Kathy Hardy was recognized by her peers with the 2026 OVSGA Award of Excellence for her outstanding achievements and contributions in agriculture.

“It gives me a tremendous feeling of pride to realize that I’ve achieved that goal,” an emotional Hardy said. “I’ve been very happy to see others win it, very well deserving people, and to be part of that select group — it’s pretty special.”

Why it matters: The awards promote best practices, knowledge sharing, mentorship and community building within agriculture.

From the time she was in 4-H, Hardy said her family set a strong example of giving back to the community, and the people who supported her made a big difference.

“It’s so important. It’s the little extra things that you get back from being involved in community things and organizations, and we need volunteers,” she explained. “Don’t be afraid to volunteer, you don’t have to take on the world.”

Hardy’s volunteer contributions to agriculture began immediately after aging out of 4-H, returning as a leader, serving on the executive board, and chairing the regional championship show and the 1993 conference. She volunteered for the Agriculture in the Classroom program, participated in soil and crop activities, and became a member of her county’s peer review committee for the newly introduced Environmental Farm Plan.

Hardy helped bolster the Dundas County Soil and Crop Improvement Association by introducing a formal committee structure, organizing the club’s 60th anniversary celebrations, and playing a key role in creating the county seed show.

Her pedigree, seed business knowledge, and experience shone as a provincial director of the Canadian Seed Growers Association and the Eastern Ontario Crop Advisory Committee, which helped establish the Eastern Ontario Crop Conference and crop diagnostic day events.

The Ottawa Valley Farm Show, as with many organizations, is carried on the back of volunteers’ time, effort and passion to ensure events like the farm show, 4-H programs and regional programs like the championship seed, feed and forage events continue.

Hardy’s an OVSGA director and lifetime member and has sat on the prestigious pedigreed seed auction committee since its 1992 inception.

Her volunteer efforts include the Kemptville College Foundation Board, Inkerman Public School, North Dundas Minor Hockey, and the Winchester Parade of Lights.

“If you don’t have people that are ready to step up and do their part…,” Hardy trailed off. “You don’t have to take on the world. You break it down into increments, and everybody does their part and pulls together as a team.”

Seed Award winners included:

The Glaude Family, Best Entry of Barley

Paul Empey, Champion Exhibit of Wheat

Valley Bio, Best Entry of Red clover and Champion Exhibitor of Forage Seed.

Mark Thurler, Champion Hay Exhibit

Bernard and Tracy Grady, Champion Exhibit of Haylage

Jeff and Jen Waldroff, Best Exhibit of Corn Silage

Jim and Connie McDiarmid, Champion Ear Corn in Open and 4-H, Champion Sheaf of Grain, Special Export 1st Cut

Robert Campbell, Champion Exhibit of Shelled Corn

David Harrigan, Champion Exhibit of Potatoes

Lightning Street Organics, Champion Organic, Champion Exhibit of Soybeans

Kelso Purdon, Champion Maple

Craig and Andrew Barton, Champion Exhibit Ottawa Valley Hay Quality,

John Nanne, Champion Exhibit Ottawa Valley Haylage Quality

Hilltone Farms, Champion Exhibit Ottawa Valley Corn Silage Quality

Kevin Neill, Special Export 2nd Cut

Chloe Glaude, Most points in 4-H Field Crop Section

Evey Twigge, Most points in 4-H Lifeskills

Bentley Smith, Champion 4-H Field Crop Exhibit

Dundas, Top County- most points in Open field Crop classes

Barry Dean, Best Buttertarts

Ceresco, Champion Pedigreed Seed Lot in Auction

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

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 that the organization will have six months for him to finish up some of the projects he’s working on.

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 reach the public posting 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 says despite a move of some rules around seeds from legislation to regulation which can be changed more easily, CFIA still retains control over many of the seed sector rules and processes.

