St. Lawrence Seaway open

Mar 25, 2022

With the Ukraine invasion already causing a supply chain snafu, the Seaway is ready for increased demand for Canadian fertilizer and grains.

By Andrew Joseph, Farms.com; Photo by Polina Rytova via Unsplash.com

On March 24, 2022, the St. Lawrence Seaway official opened for its 64th season, and is primed to help take on increased navigation as Canada will seek to stem a shortage of fertilizer and grains caused by sanctions and supply chain disruptions caused by the Russian Federation invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian Federation and Ukraine account for a combined 29 percent of the world’s wheat exports, while Russia is one of the larger exporters of fertilizer.

It is expected that with the war, Ukrainian farmers will not be able to plant or harvest; and with sanctions in place Russian or Belarussian ag products will not be allowed to North American consumers.

According to the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp., it is expecting cargo shipments will remain at 38.2 tonnes for 2022 but will increase with a forecasted economic growth (less grain) of four percent.

It has been estimated by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada that production and exports will be a little bit better in the upcoming crop year. Severe drought affected much of the Prairies in 2021 severely reducing expected ag output.

It is thought that with crop prices expecting to realize string gains this year, Canadian farmers will plant more acreage.

The St. Lawrence Seaway is ready for more transport if Ontario grain continues and if Canadian west and US grain crops come in stronger than expected.

Ontario and US soybeans and corn are also expected to be shipped more in 2022, while the Canadian potash industry (fertilizer) mostly centred in Saskatchewan could take up the slack lost to sanctions on Russia.

Video: From Conventional to Regenerative: Will Groeneveld’s Journey Back to the Land

"You realize you've got a pretty finite number of years to do this. If you ever want to try something new, you better do it."

That mindset helped Will Groeneveld take a bold turn on his Alberta grain farm. A lifelong farmer, Will had never heard of regenerative agriculture until 2018, when he attended a seminar by Kevin Elmy that shifted his worldview. What began as curiosity quickly turned into a deep exploration of how biology—not just chemistry—shapes the health of our soils, crops and ecosystems.

In this video, Will candidly reflects on his family’s farming history, how the operation evolved from a traditional mixed farm to grain-only, and how the desire to improve the land pushed him to invite livestock back into the rotation—without owning a single cow.

Today, through creative partnerships and a commitment to the five principles of regenerative agriculture, Will is reintroducing diversity, building soil health and extending living roots in the ground for as much of the year as possible. Whether it’s through intercropping, zero tillage (which he’s practiced since the 1980s) or managing forage for visiting cattle, Will’s approach is a testament to continuous learning and a willingness to challenge old norms.

Will is a participant in the Regenerative Agriculture Lab (RAL), a social innovation process bringing together producers, researchers, retailers and others to co-create a resilient regenerative agriculture system in Alberta. His story highlights both the potential and humility required to farm with nature, not against it.