a funder of variety development in partnership with AAFC or other partners (public or private), total royalty collected and distribution of royalties must be reported to ensure transparency and to determine effectiveness of royalty collection in creating value.
(5) Any value creation model or mechanism must protect the producer’s right to save their own seed.

The post Cereal royalty discussions dominate CropConnect AGMs appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

It’s especially frustrating because growers were looking at a bumper crop, forecast to be the third-largest harvest on record. But they were denied that by rains that delayed harvest and hard frosts that hit in mid-October causing ground to freeze as deep as three inches and ultimately leaving more than 5,000 acres, causing Dan Sawatzky, Keystone Potato Producers Association manager, to describe the situation as “unprecedented” in the province’s 50-year history of growing potatoes.

Why it matters: Industry insiders say the toughest potato harvest in a generation set the stage for tight storage supplies and also created potential problems with storing this season’s crop. Now as winter wears on growers are seeing those issues arise.

“People were scrambling to dig that crop even in conditions that were maybe not the most ideal, so we are seeing additional storage losses that we may not have seen under better conditions,” Sawatzky said at the recent Manitoba Potato Production Days in Brandon.

Storage challenges are no surprise to those growers who took a chance on salvaging frost-damaged crop. Producers were piling late-dug potatoes lower than normal, Sawatzky noted, something that he now says is saving some of those smaller, low-piled sheds.

Those frost-damaged potatoes will generally break down in storage as the waterlogged tissue provides a host for rot, Leonard Rossnagel of the Manitoba Seed Growers Association said.

“One thing that producers have been doing is keeping temperatures lower in their storages and putting as much air through the pile as they can — the extra air through the pile to dry up these tubers and the lower temperatures to reduce the activity of the rot organisms,” Rossnagel said.

The challenges are not limited to frost-damaged tubers, however, and Sawatzky reports that some early-dug potatoes are also facing more spoilage due to wet harvest earlier in fall.

“We realized that we would have some issues,” Sawatzky said, later noting the number of producers working to circulate fresh air and heat-dry potatoes during November. “The processors have worked very hard to try and salvage and use what they can, so they’ve been working maybe a little closer (with farmers) because the need is there for them to use what they can.”

In November, Sawatzky told the Manitoba Co-operator that processors were working with producers on issues like fry colour, although he stresses that those processors must still meet their quality specifications.

Rossnagel says he has heard some producers complain of storage issues in sheds they initially expected to weather the winter.

Manitoba’s recent cold weather has only increased the spoilage risk. A polar vortex sent temperatures plummeting below -30 C throughout Manitoba in late January, with some overnight lows inching towards or beyond -40 C.

“The fans will run, pushing air through the pile, all the time,” Rossnagel said. “The problem with really cold temperatures is that you are restricted with the amount of outside air that you can bring in. Outside air is always much drier than the air in the storage, so if you can bring in outside air, that air is drier, and as you push that through the pile, you will dry down some of these wet spots.”

At the same time, he added, colder temperatures may translate to higher sugars and undesirably dark potatoes when fried.

“It’s a fine line between having your temperatures high enough so that they will process, but low enough so that they store,” he said.

The remaining winter will determine how much of the stored potato crop will make it to spring, Sawatzky said, although the province’s seed potato crop may have a better chance of surviving due to its cooler storage.

The post Spud growers battling storage woes appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

It’s especially frustrating because growers were looking at a bumper crop, forecast to be the third largest harvest on record. But they were denied that by rains that delayed harvest and hard frosts that hit in mid-October causing ground to freeze as deep as three inches and ultimately leaving more than 5000 acres, causing Dan Sawkatsky, Keystone Potato Producers Association manager, to describe the situation as “unprecedented” in the province’s 50 year history of growing potatoes. .

“People were scrambling to dig that crop even in conditions that were maybe not the most ideal, so we are seeing additional storage losses that we may not have seen under better conditions,” Sawatzky said at the recent Manitoba Potato Production Days in Brandon.

Storage challenges are no surprise to those growers who took a chance on salvaging frost-damaged crop. Producers were piling late-dug potatoes lower than normal, Sawatzky noted, something that he now says is saving some of those smaller, low piled sheds.

Those frost-damaged potatoes will generally break down in storage as the waterlogged tissue provides a host for rot, Leonard Rossnagel of the Manitoba Seed Growers Association said.

