Current Year Plenary Sessions

To view each of the speaker's biography, click on the hyperlinks below (where available).

Disclaimer

Reference herein to any specific commercial products, processes, or services by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the Prairie Grain Development Committee. The views and opinions of Plenary Session speakers expressed herein are solely those of the speakers, and publication of these on the PGDC website does not constitute an endorsement of these views by the Prairie Grain Development Committee, its members, or the organizations they represent.

 

2026 PGDC Annual Meeting Plenary Session

Made in Canada Seed: A Decade of UPOV91 in Canada & Pedigreed Seed Distribution, Production, and Retail Overview


8:30 - Welcoming Remarks
Ana Badea - Executive Chair at PGDC

8:35 – Plenary Presentations: A Decade of UPOV91 in Canada


Harvesting Lessons: Canada’s First Decade with UPOV’91 (35 mins)
Anthony Parker- Commissioner of the Plant Breeders' Rights Office, Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) - Speaker Bio
Questions / Discussion (10 mins)

9:20 – Plenary Presentations: Pedigreed Seed Distribution, Production, and Retail Overview & Panel Discussion


From PGDC to the Farm: The Seed Variety Commercialization Pathway (20 mins)
Todd Hyra - Western Canada Business Manager, SeCan - Speaker Bio - Presentation
Pedigreed Seed Production and Retail Business Overview - Stamp Seeds (15 mins)
Greg Stamp - Stamp Seeds (Alberta) - Speaker Bio - Presentation

9:55 - 10:10 - Health and Networking Break

Pedigreed Seed Production and Retail Business Overview - Pitura Seeds (15 mins)
Tom Greaves - Pitura Seeds (Manitoba) - Speaker Bio - Presentation
Pedigreed Seed Production and Retail Business Overview - Petruic Seed Company (15 mins)
Nick Petruic - Petruic Seed Company (Saskatchewan) - Speaker Bio - Presentation

Panel Discussion: (40 mins)
Moderator: Dana Maxwell- President & Director of Plant Genetics Services, Ag-Quest Inc., MB - Speaker Bio
Panelists: Todd Hyra, Greg Stamp, Tom Greaves, and Nick Petruic

11:20 - Canadian Food Inspection Agency Variety Registration Office (CFIA-VRO) – Updates


An Update from CFIA-VRO to the Variety Registration Recommending Committees in Western Canada (15 mins)
Heather Ryan- Program Specialist, Variety Registration Office (VRO), CFIA - Speaker Bio

An Update from CFIA on Seed Regulatory Modernization (15 mins)
Wendy Jahn- National Manager, Seed Section, CFIA - Speaker Bio - Presentation
Questions / Discussion (10 mins)


12:00 NOON – Adjourn for Recognition Luncheon (hosted in the same room)