David Bexte, Conservative MP for Bow River, Alta., introduced Bill C-273, the Facilitating Agricultural Regulatory Modernization Act.

If enacted, it would allow provisional approval within 90 days of feeds, seeds, fertilizers and pest control products if they are already approved in at least two trusted jurisdictions.

“Farmers in Canada are currently stuck waiting years to access products that are already proven safe and widely used around the world in countries like the E.U., the U.K., the United States, Australia (and) New Zealand,” Bexte said to reporters in Ottawa on Wednesday.

WHY IT MATTERS: Federal regulators have faced criticism for the lengthy approval process for new products like pesticides.

“In some cases, these products never come to Canada,” he said. “The consequences hit hard: higher costs for producers, fewer tools to fight pests, diseases, lower yields, lower productivity.”

“This is the reality I want to fix in Ottawa.”

Bexte said Canada’s science-based review system will stay in place and full reviews may continue in parallel. The proposed approvals will be time-limited and conditional.

“This is about cutting unnecessary duplication,” he said,” not lowering standards.

The bill would also “speed up access to veterinary drugs by recognizing trusted international regulators.”

Bexte said the measures would ease costs and regulatory burdens without compromising health.

“This bill is about standing up for farmers, standing up for Canadians who are tired of paying more for less.”

In a Wednesday written statement, Fertilizer Canada president and CEO Michael Bourque called the bill “a practical step toward modernizing Canada’s regulatory framework and ensuring farmers have the tools they need to grow healthy, hearty crops.”

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Held annually in conjunction with Ag Expo in Lethbridge, Alta., the North American Seed Fair powered by Seed World Canada is celebrating its 129th year.

It makes it one of the last remaining seed fairs of its kind in North America to operate continuously for more than a century.

The best of the best from the seed industry are on display during Ag Expo from Feb. 25-27 in the Lethbridge Trade & Convention Centre.

Why It Matters: Building a seed fair with a rich history of 129 year builds reputation and confidence with those in the agricultural industry in North America with developing trends.

“My grandparents were in the seed business beginning in the late 1950s and ’60s and became involved with the Lethbridge Seed Fair, which is now nearly 130 years old,” said Ryan Mercer, chair of the North American Seed Fair committee in a press release.

“My parents were very, very involved as well, entering samples, serving on the board, directing the fair and encouraging other seed growers to participate. It’s been in our family for generations.”

The North American Seed Fair brings together seed growers from across Canada and the United States to display top-quality samples of pulse crops, cereals and oilseeds.

From wheat destined for bread and pasta to barley used in beer production, the fair connects consumers to the very beginning of the food chain. This year, more than 180 samples were received and judged, a significant increase from recent years.

The fair helps to educate the public on the journey from field to plate.

“They get to know where their bread, their spaghetti and their beer comes from,” said Mercer.

“It’s interesting to take it right from the seed, planting it, harvesting it and seeing how it moves into food processing. Canada has some of the best wheat varieties in the world. That comes from farmers, plant breeders, private investors and government working together. The seed fair is where we get to showcase many of those new and upcoming varieties.”

This year begins a new era for the seed fair, as the Lethbridge & District Agricultural Society is producing the event, working closely with a committee of industry experts.

The fair supports the society’s commitment to agriculture advocacy and education.

“We are proud that LDAS is able to support the North American Seed Fair, as it speaks directly to the impact agriculture has on our economy and way of life in southern Alberta,” said Cody McIntosh, director of Lethbridge & District Agricultural Society.

“People are able to connect directly with people involved in the industry, ask questions and get a better understanding of where their food comes from.”

The fair also emphasizes youth engagement, featuring 4-H artwork and exploring new ways to connect with younger audiences and the broader public.

Seed entries are judged by representatives from the grain trade, seed cleaning industry and food processing sector, ensuring samples meet the highest standards.

“It’s friendly competition,” said Mercer.

“We’re all great friends working toward the common goal of providing top-quality seed to southern Alberta farmers. A little friendly competition never hurts and we have a lot of fun doing it.”

