For more information, see the Fourth Quarter issue of Seed Today.

By Melissa Phillips

I hope this installment finds you well as harvest is near completion or may already be completed.

This time of year is when many of the labs’ work ramps up for the testing season.

Those not in the day-to-day activities of evaluating samples are looking ahead to next year to plan the projects and initiatives to be executed in the slower times.

Strengthening the Organizations

It’s usually at the year-end that we also reflect on what was accomplished in the year past.

For AOSA/SCST, we continue to work toward consolidation.

This initiative has been moving forward and we have worked to ensure all stakeholders have been consulted and their feedback is being taken under careful consideration.

The plan is to strengthen these two organizations by joining AOSA and SCST into one organization.

Another part of becoming a successful agricultural-enabling powerhouse includes growing our members, specifically the number of accredited members.

The organizations had a successful year for accredited analysts.

In total 17, new Registered Seed Technologists (RST) or Certified Seed Analysts (CSA) were added to our membership roster. In addition, 19 individuals successfully passed their first of two exams on the road to being fully accredited.

These are encouraging numbers as we are also in a time of losing many highly experienced analysts to retirement and attrition.

Accreditation Exams

Taking on the exam is a personal commitment and is really something a candidate needs to be passionate about in order to be successful.

If you are not familiar with the accreditation exams: they are difficult.

They are challenging for a reason. We want to ensure that our accredited analysts/technologists are knowledgeable in sampling practices, seed testing methods, procedures, testing rules, and reporting requirements.

The exam applicants must have a minimum number of years of experience and have sufficient points from workshops and instruction to be eligible to even take the exam.

An accredited member also has the vetted knowledge needed to conduct accurate and reliable testing. This applies not only to private labs, but also state and government labs as well.

Exam differences. In years past, the exams of the two organizations were once very different.

The SCST exam historically being all encompassing of many species, whereas AOSA exams were very regional and focused on species of the region where the test was administered.

As we know testing is no longer regional, northern labs test crops such as cotton and other traditional southern species regularly and vise versa.

Over the past years there has also been a concerted effort by the exam committees to combine exams between the two organizations.

This has been extremely helpful in the job market as people move and change jobs more often than they once did.

In the past times there was no reciprocity or acknowledgement of prior achievements in the other organization.

If an analyst moved from private to government or the other way around, they had to practically start over and retake exams.

Now employers can have a better understanding on what they are getting when they hire a CSA or an RST. This can make the hiring process easier knowing they are getting a vetted experienced analyst.

Looking to the Future

As the two organizations look to our future, and our role in the United States and even North America, we recognize we are crucial to the success of our agricultural systems.

We understand that the long-term success of the organizations must be at the forefront when we look to build our new future in the new year.

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season and a great new year.

Melissa Phillips

President, SCST

melissa.phillips@bayer.com | analyzeseeds.com