(Alice McFarlane/farmnewsNOW Staff)

By Alice McFarlane

Seed Trade

Seed trade set strategies for COVID-19

Mar 24, 2020 | 4:54 PM

It all starts with seed.

For farmers, seed growers, seed developers, plant breeders and the distribution network, the movement of seed will be essential during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Canadian Seed Trade Association Interim Executive Director Tyler McCann said all sectors must come together to make sure farmers have what they need to put in a crop.

“The industry is committed to getting seed to farmers, but committed to doing it in a way that protects the health of the farmers themselves and the employees in the seed industry,” McCann told farmnewsNOW. “To make sure farmers have access to the seed and other inputs they need to do the work this spring.”

McCann said their members and companies in the trade have stepped up in a variety of ways.

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“Having employees that aren’t essential work from home, have employees that are working in plants practice physical distancing measures. We have companies that are moving seed to farmers earlier than normal trying to take advantage of the window they have to move as much product as possible,” McCann said. “Companies are limiting face to face contact during sales and making arrangements to serve customers individually, while again, respecting the physical distancing we’ve heard so much about.”

McCann said another strategy is to encourage companies to take steps to cross train personnel.

“In the event there is an illness or members of the team aren’t able to come to work, there would be other team members that are able to step in and fill those essential functions so the seed distribution network could continue to function.”

McCann said it was an important step for government to exempt commercial travel after the announcement of the Canada/U.S. border closure. He said the federal government is listening to their concerns.

“They’ve been very open, transparent and engaged, recognizing this is a new experience. These decisions are being made every day as we try and grapple with the virus itself. Measures need to be in place to protect human health but also protect the economy,” he said. “We’ve had a very open dialogue with government where we’ve been able to put our concerns forward. We know they recognized the importance of cross border trade and the ability to move commercial traffic across the border, in particular, while prohibiting non-essential border movement. Those north and south supply chains are as important in the seed business just as they are to many other businesses.”

McCann said they were also happy with the decision to allow temporary foreign workers in Canada.

McCann said seed companies have put the first measures in place but as the situation evolves and more information comes from government, they will do what needs to be done to protect employees.

He said if everyone is healthy they will be in a position to continue to deliver seed and get products out to farms.

“We think it’s really important everyone stays safe. It’s important for our employees in the seed chain and for farmers themselves to put the right measures in place and respect public health guidelines so we can all be healthy and we can do the work we need to do this spring, to keep farms growing, the rural economy growing and the Canadian economy moving forward as much as possible,” he said.

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alice.mcfarlane@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @AliceMcF