“One thing that producers have been doing is keeping temperatures lower in their storages and putting as much air through the pile as they can — the extra air through the pile to dry up these tubers and the lower temperatures to reduce the activity of the rot organisms,” Rossnagel said.

For more on this topic see the February 7, 2019 issue of the Manitoba Co-operator.

The post Potato growers battling storage woes appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

“This does affect our livelihoods down the road and for future generations so we have to get engaged,” the president of the Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) said in an interview following the first of four consultation meetings on the issue held in Winnipeg Nov. 16.

Farmers growing cereals and pulses covered by plant breeders’ rights legislation pay a royalty when they buy certified seed. But because farmers grow mainly farm-saved cereal seed there isn’t enough revenue to attract private companies to engage in variety development.

After two years of discussions initiated by the Grains Roundtable, two options have emerged to get more money from farmers — end point royalties and trailing contracts.

Why it matters: Farmers are the ones who will pay higher costs in the future.

At its advisory council meeting in Portage la Prairie Nov. 12, KAP district representatives voted 26 to 16 to refer a resolution to endorse trailing contracts to KAP’s grain and oilseeds committee for study.

Trailing contracts would see farmers pay seed companies a per-tonne, or per-acre payment for the seed saved for planting.

The other proposal — end point royalties — would be collected when farmers sold cereals.

Farmers have a bit of time to develop a position. The federal government has not made a decision and wants input, Carla St. Croix, director of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC), Innovation and Growth Policy Division, told the 75 or so participants at the first consultation meeting.

If royalty regulations are changed it won’t be until 2020. Meanwhile, in addition to three more consultation meetings in Ottawa (Nov. 30), Saskatoon (Dec. 4) and Edmonton (Dec. 6), federal government officials will speak at Ag Days in Brandon and at CropConnect in Winnipeg later this winter.

Citizens can also submit views online and federal officials are willing to meet with farm groups too.

Farmers speaking at the consultation meeting generally fell into three camps:

• Opposed to paying more royalties. They said farmers are well served by publicly funded cereal variety development.
• Not necessarily opposed to farmers contributing more, but wary of signing a blank cheque that might benefit seed company shareholders more than farmers.
• Support for more royalty collection on cereal seed. Advocates pointed to the success of canola, a crop where farmers rarely plant saved seed.

How much farmers will pay depends on the type of royalty and the fee. One of AAFC’s scenarios put a trailing contract royalty for farm-saved seed at between 50 cents and $1 an acre.

Campbell attended the consultation with an open mind.

“This is potentially a volatile issue with regards to taking a stance,” he said in an interview Nov. 12.

Traditionally farmers have saved and planted their own seed, Campbell said. But developing improved varieties clearly benefits farmers too, he added.

“So we really have to take a balanced approach to this and once again be balanced and sustainable,” Campbell said. “We continually see the erosion of the bottom line in agriculture where everybody takes a bit of us and pretty soon there’s not much meat left on the bone. So we need to be able to address some of these issues so farmers can stay in business.”

He left the consultation with the same view and a lot more questions.

“I wish there were 4,700 producers here today in this forum so we could inform them,” Campbell said.

During KAP’s meeting Nov. 12 Wawanesa farmer Simon Ellis, representing the Manitoba Seed Growers Association, said he prefers the trail contract over an end point royalty.

“There would be less administration, he said.

But several other KAP delegates weren’t so sure.

“I guess I am hesitant to suggest one is better than another when there might be a third option,” said Minto farmer David Rourke. “Just because there are only two on the table it doesn’t mean that’s what we should support.”

Somerset farmer Gerry Demare agreed, pointing out KAP does not have a policy on royalties.

The two options would help big seed companies, according to Lowe Farm farmer Butch Harder.

“What we have is like being on death row. Do you want lethal injection or a rope?” he said, sparking laughter.

Dauphin farmer Don Dewar countered since there are only two options KAP needs to pick one.

KAP delegates continued to express concerns while debating a resolution calling on KAP’s grain and oilseeds committee to analyze the ‘Seed Synergy’ report.

Foxwarren farmer George Graham said the proposed royalty changes will cost farmers a lot of money.

“We’re already going to face a carbon tax,” he said. “How much more can we take?”

Rourke said he struggles to see how plant breeders will find much more value in cereal varieties. It’s unlikely they will be hybridized or genetically modified, he said.