Learn more about the North American Seed Fair at ag-expo.ca.

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“Dan is a high-integrity, visionary executive with more than 30 years of leadership experience across the Canadian seed sector and the broader North American agriculture industry,” said Brent Collins, President of Seeds Canada in a LinkedIn post announcing the move.

Wright most recently worked at Syngenta as head of the company’s North American Enogen and Canada Seed divisions. He previously held senior roles at Monsanto and Bayer, and brings extensive association experience, having served seven years on the Canadian Seed Trade Association Board, including as president (2017–2018).

Experience spanning both multinationals and family-owned seed businesses makes Wright uniquely positioned to unite stakeholders and advance the priorities of Canada’s seed industry, said Collins.

“It is an honor to join Seeds Canada as CEO,” said Wright in the post, adding “having witnessed the incredible value of industry associations throughout my life, I am excited by the opportunity Seeds Canada and its members and clients have to continue to deliver value through innovation to Canadian farmers, ensuring they remain competitive globally.”

To help ensure a smooth transition, Wright will have the opportunity to spend some time with outgoing CEO Barry Senft before his departure at the end of January 2026.

Seeds Canada represents seed growers, analysts, breeders, distributors, processors, retailers, service providers and all stakeholders along the seed value chain in Canada. Its mandate is to support the growth of the seed sector in Canada and worldwide, focusing on plant breeding innovation, seed regulatory modernization, international trade, value creation and plant breeders’ rights.

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“This is a direct threat to food security, seed sovereignty and farmer autonomy,” the NFU said on its website.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is in ongoing consultations around plant breeders’ rights regulations as part of the Plant Breeders’ Rights Act.

What would change?

The proposed amendments would:

• Limit the scope of farmers’ privilege to save seed only to crop kinds where there is a long-standing practice of saving and reusing seed. According to an impact analysis statement posted in the Canada Gazette on August 9, this would preserve the ability to save small grain and pulse seeds, but remove the right to save fruit, vegetable or ornamental plant seeds or propagate those vareties through tubers or cuttings. It would also bar the saving of hybrid seeds.
• Extend the duration of plant breeders’ rights protection to 25 years for crops that take longer to breed and gain market acceptance.
• Narrow the concept of sale for filing a plant breeders’ rights application.
• Reduce the plant breeders’ rights application fee to encourage filing electronic applications.

The purpose of the changes is to increase plant breeder protections in relation to other jurisdictions like the United States and European Union, which the CFIA said offer stronger intellectual property protections for plant breeders.

“As a result, these jurisdictions may have a competitive advantage in attracting investment and innovation in plant breeding,” the CFIA said in a ‘what we heard’ report.

NFU pushback

However, the NFU says these increased protections will come at farmers’ expense. It argues the consequences will include:

• Higher annual production costs due to increased seed and royalty expenses.
• No access to protected varieties that might be discontinued before the protection period expires.
• No access to protected varieties not available through licensed nurseries or seed sellers.
• No opportunity for farmers to adapt new varieties to local conditions by using saved seeds or propagating material harvested on their farms.
• No ability to replace lost fruit trees from the farm’s stock of the variety.
• Further entrenchment of “largely foreign private plant breeding.”

“The ultimate goal of the corporate seed sector is to require annual purchase and royalty payments for all crop kinds,” the NFU said in a news release.

The NFU called for people to sign a Parliamentary e-petition that would call for the government to abandoned the proposed changes.

The e-petition had 2,525 signatures at time of writing.

Industry response to changes

According to the CFIA, the industry is largely in favour of the proposed changes.

The agency held online consultations between May 29 and July 12, 2024 and heard from producer groups representing the agriculture, horticulture and ornamental sectors, international horticulture and ornamental growers, the organic sector, plant breeders, seed companies and others.

Support was consistent across almost every sector, the CFIA said in the ‘what we heard’ report. About ten per cent raised concerns.

