The grain company rejoined the organization at its March 12 annual general meeting after nearly a nine-year hiatus.

“Richardson is a significant player in the industry in a number of different capacities, including as an exporter and processor, so it’s great to have them around the table as a member of the council,” said council president Chris Davison.

Richardson withdrew its funding from the canola council, the Flax Council of Canada and Soy Canada at the end of 2017.

It had been spending more than $1 million per year funding the three organizations.

“We don’t think we got the value out of it,” Jean-Marc Ruest, Richardson’s senior vice-president of corporate affairs, said at the time.

Davison said the council maintained a working relationship with Richardson over the ensuing years.

Recently he discussed the council’s updated priorities with the grain company.

“That led to a decision from them to rejoin the council as a regular member,” he said.

WHY IT MATTERS: Richardson was the only major grain company that was not a member of the council.

He doesn’t know what tipped the scale.

“That’s a question you might have to ask them,” said Davison.

“I think it’s more than one thing.”

Richardson was contacted for this story but did not reply in time to meet The Western Producer’s publication deadline.

One of Richardson’s original concerns surrounded the council’s extensive work on agronomy when the private sector had its own agronomists working in the countryside.

The council seemingly addressed that concern when it announced a “refreshed” strategic framework on July 31, 2025.

In that announcement, the organization said it would no longer maintain a field-based agronomy team.

Davison said the council will instead focus on maintaining or enhancing the ability to innovate, promoting canola’s role in biofuel, ensuring market access for canola products and conducting targeted market development around the world.

Exporters and processors provided $1.33 million, or 36 per cent, of the council’s core funding in 2025.

That compares to $1.55 million contributed by provincial grower groups, $750,000 from life science companies and $21,000 from affiliate memberships.

Davison would not divulge how much Richardson would be paying in 2026.

“We don’t talk about the amounts that individual organizations contribute,” he said.

However, he noted that it will be helpful to have the grain company back in the fold when it comes to tackling priorities and co-ordinating and aligning activities.

“The more of the industry that we have represented at the table the better that is,” said Davison.

Aaron Anderson of Richardson is one of three new directors for 2026-27. He will be a director-at-large nominated by the council’s board.

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Aaron Anderson of Richardson International is listed as one of three new directors for 2026-27.

Anderson will be a director-at-large nominated by the council’s board.

It is an interesting development because Richardson withdrew its funding from the Canola Council of Canada, the Flax Council of Canada and Soy Canada in late-2017.

It had been spending more than $1 million per year funding the three organizations.

“We don’t think we got the value out of it,” Jean-Marc Ruest, Richardson’s senior vice-president of corporate affairs, said at the time.

WHY IT MATTERS: The board appointment suggest industry heavyweight Richardson may have rejoined the commodity group.^

There were no press releases issued by either the canola council or Richardson about the company rejoining the fold.

The Western Producer has contacted both organizations and is waiting for a reply.

One of Richardson’s original concerns was over the canola council’s extensive work on agronomy when the private sector already had its own agronomists working in the countryside.

“Is there an element of duplication that should be looked at?” said Ruest at the time.

The council seemingly addressed that concern when it announced a “refreshed” strategic framework on July 31, 2025.

In that announcement, the organization said it would no longer maintain a field-based agronomy team.

The council said it would instead focus on three core priorities:

• Sustainable and reliable supply — growing the volume of Canadian canola to meet domestic and global market needs.
• Stable markets for value optimization — growing the economic value of canola by developing and defending markets for Canadian canola and canola products.
• Member service excellence — delivering continued value to members through council services and working to strengthen coordination and engagement with industry partners.

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Earlier that Friday, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a $5 billion package to aid businesses and industries facing tariffs and job losses. Of that, $370 million over two years was designated for canola producers and the domestic biofuel industry. Carney said that includes increasing that maximum interest free portion on the advance payments program from $250,000 to $500,000.

