Advocacy Priorities
SaskCrops advocates and provides policy input to government and regulatory organizations in support of the grain sector in Saskatchewan. SaskCrops prioritizes advocacy around the following themes:
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Research is a top priority for all SaskCrops groups, promoting advances in agricultural innovation and productivity. In the past 10 years, SaskCrops groups have collectively invested over $200 million into all areas of the research continuum from upstream genetics to agronomy. Funding by provincial and federal governments is critically important to collaborate on and advance important research for producers. SaskCrops is committed to continuing to strengthen the research ecosystem in Saskatchewan and is exploring opportunities to evaluate and improve productivity growth, ensuring current capacity is not only maintained but expanded.
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Distorting tariff policies and geopolitical uncertainty is reducing commodity prices and demand for Saskatchewan products, lowering returns for farmers. At the same time, farmers are facing rising input costs, threatening their financial stability. As a trade-dependent sector, stable and predictable trade flows and demand are crucial for the economic well-being of farmers.
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Lack of reliability in the grain handling and transportation system is limiting Canada’s global competitiveness at a time when geopolitical uncertainty and tariffs are already putting pressure on farm profitability. Minimizing labour disruptions and enabling major infrastructure projects are key to ensuring long-term reliability of the sector. With approximately 70 percent of western grain shipments moving through the Port of Vancouver, connecting rail and marine infrastructure, it is the most important port for Saskatchewan’s agricultural exports, and bottlenecks and aging infrastructure need to be addressed to improve competitiveness.
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Canadian farmers operate at a significant information disadvantage compared to producers in competing regions such as the U.S. and EU who have robust market transparency and reporting systems. Improving grain market transparency has been a longstanding request of Saskatchewan producers, and SaskCrops continues to call for a national export sales reporting program, giving farmers critical visibility into global demand patterns, allowing them to make more strategic marketing decisions. Producers also need access to effective business risk management programs, fair grain contracts, and enabling regulatory policy to support the variable nature of farming.