A statement from the president of the Manitoba Seed Growers\u2019 Association (MSGA) is drawing attention to two major leadership departures that signal both recognition and concern within Canada\u2019s seed industry.<\/p>\n
In his message to members, Simon Ellis, MSGA president, addresses the resignation of Doug Miller<\/a> as executive director of the Canadian Seed Growers\u2019 Association (CSGA), effective at the end of March 2026, alongside the departure of Dr. Richard Cuthbert<\/a> from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) in Swift Current, where he served as a spring wheat breeder.<\/p>\n Ellis uses the message to underscore the significance of both individuals\u2019 contributions and the broader implications for the industry. \u201cBoth of these individuals have left an indelible mark on Canada\u2019s seed industry, and it would be a failure on the part of MSGA to not recognize and show appreciation for their contributions.\u201d<\/p>\n Ellis raises concerns about the long-term erosion of public plant breeding capacity in Canada. Ellis writes, \u201cThe decline of AAFC plant breeding programs has been no secret to Canada\u2019s agricultural community for several decades, and the departure of one of our leading public breeders is of serious concern for the future of public plant breeding in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n During his tenure at AAFC, Cuthbert was responsible for releasing numerous spring wheat varieties that became foundational to Western Canadian production. Ellis also devotes a significant portion of his letter to acknowledging Miller\u2019s leadership during a challenging period for CSGA. \u201cDoug Miller has led CSGA through one of the most difficult chapters of CSGA with confidence, professionalism and authority,\u201d Ellis writes.<\/p>\n According to the statement, Miller consistently advocated for seed growers by strengthening relationships, modernizing seed certification practices, and promoting Canadian pedigreed seed amid ongoing industry disruption. \u201cDoug has represented and championed seed growers across the country by building relationships, evolving seed certification practices and advocating for Canadian pedigreed seed in an environment of constant disruption.\u201d<\/p>\n Ellis highlights Miller\u2019s work on CFIA\u2019s Seed Regulatory Modernization file, stating that \u201cDoug\u2019s work on CFIA\u2019s Seed Regulatory Modernization file has resulted in a policy paper released by CFIA which respects our seed grower members.\u201d<\/p>\n Ellis concludes his statement by reflecting on the legacy both individuals leave behind and expressing gratitude on behalf of MSGA. \u201cBoth of these individuals have evolved our Industry in their own specific way, resulting in a strong foundation and legacy for Canada\u2019s Pedigreed Seed system and hopefully MSGA member profitability, and sustainability.\u201d<\/p>\n He added, \u201cWe know that the future is bright for our Industry, in part from the contributions and efforts from both Dr. Cuthbert and Doug Miller.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A statement from the president of the Manitoba Seed Growers\u2019 Association (MSGA) is drawing attention to two major…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":407816,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[49,48,44,2100,994,13964],"class_list":["post-407815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-news","tag-policy","tag-research","tag-seed-world-canada"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=407815"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407815\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/407816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=407815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=407815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=407815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}