“A provincial group representing fruit growers strongly endorsed the proposed amendment, indicating that the farmers’ privilege should not extend to asexually reproduced ornamental and fruit varieties,” the report said.

Other responses suggested the current regulation could be hindering research and innovation and that the changes could reassure foreign and domestic breeders about the strength of intellectual property protection in Canada. This could, in turn, improve access to new varieties.

“The fruit, vegetable, and ornamental sectors are highly dependent on genetics from foreign jurisdiction,” said Keystone Agricultural Producers in a July 12, 2024 submission.

“Adding clarity to farmers’ privilege will increase the confidence of plant breeders who are interested in doing business in Canada.”

The group also agreed with exempting hybrids from farmers’ privileges, saying saving of hybrid seed isn’t typical due to legal and contractual restraints and cropping issues like lower yields.

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Andria Carlyon, manager of GRO and Stacy Murray, extension coordinator for GRO, came up with the idea, and held their first GRO-ing Women in Agriculture event in April 2025.

“Andria and I were talking one day, and we said, we should start something just for women,” said Murray.

“There are an incredible number of women involved in agriculture. More women don’t come from a farm background, so they come into agriculture not knowing what they don’t know, and then they’re somewhat reluctant, maybe, to ask questions in a mixed crowd,” said Murray. “They’re way more relaxed and open if they’re in a group of just women, or at least, that’s our experience,” she said.

Carlyon said women are becoming more prevalent in agriculture, as it has been very male dominated.

“Sometimes with society pressures and the history of it all, (women) are not as comfortable saying ‘I am a farmer,’ or ‘I work in agriculture’ and they’re pressured or a bit quieter in mixed groups,” she said.

“This way, it provides a bit of comfort and connection with other people in the ag industry,” said Carlyon.

Women attendees can discover other attendees with common interests or knowledge.

Each session has a different theme.

The first event was focused on light duty mechanics, and a female mechanic taught the participants about cars.

GRO put a vehicle on their lift and the female mechanic explained how to read the side of the tire, so if the decal is worn off the door, people know how to put air in it. She explained how to torque the tires, as many of the women live on farms with a shop with a torque wrench.

“She went through some basic stuff, like how to change a windshield wiper blade. Lots of women are very capable and know that,” said Murray.

But there are some women who don’t know, and who feel more comfortable asking questions if it’s a group of women.

Every event features a supper, and children are allowed to attend, so women don’t have to worry about childcare.

“That’s because part of networking and socializing and being comfortable, we tend to do that over a meal,” said Murray.

The women are also asked to contribute some of their knowledge at each event. The first event’s tip asked the women their shortcuts on a busy evening, when they have little time to eat, but must prepare a meal for a family, while the second asked attendees to bring their favourite crockpot recipe.

The second event was held August 19, and the theme was testing. Three women experts showed ways to test soil, feed and seed. About 19 women attended the event, and only three of them had attended the first event.

Katelyn Miller, sales consultant with AgroTek360, demonstrated and discussed soil tests.

Miller stressed using the same lab for soil tests. “I don’t care what that lab is, whatever you pick. If you send that soil sample to five different labs, you’re likely to find five separate results,” she said.

Different data points will be generated if multiple labs are used, she said.

Miller said when she is soil testing with a probe, she walks the field in a “W” pattern.

“I try to get an even representation of the field,” she said. Miller pulls anywhere up to 50 samples in the field to try.

Many farmers know the trouble spots in their fields, and Miller recommends taking a handful of samples from the trouble spot.

She demonstrated how to collect soil using GRO’s truck, which contained a hydraulic probe.

“Soil testing is so variable,” she said.

If you’ve got all these samples as a producer, combining them all together is not giving you a true tale of what’s in the field, said Miller.

Murray demonstrated how to use a penetrometer, which measures soil compaction.

“We generally measure how deep we can go before we hit 300,” she said. “Nine to 12 inches is the average of what we’ve found here.”

Women were invited to try out the probe and the penetrometer and examine cores and samples.