The larger organizations 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 have gone outside of their offices to get the expertise on managing the tariff threats and they now 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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In southern Ontario, that could mean doubling the amount of Carolinian wetland, forest, and grasslands – habitats comprising a mere 15 per cent of the region’s landscapes.

Why it matters: The strategy aims to increase the diversity of native plant species in Ontario’s Carolinian landscapes.

There’s a problem, though. Even if enough landowners signed on to achieve such environmental goals tomorrow, there isn’t enough seed from native Carolinian species to go around.

This reality is the impetus behind the 2024 Southern Ontario Seed Strategy, developed by Carolinian Canada in partnership with the Canadian Wildlife Federation, The Greenbelt Foundation, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ontario Native Plant Growers Association, and several other organizations and native seed companies.

What is it?

As defined in the Seed Strategy, native plants are flora considered indigenous to an area, which evolved in the presence of native soils and climate in tandem with other native plant species, animals, fungi and bacteria. In North America, native plants are commonly defined as the species that existed on the land prior to European colonization.

Carolinian Canada’s Southern Ontario Native Seed Strategy is a framework for addressing the current lack of diversity and quantity of native seed, as well as related barriers to achieving Canada’s environmental restoration goals in Ontario’s Carolinian zone – one of the most ecologically diverse biomes in Canada, as well as one of the smallest and most threatened.

The strategy supports actions to scale up the availability of genetically appropriate native seed and “connect participants in the native plant supply chain, from growing to planting,” to those looking to plant native species. Connections with Indigenous communities and Indigenous knowledge regarding native seed collection and production comprise part of the strategy. Overall, it identified five separate goals:

1. Expand ethical and safe space within the native plant sector.

2. Increase supply and support demand for reliably available genetically appropriate native seed.

3. Develop tools that allow co-ordinated, timely, informed action for seed conservation and stewardship.

4. Develop strategies for widespread use and adoption of native plants within consumer, industry, and policy sectors.

5. Employ Western and Indigenous knowledge to inform and support a native seed supply chain for restoration.

The challenge

Jennifer Nantais, healthy habitat manager with Carolinian Canada, says some inspiration for the Ontario Strategy came from similar approaches developed in parts of the United States, and the recognition that Ontario’s native seed production would, at present, be woefully inadequate should demand significantly increase.

“There’s funding for corn, soybeans and wheat, but not native plants,” says Nantais, referring to research, development, and other investments in crop production generally. Native seed diversity also needs to be expanded along with general supplies and suppliers. As of this writing, she estimates there are just a dozen members of the Ontario Native Plant Growers Association – although many others participate in native seed production and gathering at lower levels.

“People don’t know we don’t have the plants…Folks often can’t find the amount of seed they need or when they need it. That’s because they don’t really connect to the supply and demand side.”

Part of the challenge is rooted in native seed agronomy and economics. Native species don’t grow in large monocultures like the field crops typical of southern Ontario. Seed gathering can be very labour-intensive as a consequence. Knowing what to look for and how to harvest is a skill – and part of the reason Carolinian Canada stresses the importance of Indigenous knowledge within the Strategy. Economic volatility and risk management for native seed growers is also a challenge. While Nantais says contracts for seed are ideally in place to mitigate that risk to growers, it can still be a fraught business.

Rob Messervey, native plant producer and vice-chair of the Ontario Native Plant Growers’ Association, stressed the importance of regular supply of, and demand for, native seeds to growers. During the Jan. 14, 2025 Seed Strategy launch, Messervey says investments are required to ensure adequate seed supplies for nurseries, the latter being able to scale up production. Creating “seed orchards” would help ensure such supplies, as would establishing robust pooling and distribution systems.

“We have a wide diversity of customers, and that diversity of interest and demand is growing,” he says.

Like Nantais, though, Messervey identifies market uncertainty – unpredictable demand for volume and species type, for example – as an ongoing challenge. This is more challenging given some species take many years to produce seed. Seed collection also requires significant expertise, necessitates access to land, good logistical timing, and other factors, while harvesting occurs annually with or without contracts for the collected seed.

