Agriculture This Week: Soil conservation efforts must work

Oct 28, 2022

Grain and oilseed producers had to have shuddered just a bit following a recent report by David Lobb, speaking to the senate committee on agriculture and forestry’s soil study.

Lobb said not much has changed since the Senate’s Soil at Risk report in 1984.

If that is true it is suggestive that efforts to better conserve our topsoil the past four decades have little impact toward improving things.

My writing career doesn’t reach back quite four decades, but it is close, and certainly through that time I have written a lot of articles on soil conservation.

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Video: Independent Seed, National Impact | On The Brink: Episode 9

A survey of 200 independent seed businesses reveals what Canada's seed sector actually contributes — and what it stands to lose.

On the Brink, Justin Funk, a third-generation agri-marketer, shares the findings of a national survey conducted in early 2026. The numbers reframe the conversation: independent seed companies in Canada represent upwards of $1.7 billion in dedicated seed infrastructure, approximately 3,000 full-time equivalent jobs in rural communities, and an estimated $20 million in annual community contributions. And roughly 90% of Canada's cereals, pulses, and other small pollinated crops flow through them.

The survey also asked how dependent these businesses are on public plant breeding to survive. The answer was unambiguous. For policymakers evaluating the future of publicly funded breeding programs, Funk argues the economic case for this sector and the case for public plant breeding are the same argument.

On the Brink is a cross-country video series exploring the future of plant breeding in Canada. Each episode features voices from across the industry in an open, ongoing conversation about innovation and long-term investment in Canadian agriculture.