Investing in Our Future: The Case for Alberta Canola’s Service Charge Adjustment

Dec 31, 2024

As Christmas draws near, it’s a time to reflect on the year we’re leaving behind and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. While December is a time for family, tradition, and celebration, it’s also when growers begin to finalize plans for the growing season ahead. To support the success of all Alberta canola growers this coming year and beyond, I’m reaching out to ask for your participation in a crucial decision for Alberta Canola.

At our Annual General Meeting this January, we will be asking members to support an important resolution to increase Alberta Canola’s refundable service charge from $1 per tonne to $1.75 per tonne.

This is the first increase we’ve proposed in over two decades, and it’s one that your Alberta Canola board has carefully considered over the past year.

The decision to ask for a service charge increase was not taken lightly. Our Board of Directors reached this proposal only after a comprehensive evaluation, including independent financial analysis, rigorous forecasting, and ongoing dialogue with growers like you.

Why now?

The last time Alberta Canola raised its service charge was in 2003. Since then, agricultural operating costs have surged, research funding from public sources has dropped dramatically, and the regulatory environment has intensified. Meanwhile, canola production in Alberta has flattened by 25% from its 2017 peak. These pressures have created a tough reality: Alberta Canola has faced budget deficits in five of the past six years. We’ve made cuts, increased efficiency, and stretched every dollar to protect our programs, but to maintain our core mission, our growers now need to act.

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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.