Sarah Elliott, a dairy nutritionist and consultant with Cargill, demonstrated how to probe a bale using a drill.

Sarah Foster, the third speaker of the event, is the founder, president and senior seed analyst of 20/20 Seed Labs. Her company includes crop inspectors, geneticists, disease diagnosticians and agronomists, among others. Offices are in Winnipeg and Nisku.

When a grower or seed distributor brings a sample to 20/20 Seed Labs, the team verifies the crop guide, variety, crop certificate, lot number and all required tests such as germination.

Foster said being a seed analyst appeals to a lot of women.

“We can do detailed stuff. We’re very nimble. That is a big part of the job. There isn’t anything in the tech world yet that has been able to replace us, and they’re working on it,” she said.

Her team includes 35 people, including 26 women and nine men. 20/20 also has a lab in Chile, and some team members go to Chile in January to spend three months working with a Chilean agronomist.

The third event is tentatively planned for October and will be about bookkeeping, taxes and accounting. The event will be a workshop, and women are encouraged to bring their own books. The fourth session will take place in January 2026 and will have a focus on calving and lambing.

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Near the entrance to their booth they highlighted notable corn hybrids the firm has launched over the years under its Dekalb brand.

Kate Hyatt, marketing portfolio lead with the firm, said the idea came earlier this year when she and her colleagues were talking to growers, who spoke about why they chose a certain hybrid. After a while, the discussion morphed into hybrids they’ve used and liked over the years.

“The history makers campaign is about celebrating everything we’ve brought to the market in the past,” Hyatt said, while highlighting the display to Farmtario. “Just like in a music hall of fame, there’s platinum and gold levels. We’ve included those in showcases and captured some tidbits of information from our breeders that worked with them and the staff that have sold them in the field for many years.”

Hyatt noted the effort reflects the interactions farmers have with Dekalb in the field. It’s there that they put the hybrids to the test in real world conditions, and where winners emerge.

“It was about a particular soybean variety or corn hybrid, and what their experience was with that,” she said.

For more of our coverage of Canada’s Outdoor farm show, visit our landing page.

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Senft will continue to serve as CEO until the end of January 2026.

“I think after five years, it’s time for new leadership,” he said during the 2025 Seeds Canada conference in Quebec City.

He said someone with more seeds experience would make sense now that the organization is up and running.

Agriculture sector veteran

Seeds Canada was formed about five years ago in an amalgamation between the Canadian Plant Technology Agency, the Commercial Seed Analysts Association of Canada, the Canadian Seed Institute and the Canadian Seed Trade Association.

Senft has had numerous roles in the agriculture sector over his career, but several of them have been managing newly merged organizations. He oversaw the newly merged Grain Farmers of Ontario organization previous to his work at Seeds Canada.

“This is pretty big news for us,” said Brent Collins, president of Seeds Canada.

He thanked Senft and said the organization will have six months for him to finish up some of the projects he’s working on.

Seed modernization

Senft led Seeds Canada through the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s seed act modernization process, now five years into the process. A position paper with proposals for act changes is expected any day. There will be more consultations yet before the changes are posted in the Canada Gazette.

He says five years is a long time, and a lot of staff time has gone into the process.

“We’ll see what the end result is.”

He said despite moving some rules governing seeds from legislation to regulation, which can be changed more easily, the CFIA still retains control over many of the seed sector rules and processes.

The larger organization has more resources to react to issues in the sector.

Senft says the founding organizations are better together as Seeds Canada and points to the recent challenges around tariffs as an example. Previously, the smaller organizations would have had to go outside their offices to get the expertise needed to manage the tariff threats. Now they have access to those assets.

“We’ve been able to have the resources in place to be able to analyze that and advise our members accordingly.”

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Canterra Seeds announced May 1 it has acquired Alliance Seed for an undisclosed amount, and will continue to operate Alliance as “a standalone brand under Canterra Seeds’ umbrella, with key staff transitioning to maintain continuity and customer relationships.”