China recently hit its Canadian canola seed imports with a 75.8 per cent levy and previously slapped 100 per cent tariffs on canola oil and meal. The latter measures are believed to be in response to Ottawa’s 100 per cent duties on imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles. The surcharge on the seed is part of China’s ongoing investigation into allegations of canola dumping by Canada.

‘Discouraged’

“We are discouraged with the government’s support package for the industry. The measures announced today do not reflect the seriousness of the challenge facing the value chain,” CCC president and CEO Chris Davison said in the press statement.

“Farmers should not be expected to borrow their way out of this situation,” added CCGA president and CEO Rick White. “The advanced payments program is not designed to provide the required support canola farmers need under this situation.”

Davison and White said the changes the federal government says it will make to enhance Canadian biofuel production don’t go far enough.

Rather than implementing financial supports, the two presidents said the feds need to resolve the trade issues with China.

“We are calling on the federal government to urgently work with us to provide meaningful and impactful support for the industry as we continue to navigate this trade crisis,” they said. “The federal government must pursue all avenues to resolve the current trade dispute with China and re-open that market for the Canadian canola industry.”

– With files from Jonah Grignon, Glacier FarmMedia

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The council announced July 31 the five-year framework includes a new focus for the industry and was developed with stakeholders across the value chain.

It said it will concentrate on three core priorities of ensuring sustainable and reliable supply to meet domestic and international needs, increasing the economic value of canola by developing and defending markets and delivering continued value to members.

As a result, the council is realigning its internal structure to meet the new priorities.

“This includes a re-focused agronomy function, with an eye to the future, that works to identify and address threats, production risks and innovations that will impact Canadian canola in the years ahead. As a result, the council will not maintain a field-based agronomy team moving forward,” the council said.

More to come.

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Today the Trump administration confirmed that previously announced tariffs of 25 per cent will be applied to imports of a broad range of Canadian goods, including canola seed, oil, and meal, effective immediately.

“The U.S. decision to go forward with 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian-grown canola and canola products will be felt across the canola value chain, with devastating impacts on farmers, input providers, canola crushing activities, and exports of canola seed, oil, and meal,” said Chris Davison, Canola Council of Canada (CCC) president and CEO, in a media release.

NUMBER ONE CANOLA MARKET

The U.S. is Canada’s number one market for canola exports and also a market that is highly integrated with the Canadian canola industry. Total export value in 2023 was $8.6 billion and in 2024 reached $7.7 billion, with record high volumes including 3.3 million tonnes of canola oil and 3.8 million tonnes of canola meal.

The national canola growers’ group also weighed in.

“The uncertainty created by this situation continues to impact farmers as they inch closer to planting the 2025 crop,” said Rick White, Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA) president and CEO. “The damaging blow caused by tariffs will be felt by every canola farmer, starting with the price they receive at delivery and will extend to the full range of their operations, ultimately reducing farm profitability.”

A recent analysis completed by the CCC on the impact Canadian-grown canola has on the U.S. economy also draws attention to the economic benefits the U.S. derives from the Canadian canola industry, which averages US$11.2 billion per year and includes US$1.2 billion in wages.

There is U.S.-based processing and refining, transportation, bottling and packing, and it is also widely used in food products, restaurants, and the livestock sector on that side of the border.

STRENGTHENING TRADE RELATIONSHIPS

The two groups said they will be “focused on strengthening the Canada-U.S. trade relationship and amplifying the mutual benefit our nations receive from canola trade” by conducting advocacy activities in the U.S. and engaging with the Canadian government to advance the canola sector’s interests.

“The canola industry delivers a true win-win for both Canada and the U.S., and we must do everything we can to restore smooth, predictable, tariff-free canola trade between our two countries,” the release read.

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Board elections were held yesterday at the council’s annual general meeting, CCC said in a news release today.

Ritter takes over from Jennifer Marchand, who completed a two-year term as chair but remains as a director on the board.

Chris Anderson of DL Seeds and Tyler Groeneveld of Corteva Agriscience also joined the board. Outgoing members were David Kelner and Ryan McCann.

