Saskatoon (Rural Roots Canada) – A national campaign from the Canadian Seed Growers’ Association (CSGA), called #ChooseCertifiedSeed, aims to show farmers, food processors and consumers why certified seed makes a difference and delivers quality results.

CSGA Chief Operating Officer Caroline Lafontaine says the #ChooseCertifiedSeed campaign is a combination of a micro-site and a series of videos.

“They’re putting seed growers at the front. Our Canadian seed growers have a lot of pride in what they do,” says Lafontaine.

She says these videos explain the value, quality, identity, assurance, traceability and trustworthiness of pedigreed seed.

“If you’re a commercial farmer and you’re thinking about what’s going on in your crop next year and whether or not you should choose certified seed, these videos explain and tell the story of certified seed.”

Lafontaine says the farmers in the video explain a number of things, including why certified seed adds value, is the best management tool, and why they are so passionate and proud they are offering it.

Lafontaine says it is important for them to tell this story.

“We’re doing a public good in helping everyone level up and understand what goes into seed production. There’s a lot of different elements. Seed growers put a lot of extra care and attention compared to grain production and so it really helps to display all that additional cleaning that goes into the production of pedigreed seed to elevate the system.”

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Lafontaine says there are a number of ways seed growers can share materials they currently have out.

“If you are a user of certified seed and if you’re proud of using certified seed, we encourage you to tweet or to like different posts on Facebook and to help the ag community understand the value of a pedigree seed.”