Why Is Canada Falling Behind In Agriculture And Food Production?

Jan 03, 2025

This fall at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show in Woodstock, Ont., visitors were treated to a tour de force of agriculture and food innovation. Self-driving tractors and drone crop sprayers increase productivity and reduce pesticide and fertilizer use, shrinking the environmental impact of farming while boosting profitability. Advanced genomics create healthier, more resilient crops and livestock. Data management systems bring the power of big data and artificial intelligence onto our farms and our ranches.

Yet despite all this innovation, we face an uncomfortable truth. Few of the technologies on display were developed in Canada and in many ways, agriculture in this country is lagging.

Consider the Netherlands. Its land mass would fit comfortably in Eastern Ontario, yet it vastly outcompetes Canada in its contribution to the global food system. In 2023, the value of its agricultural exports was about twice that of ours – this in a country that has been reducing its total agricultural emissions over the past 30 years. They have achieved this by investing in technological innovation and bringing government, the corporate sector and researchers together in a model they call the “triple helix.”

The Netherlands’ success stands in stark contrast to Canada’s lagging performance. If there’s any sector of the economy where we should be a global leader, it should be agriculture. We have the fertile land, the fresh water and a community of sophisticated producers. Canadian food products are amongst the safest and most sustainable in the world and we have a network of public agrifood research facilities and smart farms. Most regions in the world can only look with envy at what we have.

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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.