The CCC board for 2024 to 2025 is:

• Charles Fossay, Manitoba Canola Growers Association
• Justin Nanninga, Alberta Canola Producers Commission
• Dean Roberts, Canadian Canola Growers Association
• Ed Schafer, SaskCanola
• Ryan Law, Bunge
• Tracy Lussier, Louis Dreyfus Company
• Jeff Pleskach, Cargill Ltd.
• Kevin Wright, Archer Daniels Midlands Company
• Jarrett Beatty, Parrish & Heimbecker
• Jennifer Marchand, Cargill Ltd.
• Tessa Ritter, Viterra
• Trevor Veenendall, G3 Canada Ltd.
• Chris Anderson, DL Seeds
• Tyler Groeneveld, Corteva Agriscience
• Garth Hodges, BASF

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The Canola Council of Canada celebrated a return to normalcy at its annual meeting at the Canadian Crops Convention in Ottawa.

“Our theme this year is ‘from adversity to opportunity’ and I think that’s very fitting,” said Jim Everson, the group’s president.

Production has rebounded following the drought of 2021, meaning there’s opportunity to develop new markets again.

As the pandemic restrictions have eased, the industry has returned to being able to have important face-to-face meetings.

And exciting new developments like renewable diesel promise to supercharge demand in the future.

He spoke to Gord Gilmour of Glacier FarmMedia and Karen Briere of the Western Producer following the AGM on March 9.

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Such reductions of nitrous oxide from 2020 levels would fall well short of the Canadian government’s voluntary target of a 30 per cent cut, however.

Some farmers say using less fertilizer would jeopardize crop production in Canada, the world’s third-biggest wheat exporter. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government maintains that deep emission reductions are possible without mandatory fertilizer cuts.

A similar debate between farmers and government has led to large protests in the Netherlands, where that country is taking much stricter measures than Canada.

“We support the federal government’s strong push to reduce Canada’s emissions, but we cannot sacrifice food productivity,” said Karen Proud, CEO of Fertilizer Canada, whose members include manufacturers Nutrien and CF Industries.

The 14 per cent emissions cut would result from a “moderate” increase in nitrogen use and farmers’ adoption of better management practices, called 4R, which emphasize applying fertilizer of the right source, at the right rate and time and in the right place, the report from Fertilizer Canada and Canola Council of Canada said. Some farmers have already used the 4R approach for more than a decade.

Under that scenario, crop yields would increase even as emissions fall.

Farmers will adopt more sustainable practices if their costs are offset elsewhere, such as by higher crop revenue or government incentives, the report said.

Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said she welcomed the finding that better nutrient management can cut emissions by nearly half of the government’s goal. Fertilizer companies should also keep developing new products that produce lower emissions, Bibeau said.

Agriculture emissions account for 10 per cent of Canada’s overall emissions, and Trudeau’s government is aiming to cut national emissions by 40-45 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030.

— Rod Nickel is a Reuters correspondent in Winnipeg.

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The Canola Council of Canada on Wednesday announced a revised work plan, coming out of a “priorities review” undertaken after one of Canada’s biggest grain companies called a halt to annual funding for several oilseed industry groups.

Richardson International announced in January it would withdraw yearly commitments worth over $1 million combined to the Canola Council, Soy Canada and the Flax Council of Canada — the lion’s share of which had gone to the canola body.

The Winnipeg-based Canola Council’s resources “are now more tightly focused on the industry’s current priorities and the CCC programs most valued by members,” the council said in a release Wednesday.

From the perspective of the Canadian canola grower, that tightened focus will mean “less emphasis” on extension-style agronomy work by council staff, such as “individual field walks and on-farm support.”

Rather, the council said, it will put more focus on “engaging commercial agronomy in effective delivery and amplification of knowledge and best management practices to growers,” to be co-ordinated through a new CCC “sustainable supply committee.”

The council’s own agronomy specialists will still have “geographic responsibilities,” but are also expected to increase their focus on their “individual areas of specialization” such as clubroot, blackleg, stand establishment, weed management, storage management and others.

Staff will still provide “credible, evidence‐based data and knowledge to support all areas of CCC activity” from production issues though to “supporting market access objectives,” the council said.

