I am writing this on May 31 with seeding just completed. On our farm, located south of Fort Qu'Appelle, we feel very fortunate to have had some moisture even if it came in the form of snow and with freezing temperatures. I certainly empathize with those of you who have had no significant moisture during seeding.
On the long weekend in May, our son and his girlfriend visited our farm. And, like our other sons' girlfriends, she was very complimentary to me. (I find this one of the benefits of having sons with nice girlfriends.) In this instance, she remarked on how straight I drove when seeding. So I told her about my other life when I taught mathematics and physics and how any two lines directed at a point approaching infinity are parallel and that, to drive toward this distant point, it is important to look ahead. While it is necessary to look back and check that we don't have disaster behind, it is most important to look ahead at the most distant point we can find.
After they had gone and I was alone on the tractor, I thought that this idea also applies to people and to organizations. Of course, I thought of the SSCA and how it is so easy for us to look behind us and pat ourselves on the back for past successes. In a spring like this, we can be especially proud of the growth of direct seeding over the years. As Canada considers the Kyoto Protocol, we can be proud of the work our organization, and especially John Bennett, Past President, has done on greenhouse gases. But it is also important for us to look ahead to where we want to go in the future. Where will the SSCA be headed in 2 years from now? 5 years? 10 years?
This fall, the staff and directors of SSCA will hold a planning session to look at where we have been, but more importantly to pick out a spot in the distant horizon. I ask that you as members of SSCA also think about the organization, where it has been and where it should go. Remember we have board members and staff all over the province who value input from our members. Let us know your thoughts so they can be considered in this important planning session.
By the time you read this I hope we all have had rain and the crops look promising.