Things learned..
I need to put down my thoughts before I forget entirely. And to show that I am learning something. Note, that this is my own take, and may not necessarily be the truth.
- Environment Canada interviews – rigorous! asks about their mandates, technical questions, tenet/dogma of molecular biology (DNA makes RNA via transcription – RNA polymerase, RNA makes protein via translation – ribosomes)
- Canadian agricultural importation laws are less rigorous than that of exportation laws in terms of what viruses/etc are in the crops, making it problematic for growers as more and more foreign viruses and pests are developing. This is further exacerbated by climate change.
- A decrease in staffing yet increasing viruses and pests in crops makes it difficult for CFIA to monitor crops well.
- Researching and monitoring of plants to determine the route of entry of viruses/pests may not represent the framework of what material is out there and where it is imported from as 1) crops from a different area may be grafted onto a root stock of yet another location, and imported to a third location 2) too many varieties of the crop are present 3) different varieties may be grafted on each other 3) too many locations, too few researchers. The importer may be a middleman who may not divulge all information to growers. This means that the more prolific growers may demand for knowledge of the specific nursery materials came from (some nurseries are cleaner than others) while others may not know where their material came from and accept as is. However, blindly buying unknown material may largely impact the quality and quantity of crop material produced.
- being a supervisor is half about being sensitive, open, yet providing gentle feedback without overpowering. It must be difficult to find the perfect divide between being careful with wording, gentle encouragement for a certain direction without being overbearing or passive aggressive, yet allowing other ideas to come through. And just being tactful, really.
MindWanderings 