“Again, the public (cereal-breeding) system has served us well,” Rourke said.

The royalty proposal is equivalent to setting up technical use agreements for cereals and forcing farmers to buy new seed every year costing farmers more money, said Stonewall farmer Nick Mathieson, who was representing the Manitoba Flax Growers Association.

“When you go buy a brand new car you’re not paying on year two, year three, year four for the rights to drive that car,” he said. “You’ve already paid for it when you bought the car.

Farmers aren’t stupid. If the product is better down the road (they will buy it).

“Let us have the choice. That’s just my opinion.”

Based on the KAP delegates’ comments, KAP should reject the two proposed royalty options when it attends the Nov. 16 meeting, Harder said.

“There’s something at work here and we better learn from that,” he said. “When you go to that meeting Friday (Nov. 16) don’t say there are only two choices.

“Let’s stick to our guns. This is a big deal. Again we need to be tougher sometimes than what we are. Sometimes we need to march. Sometimes we need to pound our fist on the table and say ‘this is what we want and there is no other option.’”

The post Seed royalty consultation needs farmer engagement appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Meanwhile, the first of the federal government’s four consultation meetings on the proposal is being held at the Delta Hotel In Winnipeg Nov. 16.

“By the time we (KAP) have a decision the policy will be made,” Dauphin farmer Don Dewar said at KAP’s advisory council meeting here Nov. 12 while resolutions on royalties and plant breeders’ rights were debated.

KAP president Bill Campbell said in an interview later he will attend the meeting with an open mind and gather information KAP members can use to form a position.

“This is potentially a volatile issue with regards to taking a stance,” he said.

Traditionally farmers have saved and planted their own seed, Campbell said. But developing improved varieties clearly benefits farmers too, he added.

“So we really have to take a balance approach to this and once again be balanced and sustainable,” Campbell said. “We continually see the erosion of the bottom line in agriculture where everybody takes a bit of us and pretty soon there’s not much meat left on the bone. So we need to be able to address some of these issues so farmers can stay in business.”

After two years of discussions initiated by the Grains Roundtable two seed ‘value creation’ options have emerged — end point royalties and trailing contracts.

If a new royalty is adopted it would only apply to cereal varieties covered under UPOV’91 — updated plant breeders’ rights ratified by Canada in February 2015.

While farmers could still save cereal seed for their own use, it would no longer be free, undermining the value of saving it.

Some farmers also worry to boost revenue seed companies might deregister old varieties forcing farmers to buy seed covered by UPOV’91.

In a 26 to 16 vote, a resolution for KAP to endorse trailing contracts, which would see farmers paying seed companies a per tonne, or per acre payment for the cereal seed saved for planting, was referred to KAP’s grain and oilseeds committee for study.

Dewar, who moved the resolution, stressed Ottawa is consulting on just two options and the status quo isn’t one of them.

The other — an end point royalty farmers would pay whenever they sold cereals crops — would require grain companies to collect the fees, said Wawanesa farmer Simon Ellis, representing the Manitoba Seed Growers Association.

“Ultimately I think the trailing royalty is best for farmers, myself included…,” Ellis said before the resolution was referred to committee. “It would be the most effective way to do it. There would be less administration.”

But several other KAP delegates weren’t so sure.

“I guess I am hesitant to suggest one is better than another when there might be a third option,” said Minto farmer David Rourke, who has been involved in plant breeding through the Western Feed Grain Development Co-op. “Just because there are only two on the table it doesn’t mean that’s what we should support it.”

Somerset farmer Gerry Demare agreed, pointing out KAP does not have a policy on the proposal.

“I don’t think we can support this (resolution) in any fashion,” he said.

The two options would help big seed companies, according to Lowe Farm farmer Butch Harder.

“What we have is like being on death row. Do you want lethal injection or a rope?” he said, sparking laughter among delegates.

Dewar countered saying there are just two options and KAP needs pick one when it attends the consultation meeting Nov. 16.

Although only two options are being discussed, it doesn’t mean one of them will be implemented, Anthony Parker, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s Commissioner for Plant Breeders’ Rights, said in an email Nov. 1.

“Only after the comprehensive consultations have been concluded, and all views heard, will the government then decide whether or not to pursue regulatory amendments,” he wrote.

KAP delegates continued to express concerns about the royalty options when debating a resolution calling on KAP’s grain and oilseeds committee to analyze the ‘Seed Synergy’ report and provide information and recommendations to the advisory council when it meets in February.

