CPMA advocates for fresh produce priorities in federal election

Mar 25, 2025

The Canadian Produce Marketing Association is advocating for fresh produce industry priorities to be front and centre in the federal election campaign. Canadians will go to the polls on April 28th.

“Ongoing political uncertainty with our largest trading partner, a series of recent port disruptions, escalating severe weather events and continuing consumer concerns about the cost of food have all contributed to significant challenges for the Canadian fresh produce sector,” said CPMA chair George Pitsikoulis. “It is imperative that, in this campaign, all parties articulate their plan for how they will help Canadian businesses thrive and ensure that we can continue to provide our safe, nutritious products for tables here at home and around the world.”

CPMA has been actively engaged with all political parties, to highlight recommendations for party platforms in five priority areas, including:

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Video: Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes | Field Talk Friday

Field Talk Friday | Dr. John Murphy | Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes

Most of us spend our time managing what we can see above ground—plant height, leaf color, stand counts, and yield potential. But the deeper you dig into agronomy, the more you realize that some of the most important processes driving crop performance are happening just millimeters below the surface.

In this episode of Field Talk Friday, Dr. John Murphy continues the soil biology series by diving into one of the most fascinating topics in modern agronomy: root exudates and the role they play in shaping the microbial world around plant roots.

Roots are not passive structures simply pulling nutrients out of the soil. They are active participants in the underground ecosystem. Plants constantly release compounds into the soil—sugars, amino acids, organic acids, and other molecules—that act as both energy sources and signals for soil microbes.