New NAFTA Terms Can Be Improved to Benefit Wheat Farmers

As formal renegotiation discussions for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) begin in Washington, NAWG continues to stress “Do No Harm.” In the next couple of weeks, negotiators from Canada, Mexico and the United States will commence the second round of NAFTA renegotiations in Mexico City, before heading to Canada for round three. NAWG recognizes some areas where the framework for cross border wheat trade between the three countries can be improved.

 

“The wheat industry can benefit from some enhancements to NAFTA. A good place to begin are the sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) rules that the three countries already agreed to as part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations,” stated Chandler Goule, CEO of the National Association of Wheat Growers. “With the global push to reduce tariffs, non-tariff barriers (particularly SPS barriers) to trade are becoming increasingly common. It is critical that the sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures in any agreement are transparent and based on scientific principles.”

 

“Another area in need of improvement is Canada’s grading system for U.S. wheat,” stated Goule. “Canadian wheat can freely enter U.S. elevators and receive a grade commensurate to its quality while U.S. wheat brought to Canadian elevators is automatically downgraded to a ‘feed wheat’ grade or the equivalent. This glaring difference is highly concerning and disenfranchises farmers near the border who can’t take advantage of price premiums at Canadian elevators when they occur.”

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.