Held annually in conjunction with Ag Expo in Lethbridge, Alta., the North American Seed Fair powered by Seed World Canada is celebrating its 129th year.

It makes it one of the last remaining seed fairs of its kind in North America to operate continuously for more than a century.

The best of the best from the seed industry are on display during Ag Expo from Feb. 25-27 in the Lethbridge Trade & Convention Centre.

Why It Matters: Building a seed fair with a rich history of 129 year builds reputation and confidence with those in the agricultural industry in North America with developing trends.

“My grandparents were in the seed business beginning in the late 1950s and ’60s and became involved with the Lethbridge Seed Fair, which is now nearly 130 years old,” said Ryan Mercer, chair of the North American Seed Fair committee in a press release.

“My parents were very, very involved as well, entering samples, serving on the board, directing the fair and encouraging other seed growers to participate. It’s been in our family for generations.”

The North American Seed Fair brings together seed growers from across Canada and the United States to display top-quality samples of pulse crops, cereals and oilseeds.

From wheat destined for bread and pasta to barley used in beer production, the fair connects consumers to the very beginning of the food chain. This year, more than 180 samples were received and judged, a significant increase from recent years.

The fair helps to educate the public on the journey from field to plate.

“They get to know where their bread, their spaghetti and their beer comes from,” said Mercer.

“It’s interesting to take it right from the seed, planting it, harvesting it and seeing how it moves into food processing. Canada has some of the best wheat varieties in the world. That comes from farmers, plant breeders, private investors and government working together. The seed fair is where we get to showcase many of those new and upcoming varieties.”

This year begins a new era for the seed fair, as the Lethbridge & District Agricultural Society is producing the event, working closely with a committee of industry experts.

The fair supports the society’s commitment to agriculture advocacy and education.

“We are proud that LDAS is able to support the North American Seed Fair, as it speaks directly to the impact agriculture has on our economy and way of life in southern Alberta,” said Cody McIntosh, director of Lethbridge & District Agricultural Society.

“People are able to connect directly with people involved in the industry, ask questions and get a better understanding of where their food comes from.”

The fair also emphasizes youth engagement, featuring 4-H artwork and exploring new ways to connect with younger audiences and the broader public.

Seed entries are judged by representatives from the grain trade, seed cleaning industry and food processing sector, ensuring samples meet the highest standards.

“It’s friendly competition,” said Mercer.

“We’re all great friends working toward the common goal of providing top-quality seed to southern Alberta farmers. A little friendly competition never hurts and we have a lot of fun doing it.”

Learn more about the North American Seed Fair at ag-expo.ca.

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The regional event was held in late July at AgSmart and hosted by Olds College. Weigum will represent Alberta at Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers competition in November 2025 in Toronto.

Weigum specializes in pedigreed seed production and retail sales. She co-owns the business with her parents, who started the farm and seed business in the 1980s.

Weigum returned to the farm in 2011 after studying English literature at university, working in communications in British Columbia and Ottawa, and cooking for a tree planting camp.

She used those diverse experiences and skills to improve marketing, expand her customer base and connect with professionals across the grain and seed industry.

Alect Seeds produces wheat, barley and peas but also niche crops such as fab beans, flax and fall rye.

Through field days, writing for farm publications, involvement in grower groups and many conversations on the phone and in the community, Weigum has supported farmers who want to grow crops outside the box.

She is president of Alberta/British Columbia Seed Growers and is also a board member for her local seed plant co-operative.

READ MORE: Check out last year’s regional OYF nominees from across Canada HERE.

“The Alberta Outstanding Young Farmers have once again put on an incredible event, attracting alumni, sponsors, friends and family. This year‘s winner, Sarah Weigum, demonstrates the values that our program stands for: excellence, sustainability and passion,” Amy Cronin, president of Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmer Program, said in a press release.

“Sarah operates a seed business and exemplifies the spirit of collaboration, creating a model that can be used by other farmers as well. She is an advocate for agriculture and takes pride in being a journalist who put some of the most technical information into articles that the industry can easily understand and adopt.”

Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers is an annual competition aimed at rewarding farmers who demonstrate excellence in their profession and promote agriculture’s contribution.

It is open to participants aged 18 to 39 years old, whose major source of income comes from agricultural sources. Participants are selected from seven regions in Canada, and two national winners are chosen each year.

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Senft will continue to serve as CEO until the end of January 2026.

“I think after five years, it’s time for new leadership,” he said during the 2025 Seeds Canada conference in Quebec City.

He said someone with more seeds experience would make sense now that the organization is up and running.

Agriculture sector veteran

Seeds Canada was formed about five years ago in an amalgamation between the Canadian Plant Technology Agency, the Commercial Seed Analysts Association of Canada, the Canadian Seed Institute and the Canadian Seed Trade Association.

Senft has had numerous roles in the agriculture sector over his career, but several of them have been managing newly merged organizations. He oversaw the newly merged Grain Farmers of Ontario organization previous to his work at Seeds Canada.