Alliance, headquartered in Winnipeg, dates back to 2009, when it formed as a joint venture between two privately held Winnipeg grain and agrifood firms (Paterson Grain, Parrish and Heimbecker) and four Saskatchewan grain terminal firms (North West Terminal, Weyburn Inland Terminal, Prairie West Terminal, Great Sandhills Terminal).

Paterson announced in December 2023 it had bought P&H’s share for an undisclosed amount. North West Terminal — the only other company still holding a share of Alliance at that time — later reported it had sold its stake in November 2024 for $8,300.

Alliance’s roster of seed varieties includes five varieties of Canada Western Red Spring wheat, one Canada Western Red Winter wheat, three durums, two Canada Prairie Spring Red wheats, three pea varieties, three barley varieties and two oat varieties.

Canterra, in a release May 1, described the deal as a “strategic acquisition” that supports its goal of “expanding its footprint in the pedigreed seed market by bringing high-performing, proven varieties such as CDC Endure milling oats and AAC Leroy VB CWRS wheat to more farmers across Western Canada.”

Alliance “has built an impressive portfolio and a network supported by committed seed growers,” Canterra CEO Brent Derkatch said in the release. “With our experience, we’re confident we can build on this strong foundation, help the brand grow, and offer even more value to Canadian farmers.”

Shane Paterson, director of trading and transportation for Paterson Grain and the former president of Alliance, said in the same release that as Paterson “looked for the right successor, it was important to find someone who aligned with Alliance Seed’s culture and commitment to personalized service.”

Paterson, he said, “look(s) forward to continuing our support through our retail network.”

Formed in 1996 by a group of Prairie seed growers, Winnipeg-based Canterra’s stakeholders today include about 175 seed growers, ag retailers and other private investors.

Among those are French farmer co-operative Limagrain, which bought its stake when it set up a wheat breeding joint venture with Canterra in 2015, and United Farmers of Alberta (UFA), which bought a 17 per cent share of Canterra from Ceres Global Ag Corp. for $2.5 million in July last year.

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“This recommendation, approved in principle by the Boards of Directors of both organizations, is designed to improve communication and collaboration between the seed sector, the broader value chain, and government,” CSGA said in a March 31 post on its website.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) launched the seed regulatory modernization process in September 2020, and has rolled out a series of surveys and consultations with seed companies and growers, farmers, breeders and other members of the value chain.

CSGA said the advisory committee would serve as a structured forum for discussion and information exchange on matters related to the ongoing modernization. It wouldn’t have governing power, fiduciary responsibilities or the ability to set standards.

“Providing a dedicated venue for engagement would help ensure that policy and regulatory matters are addressed through a timely, balanced, and inclusive approach,” CSGA said.

Seeds Canada and CSGA have sent a joint statement to the CFIA encouraging the agency to accept the proposal. CSGA will keep members appraised of developments, the organization said.

In October, the CFIA released the results of its third round of industry and expert consultations. According to the CFIA’s website, it’s currently in consultation with First Nations and Indigenous communities on their perspectives and priorities.

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The findings of the study in Brazil, the world’s largest producer and exporter of soybeans, underscore the challenges faced by seed, chemical and biotechnology companies doing business there.

Why it matters: Payment for seeds helps fund development of new and more advanced varieties, which aids farmers in growing more productive crops.

The country, which competes with the United States and Argentina in world markets, sells most of its soybeans for processing in China.

Pirated soybean seeds occupy 11 per cent of the area sowed with soybeans in Brazil, the study found after looking at planting data for the 2023/24 season. At that point, the total area planted with soy was 46.15 million hectares (114.039 million acres), data from national crop agency Conab shows.

The nation’s soy area in the 2024/2025 season is 47.45 million hectares (117.25 million acres).

Approximately 1 billion reais could be lost in taxes over the next 10 years due to seed piracy, the survey estimates. Also, combating seed piracy could contribute to increasing investments to improve seed varieties by 900 million reais over the next decade, according to the study.

Croplife represents seeds companies, biotechnology firms and pesticides and bioinput producers.

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