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What seed growers do when they need to grow

The family have been seed growers since the 1960s but investing in a new seed plant was a big decision, said Mark Watson of Watson Seeds.

“It was getting to the point that if we wanted to stay in the seed business we needed to build a new cleaning plant or get out. It has been a pretty key part of our farm for a long time,” said Watson, of Avonlea, Sask.

It took two years of planning before work began on the new building. They worked with seed equipment sales staff, toured other plants and spent hours discussing what they wanted from the new facility. Once they settled on an equipment company, they were put in touch with a general contractor who had built other seed cleaning facilities.

“We went through a lot of the planning so we were not making it up as we went along.”

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Finding a Balance of Innovation and Regulation - Dr. Peter Facchini

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Regulations help markets and industry exist on level playing fields, keeping consumers safe and innovation from going too far. However, incredibly strict regulations can stunt innovation and cause entire industries to wither away. Dr. Peter James Facchini brings his perspective on how existing regulations have slowed the advancement of medical developments within Canada. Given the international concern of opium poppy’s illicit potential, Health Canada must abide by this global policy. But with modern technology pushing the development of many pharmaceuticals to being grown via fermentation, is it time to reconsider the rules?

Dr. Peter James Facchini leads research into the metabolic biochemistry in opium poppy at the University of Calgary. For more than 30 years, his work has contributed to the increased availability of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthetic genes to assist in the creation of morphine for pharmaceutical use. Dr. Facchini completed his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto before completing Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biochemistry at the University of Kentucky in 1992 & Université de Montréal in 1995.