“This is pretty big news for us,” said Brent Collins, president of Seeds Canada.

He thanked Senft and said the organization will have six months for him to finish up some of the projects he’s working on.

Seed modernization

Senft led Seeds Canada through the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s seed act modernization process, now five years into the process. A position paper with proposals for act changes is expected any day. There will be more consultations yet before the changes are posted in the Canada Gazette.

He says five years is a long time, and a lot of staff time has gone into the process.

“We’ll see what the end result is.”

He said despite moving some rules governing seeds from legislation to regulation, which can be changed more easily, the CFIA still retains control over many of the seed sector rules and processes.

The larger organization has more resources to react to issues in the sector.

Senft says the founding organizations are better together as Seeds Canada and points to the recent challenges around tariffs as an example. Previously, the smaller organizations would have had to go outside their offices to get the expertise needed to manage the tariff threats. Now they have access to those assets.

“We’ve been able to have the resources in place to be able to analyze that and advise our members accordingly.”

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“This recommendation, approved in principle by the Boards of Directors of both organizations, is designed to improve communication and collaboration between the seed sector, the broader value chain, and government,” CSGA said in a March 31 post on its website.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) launched the seed regulatory modernization process in September 2020, and has rolled out a series of surveys and consultations with seed companies and growers, farmers, breeders and other members of the value chain.

CSGA said the advisory committee would serve as a structured forum for discussion and information exchange on matters related to the ongoing modernization. It wouldn’t have governing power, fiduciary responsibilities or the ability to set standards.

“Providing a dedicated venue for engagement would help ensure that policy and regulatory matters are addressed through a timely, balanced, and inclusive approach,” CSGA said.

Seeds Canada and CSGA have sent a joint statement to the CFIA encouraging the agency to accept the proposal. CSGA will keep members appraised of developments, the organization said.

In October, the CFIA released the results of its third round of industry and expert consultations. According to the CFIA’s website, it’s currently in consultation with First Nations and Indigenous communities on their perspectives and priorities.

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“Using an experimental approach to co-develop recommendations for change takes time in order to bring a diverse set of stakeholders together to reach consensus,” the agency said in a statement.

“The CFIA appreciates the collaboration and involvement of numerous engaged stakeholders and is proud of the progress made to date together.”

This is the third round of consultations. The first, a needs assessment survey, was done in 2021.

The winter 2024 survey received feedback from 412 respondents, including seed growers, seed companies, farmers, farm organizations, commodity groups, academics, and others.

Here are a few of the responses according today’s “What we heard” report.

More than 60 per cent of respondents said that the seed certification system would be improved if the Canadian Seed Growers Association took on some seed certification tasks currently done by the CFIA.

Common themes among responses were that the CSGA has reliably administered the national seed crop certification program and has demonstrated it can take on more tasks.

Respondents also broadly agreed that current requirements, which don’t subject sellers of common seed to additional rules, should be kept as-is.

Some said that seed sellers are mindful of their reputations, and this—combined with buyers’ due diligence—is a sufficient safeguard.

Responses were mixed on a proposal to establish an advisory committee overseeing ongoing improvement of the seed system. Some said the time commitment would exclude farmers from participating. Others were only in favor of the committee if a balance of representation from across the supply chain could be guaranteed.

Stakeholders were also unsure about a proposal to require all seed types to be tested by an officially accredited lab as this could increase cost to growers. Others said that the accredited lab system would ensure replicable results, giving more assurance of seed quality.

In the report summary, the CFIA noted that common seed of small-seeded crops like alfalfa and canola already require testing in officially recognized labs.

The majority of respondents were not supportive of a proposal to allow seed registrants to cancel varieties on their own request when there are no safety concerns. A common objection was that this would reduce farmer choice and reduce the marketability of grain from that variety.

However, some said cancellation decisions are not be made arbitrarily and should be allowed.

Additional feedback included that digitalization of the system would increase efficiency and efficacy; that membership on an advisory committee should not be by ministerial appointment; and that the CFIA should retain enough expertise and enough practical experience in the seed program so it doesn’t lose its capacity to oversee it.

The CFIA said it anticipates that it will release a policy paper in 2025 which will summarize the major changes it plans to make.

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Todd Hyra can’t speak for the entire grain industry, but as far as SeCan is concerned, its western business manager says there’s no such thing as a “Version 2.0” of any of the varieties it distributes.

“By the time a new variety lands with us it’s been through eight to 10 years of trials and then through the registration system for three years. And so we’re already 12 years into a variety’s development process,” said Hyra at Ag in Motion 2024, held July 16-18 near Langham, Saskatchewan.

It’s farmer seed growers that make the call as to whether a variety is going to work or not, he said.

“The real magic in our system is the fact that our seed growers will multiply those for two more years under full-on field conditions. They’ll grow them with commercial equipment on their land in the area where they’re going to be sold.”

“And so it’s our farmer seed growers that are the ones that grow, process and sell these varieties locally that provide the final proof. And if they work for them on their farm those last two, three years of production, then the bugs are pretty much out.”