Some council programming will also be moved to “other parts of the value chain,’ the CCC said. For instance, it plans to reduce its role in administering the Canola Performance Trials and transfer that responsibility to other stakeholders.

Other activities, such as the Ultimate Canola Challenge and sentinel site program, will be wrapped up, the council said.

The council said its team will also be “less involved” in provincial disease and pest surveying.

Market access and government advocacy remain “top priorities of the full canola value chain,” the council said, but CCC members “can also expect to see more advocacy on cross‐commodity issues” as the council offers “leadership and additional support” to the Canada Grains Council and Canadian Agri‐Food Trade Alliance.

Consumer‐oriented canola promotions will be “discontinued” in large markets where canola is “firmly established,” the council said, and its marketing work will shift to “maintenance and nurturing of the Canadian canola brand.”

In “new and emerging” markets, the council said it will work with the Canadian Canola Growers Association to develop and deliver a program for canola brand promotion and awareness, particularly in countries such as South Korea, Vietnam and Chile, where “free trade agreements are creating new opportunities.”

To fund its work, the council said, it plans to decouple its budget from a levy linked to production, processing and handling and instead tie the budget directly to “priorities and programs.”

The funding model will “provide more predictability for annual contributions,” the council said. Half the budget funding would come from producer groups, the other 50 per cent from the industry.

Thus, the council said, its core budget for 2019 will be $5.2 million, down from $8.7 million in 2017.

Core funders of the council include the three Prairie provinces’ checkoff-funded canola grower groups, the Canadian Canola Growers Association and (through the CCGA) the Ontario Canola Growers and B.C. Grain Producers Association.

Other funding sources include a voluntary processor levy through the Canadian Oilseed Processors Association, contributions from life science companies such as Bayer, BASF, Corteva, Syngenta and Nutrien and a voluntary levy on export companies such as Viterra, G3, Bunge, Cargill, Parrish and Heimbecker and Providence Grain.

“We’re very pleased that all segments of the value chain are fully behind the direction we are taking,” council president Jim Everson said in a release. “It’s a direction that will enable us to continue our record of leadership, while enhancing our partnerships.”

“With (council members’) input, we determined that the Keep it Coming 2025 strategic plan should remain our industry’s roadmap, and we will reset our priority activities to better respond to today’s needs,” council chair David Dzisiak said in the same release.

The Keep it Coming 2025 plan is based on achieving 52 bushels per acre to meet global market demand of 26 million tonnes by 2025. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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“It’s clear that Canadian flax has tremendous potential, both on the farm and in the marketplace,” said Flax Council chair Erwin Hanley in a news release. “Now we’re ready to capitalize on that potential. After a period of some uncertainty, we’re well-positioned to become the next high-value addition to the Canadian farmer’s rotation.”

Under the new structure, the Saskatchewan Flax Development Commission (SaskFlax) and Manitoba Flax Growers Association will support flax agronomy and research, including the flax breeding program at the Crop Development Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Michelle Beaith was recently hired by SaskFlax to lead research and agronomic programs for the industry, according to the release.

Market development, market access and government relations services will be provided to the Flax Council on a cost-recovery basis by the Canola Council of Canada. The arrangement will provide access to professional staff and worldwide connections, while enabling the Canola Council to generate more value from the strengths of the Flax Council.

“It makes sense to share our expertise and infrastructure because we share many members, supporters, goals and challenges,” said Canola Council president, Jim Everson, in the news release. “Working together, we can get more mileage out of every trade visit and can speak with a stronger voice when we tackle issues of mutual concern.”

The Flax Council’s Executive Committee will set the direction for policy and programs, considering the best interests of all those with a stake in the future of Canadian flax, from growers to processors.

The new Flax Council Executive Committee consists of:

– Erwin Hanley, director at large and chair
– Eric Fridfinnson, representing the Manitoba Flax Growers Association
– Bo Hallborg of Viterra, vice chair
– Brian Johnson of Johnson Seeds, past chair

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