Foxwarren farmer and seed grower George Graham said the proposed royalty changes will cost farmers a lot of money.

“The initial numbers on the UPOV’91 varieties is $20 million (of annual revenue on cereal seed), but that will grow as those (new) varieties come on stream,” he said. “Fifty million (dollars) has been mentioned — sometimes a hundred million. That’s our money. That’s a lot of dough. And we’re already going to face a carbon tax. How much more can we take?”

Rourke said he struggles to see how plant breeders will find much more value in cereal varieties. It’s unlikely they will be hybridized or genetically modified through recombinant DNA, he said.

“Again, the public (cereal breeding) system has served us well,” Rourke said.

The royalty proposal is equivalent to setting up technical use agreements for cereals and forcing farmers to buy new seed every year costing farmers more money, said Stonewall farmer Nick Mathieson, who was representing the Manitoba Flax Growers Association.

“When you go buy a brand new car you’re not paying on year two, year three, year four for the rights to drive that car,” he said. “You’ve already paid for it when you bought the car.

Farmers aren’t stupid. If the product is better down the road (they will buy it.)

“Let us have the choice. That’s just my opinion.”

Based on the KAP delegates’ comments, KAP should reject the two proposed royalty options when it attends the Nov. 156 meeting, harder said.

“There’s something at work here and we better learn from that,” he said. “When you go to that meeting Friday don’t say there are only two choices.

“Let’s stick to our guns. This is a big deal. Again we need to be tougher sometimes than what we are. Sometimes we need to march. Sometimes we need to pound our fist on the table and say ‘this is what we want and there is no other option.’”

The post KAP has no position on proposed seed royalty options yet appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

In 2018, yield data is being published for eight fall rye and seven winter wheat varieties from five locations across Manitoba. Agronomic and disease-resistance information for the winter wheat and fall rye varieties tested by MCVET in 2017-18 is provided in the Variety Description tables.

Things to keep in mind when looking through the data:

Comparing yield — Yields provided in the yield comparison tables (see further down) allow producers to make comparisons between varieties at each site, using the statistical information provided in the grey-shaded area located at the bottom of the table.

Comparing yield differences — To know if yield differences mean something, look at Significant Difference (Sig Diff) for each site, indicated as yes/no. If ‘yes’ then yield differences between varieties indicate real differences in yield. When a site has shown significant difference, then the LSD or Least Significant Difference value is also shown, indicating the number of bushels per acre that varieties must differ by to be considered significantly different. For example, fall rye varieties at the Hamiota site must differ by more than five bushels per acre to be considered significantly different. If we compare Danko to the other varieties, it is significantly lower yielding than other varieties, except Prima and KWS Gatano, where even though it yields lower, it is not significant.

Compare long-term yields —The yields at a single site, in a single year can be a poor indicator of how the variety may perform in your field in 2019. Looking at long-term yield data or yields collected over many years and locations, gives a better indication of potential performance over a variety of environmental conditions. When choosing a new variety it is best to look at past Seed Manitoba guides, available at www.seedmb.ca, to see how consistent a variety performs across years and locations.

Agronomics and disease resistance — While yield is generally the first information farmers look at, characteristics such as maturity, height, standability, winter hardiness and disease resistance are critical to maximizing yield potential and quality. Disease levels were low in winter cereals in 2018, but diseases such as fusarium head blight can have a large impact on yield and quality.

The variety description tables provide information on winter wheat and fall rye varieties tested by MCVET in 2017-18. Note that long-term yield in the bottom two tables, protein (for winter wheat), and site years tested does not include the 2018 data.

Seed Manitoba 2019

The Seed Manitoba guide will continue to provide the latest unbiased information on post-registration variety performance of many crop types in Manitoba. Seed Manitoba is a collaborative effort between the Manitoba Seed Growers’ Association, Manitoba Agriculture, and the Manitoba Co-operator. Seed Manitoba 2019 will be available in late November and will contain protein data for winter wheat and long-term yield data for winter wheat and fall rye.

Anne Kirk is Manitoba Agriculture’s cereals crops specialist. Contributors to the early release of this data include MCVET co-ordinator Chami Amarasinghe, crop industry development manager Anastasia Kubinec, diversification specialist Craig Linde, manager of research Patti Rothenburger and University of Manitoba wheat breeder Anita Brule Babel, as well as MCVET site contractors and funding agencies.

