Since this will be my last article as the AOSA president, I thought this would be a good time to look at the past, the present and the future as an organization.
Three Decades of Progress in Certification and Standards
My first AOSA-SCST annual meeting was in 1991, where I took and passed the RST exam. At that time, AOSA and SCST did not use the same exam. The RST exam was given at the annual meeting. There was no separate certification in germination or purity; the person taking the exam had to do it all on the same day. I remember waiting in the hotel room after the exam for the phone call to let you know your grade. That was more stressful than the exam. Since that time, AOSA and SCST have slowly come together and now use the same exam. After all, why not use the same exam? The information is the same regardless of which organization someone belongs to. We now offer certification in germination and/or purity. As the need arose for highly skilled people in genetic testing, those certifications were added as well. As technology grew, we grew with it. Our organizations rolled out the ability to take the germination test online last August. It was very successful. Plans are to keep adding to the virtual component of the exams. Keep in mind that this in no way decreases the knowledge that someone must possess to pass the exam. It is still very thorough, as it should be.
So, we went from separate, totally different exams to the same one. This sounds like two organizations moving closer to being one.
Opening Doors for Certified Analysts
Early in my career, an RST could not work in a government lab. That changed a little more than 20 years ago, and now we have 35% of the AOSA labs that have RSTs in them. This was made possible when the organizations adopted the consolidated exam. This change has allowed analysts to be more mobile and accept opportunities that were not previously there.
Crossover membership? Once again, more movement toward being one.
A Shift in Governance and Member Voice
Over the years, the ability to vote on the AOSA Rules has changed. At my first meeting, there was discussion on rules proposals that were open to members of both organizations; however, only AOSA members were allowed to vote on the Rules. We have evolved from that to members of both organizations being allowed to vote on the Rules. There is now a requirement in place that requires a majority of each organization for a proposal to pass.
Notice a trend here?
A Merger Years in the Making
As many of you are aware, AOSA and SCST are considering a merger. This has been something that has been discussed for the last 20 years. After each attempt, we have looked to see what caused the merger or consolidation to fail. We learned from each attempt and kept trying. Well, after multiple attempts, I think it might happen this time. Surveys taken at various stages indicate the support is there. Currently, the merger process is in the hands of lawyers. If all goes well, we should be ready for a vote of membership around the first of April, with a target of merging on June 1 of this year. If all goes well, the annual meeting in Rochester, New York, will be our first as a merged organization.
What Changes — and What Stays the Same
What will the merged organization look like? From the outside looking in, there will not appear to be much of a difference. The exams will not change. The Rules voting will not change. What will change? Bylaws will be very general, with daily operations moved into SOPs. This will decrease the need for bylaw changes, which can take two years to accomplish. It will make the new organization more reactive and nimbler. The merged organization will have more streamlined committees. We will not have the redundancy we now have with overlap and duplication.
Another internal change will be that all certified members of AOSA will become individual members of the new organization and will have an individual vote on all business matters. For example, CSAs (AOSA) will become RSTs. Since we will be more streamlined, there will be a reduced annual meeting footprint. This could result in a shorter annual meeting, reduced travel costs and potentially more time for workshops. By doing all these things, we hope we will become more attractive to new analysts, as well as employers who may be sending employees to the annual meeting.
Why the Work Still Matters
As we move into the future, we will always need trained, credentialed analysts. Remember, seed is a living entity, and as such, there will always be these minute differences between individual seeds, which will make it very difficult for AI to replace the trained eye. Even as AI improves, there will have to be that trained analyst who teaches AI to do the job. There will be a need for education within our industry, especially when discussing various tests and what they mean.
As an organization, we need to continue to promote our analysts to industry (both private sector and public sector) and stress the need for and the importance of having highly trained, credentialed analysts.
Everyone who works in the seed industry (both public and private sector) has the unique claim of being involved in something that touches everyone. Everyone on this planet is affected by seed in some capacity.
James Smith is president of the Association of Official Seed Analysts.