“We need to match demand with our seed collection activities. And as we know, level of demand, if it changes, it also changes the impacts on staff and structural capacity of growers and the need for recruitment, training and supplies. But I think the strategy is really going to help us move forward on a couple of those challenges,” says Messervey.

He adds native seed growers need better planning and multi-year forecasting – particularly for larger end buyers like conservation authorities and municipalities – and earlier proposals for growers, allowing for more precise production decisions. Information on trends or changes in what species are being sought after would also be of value at the propagation level.

For Nantais, solving these and other aforementioned challenges would economically benefit Ontario while providing a means of safeguarding our natural resources.

“Only about 15 per cent of land in southern Ontario is natural habitat,” she says. “The estimates say we need to double this to ensure healthy water and landscapes going forward.”

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The March 11 ceremony took place during the Ottawa Valley Farm Show, where 24 awards were distributed. Also recognized was centennarian and Wolfe Island farmer John Posthumus, who received the Award of Excellence, recognizing him for his outstanding achievement in agriculture.

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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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Why it matters: Seed development and movement, like other agricultural products, is affected by geopolitical tensions.

However, increased volatility could bring opportunities for some farmers as companies look for seed multiplication sites in stable and trade-friendly countries.

The move from free trade to tit-for-tat application of sanctions and increased use of non-tariff trade barriers has made business more challenging for seed companies, which have global supply chains.

“We have in our company quite some troubles with exporting seeds from country one to country two just because country two doesn’t like country one,” says Marco van Leeuwen, president of the International Seed Federation and managing director of the Rijk Zwaan vegetable seed company, speaking at the recent World Seed Congress in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Global seed trade has increased as more companies produce seeds and distribute them around the world.

There’s about eight times more seed movement between countries than just 20 years ago, says Michael Keller, executive director of the International Seed Federation. Some governments worry about seed-borne diseases so it has taken effort to convince them that there’s little risk in allowing seeds to move into their country, he said.

However, van Leeuwen says his company is buffeted by increasing disputes between countries that decide not to trade with each other or to impose sanctions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, countries identified domestic food production as a strategic priority. That includes seeds, so some closed their borders to seed imports in an attempt to grow domestic supplies.

“We breed varieties in country one, we test varieties in all the countries with the appropriate climatic conditions, and then we have to produce seeds, which we do again in other countries,” said van Leeuwen.

Those seeds are brought back to one country for packaging and distribution.

Seed production is also more challenging because of a changing climate and trade risks.

“There’s a fear of scarcity when it comes to seed multiplication,” said van Leeuwen.

Professional seed growers are aging and not passing their role to new generations. Others decide the risks of seed production are not worth the threat to a farm’s business.

Trade is more politicized

As well, global trade rules are not working. The World Trade Organization’s dispute resolution system is paralyzed because the United States refuses to name representatives to the dispute panel.

Even so, WTO director Edwini Kessie said at the World Seed Congress that global trade has increased by 6.3 per cent since 2019. A study also showed that trade is more aligned with political objectives.

“The data did not disclose a wholesale transition to regionalization or near-shoring,” he said during a panel on navigating trade changes in the world.

There will be impacts on businesses and the poorest people as companies manage political tensions in the world as part of their business strategy. Add the need to meet new sustainability targets and it’s a recipe for less efficiency, says Marion Jansen, director of the trade and agriculture directorate for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, a forum where governments from 37 democracies promote economic growth.

“Unfortunately, the price of this efficiency loss may end up being paid by the poorest of the world, because you as a seed community, you deal with food and food is what the poorest need most,” she said.

Van Leeuwen says the seed sector faces barriers that are not scientifically based.

“We look at a map and we see a lot of red flags. This is preventing us from reaching out to the farmers who have the right to get the quality seed of their choice. For the seed industry and for the farmers of the world, that is a big concern,” he said.

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