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But industry officials including Earl Geddes, then the executive director of the Canadian International Grains Institute (Cigi), and then Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) chief commissioner Elwin Hermanson, said the problem could be fixed.

Chinese officials complained to Cigi in early 2013 about poor gluten CWRS wheat and threatened “we’re going to have to use DNS” (Dark Northern Spring wheat) from the United States,” Geddes said.

“I don’t think there’s an irreparable problem, but I think we’re hearing some concerns expressed that we should take seriously,” Hermanson told reporters on the sideline of the Canada Grains Council’s annual meeting in Winnipeg April 2, 2013.

Hermanson announced a CGC-led wheat class review Dec. 11, 2014 while speaking to the Manitoba Seed Growers Association’s annual meeting in Brandon.

“We want to consult and ask the right questions and get the right answers and make the right decisions,” he said in an interview later.

Feb. 20, 2015 the CGC released a discussion paper proposing tighter end-use quality standards for CWRS and Canada Prairie Spring (CPS) wheats and a new class later named Canada Northern Hard Red. Industry participants were invited to submit their responses in writing.

The public record shows the industry was consulted. For example, the CGC discussed its proposals with wheat breeders privately in late February 2015 on the sideline of the Prairie Recommending Committee for Wheat, Rye and Triticale’s annual meeting in Banff, and later publicly with the committee.

“Our first key element of course is we want to improve and protect the quality and consistency of CWRS,” Dave Hatcher, the CGC’s program manager for wheat enzymes and Asian products, told the PRCWRT Feb. 26, 2015.

“One, we listened and heard very clearly from producers saying they wanted other opportunities. Two, we heard from marketers saying, ‘well, yes we want new opportunities (to grow and market high-yielding American wheats) as well and a new milling class will provide for that. So, I know it’s kind of hard to believe, but the government does listen and this is exactly what we are proposing.”

On May 8, 2015 the CGC said in a release: “Stakeholders expressed strong support in their responses to the Canadian Grain Commission proposal to protect the quality, consistency and end-use performance of the Canada Western Red Spring and Canada Prairie Spring Red wheat classes.

In September 2015 Cereals Canada, which supported dealing with the gluten complaints, released a summary of a report it and the Cigi hired LMC International to do on Canadian wheat.

“In order to preserve these (high-value) markets (for CWRS and Canada Western Amber durum), the first priority for Canadian wheat must be to maintain its quality and reputation,” the report said.

The CGC announced Jan. 15, 2016 it was moving ahead with the proposed class changes.

“These steps reflect feedback from consultations in early 2015, followed by discussions with stakeholders on a proposed plan, as well as a scan of international markets conducted by Cereals Canada and the Canadian International Grains Institute,” the CGC said in a statement. “The Canadian Grain Commission carefully considered all feedback from breeders, variety owners, grain companies, producer groups, marketing organizations and end-use customers.”

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McConnell, 85, who farms near Teulon, Man., grew some canola plots for Baldur Stefansson, a University of Manitoba plant breeder and one of the developers of canola.

“We received canola breeder seed from Stefansson to grow in a seed plot,” McConnell said in an MCGA release. “I still have the letter he had sent with the seed and for that reason, I believe that we were one of the earliest seed producers to grow it.”

While McConnell doesn’t recall exactly how that first crop fared he does remember the amount of work that went into the project.

“We were doing a lot of field testing at that point and I can’t forget the amount of roguing that was required,” he said. “At one point, the Department of Agriculture sent out a dozen people who were learning to be inspectors. They rogued and rogued and I don’t think those boys ever worked harder.”

The McConnell family’s agricultural roots reach back more than a century.

“My father received some seed barley in 1938 through his sister Edna McConnell, who was attending the University of Saskatoon to obtain her agriculture degree,” McConnell said. (Edna eventually became the first female agricultural representative in Canada.) That barley propelled the family into the seed business, which McConnell ran into the early 2000s.

McConnell continues to farm around 500 acres.

The Canola Award of Excellence is presented annually to acknowledge the accomplishments of individuals and organizations for contributions to the sustained growth and prosperity of Manitoba’s canola industry.

The award was first presented in 2008 to Baldur Stefansson for his work in creating canola, a new edible oilseed derived from rapeseed.

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