That doesn’t mean a variety is perfect, but it’s been through such a rigourous process that it’s as perfect as it’s going to get, said Hyra.

“There’s always an environmental curveball that will come your way that you may not see coming; some disease or something that you might not have ever expected,” he said.

“But for the most part, it’s that last three years of full-on commercial production by a local seed grower that provides the proof. And if they don’t work for the seed growers, they’ll quite often kill off a variety before they’re ever going to go commercial. If they like it, then their customers can be assured that it’s going to work in their area.”

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“Even though wheat samples tested had the presence of fusarium, infection levels were relatively low,” it said, adding rates were higher “in regions with high corn acreage, irrigated acres and regions with higher moisture conditions during flowering.”

Fusarium infection levels were “relatively low” for all cereals. The testing was initially supported by government funding but the cost is now covered by Alberta Seed Processors.

Its report can be found in the News and Events section of seedprocessors.ca.

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Corteva will cut 51 positions from a Woodland, California facility, run by its Pioneer Hi-Bred International subsidiary, that supplied Europe and Russia markets, according to California’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) data last week.

“Corteva is concluding its plan to stop production and business activities in Russia, and because we have enough sunflower production capacity in Europe for the European market, we no longer need the additional production capacity at the Woodland location,” the company said in an email, without mentioning the number of jobs affected.

Relocating commercial sunflower seed production to Europe for European customers will reduce costs, Corteva added.

The layoffs show ripple effects from corporate decisions to quit Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Corteva said in April it would withdraw from Russia. In September, it announced plans to exit about 35 countries and lay off about five per cent of its global workforce to cut costs.

Woodland, just west of Sacramento, prides itself on its food and agriculture businesses, city spokesman Spencer Bowen said. “We’re obviously sad,” he said about the job losses.

Demand for crops grown with Corteva seeds and chemicals is strong after severe weather and the Ukraine war tightened global supplies. However, agrichemical companies face headwinds from inflation and supply-chain shortages.

In 2021, sunflower seeds accounted for about five per cent of Corteva’s overall US$8.4 billion in seed sales, a company investor presentation showed. The biggest producers and consumers of sunflower seeds are Europe and Russia, the company said.

The Woodland facility is Corteva’s only one in the U.S. making “commercial” sunflower seeds for farmers to grow plants for oil or food.

The facility will continue to produce “parent” seeds for the commercial crop, and is working with a U.S.-based third-party to produce “commercial” sunflower seeds for domestic growers, the company said.

— Reporting for Reuters by P.J. Huffstutter and Tom Polansek in Chicago.

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All but a couple dozen of the new association’s nearly 720 members farm in Alberta, so joining forces will “ensure that seed growers in British Columbia have the same level of recognition and promotion for their pedigreed seed as growers across the country,” said Tracy Niemela, the organization’s president and a grower from the Sylvan Lake area.

The merged group is one of six associations that are part of the Canadian Seed Growers Association, which represents 3,500 seed growers and monitors and certifies seed for field crops in Canada (except potatoes).

The new website can be found at abcseedgrowers.ca.

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The Canadian Seed Trade Association (CSTA), Canadian Plant Technology Agency (CPTA); Commercial Seed Analysts Association of Canada (CSAAC) and Canadian Seed Institute announced plans Tuesday to seek approval from their respective boards and memberships for a four-way amalgamation.

No longer in the Seeds Canada hopper is the Canadian Seed Growers’ Association (CSGA), whose membership “did not vote in favour” of a five-way amalgamation proposal during a vote held over six weeks ending in late August.

The amalgamation proposal dates back to a 2015 brief from the CSGA and CSTA, followed by a 2017 “green paper” on the “core ideas and context for the next-generation seed system.”

A 2018 white paper from the five organizations pointed out that, among other issues facing the seeds sector, the groups have “overlapping memberships and even directors, creating a significant draw on member time and resources.”

The CSGA, which would have been the largest participating group in a five-way merger, represents pedigreed seed producers, with a membership made up mainly of farmers. It also has statutory power to certify pedigreed seed.

The CSTA, meanwhile, represents seed companies including major multinationals such as BASF and Bayer as well as smaller seed grower/retailers. CSTA president Ellen Sparry said last month it’s hoped the CSGA would co-operate with a separate Seeds Canada organization, possibly through a formal agreement.

The four other organizations said Tuesday they now plan to build on the momentum from their previous votes in favour, and update the Seeds Canada ratification package before undertaking a new membership vote.

“The goal is to ensure that members and stakeholders, including seed growers, will see value in the new amalgamation package,” they said in a release.

Implementation work on the new plan will take place “concurrently,” with the goal of bringing Seeds Canada into existence in February 2021 pending board and membership approvals, the groups said.

“While there may be one less amalgamating partner, the vision for Seeds Canada to become the voice of the seed sector, including seed growers, analysts and the seed trade, remains the same,” the groups said.

The new plan’s goal, they said, is for Seeds Canada’s membership to eventually include national and provincial seed associations, “as well as seed growers from across the country.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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