The 2026 Saskatchewan Crops Forum brought together leaders from Saskatchewan’s key crop organizations in Saskatoon in January. The annual event offers several keynote speakers in addition to the annual general meetings from Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission, Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, SaskOilseeds and Saskatchewan Barley Development Commission.
Keynote speakers included Dr. Samantha Nutt from War Child Canada/War Child USA, which works to overcome the impacts of violence and displacement especially in Africa and Asia. Nutt spoke about public policy, geopolitical instability and domestic food production, and how they affect Canadian farmers and the world. “Everything global is local,” she observed.
In ‘Harvesting Data’, Dr. Jessica Agnew from Virginia Tech and Dr. Steve Shirtliffe from University of Saskatchewan discussed their collaborative project (supported by Sask Crops) that will utilize Saskatchewan data to analyze farm productivity and develop a roadmap for future research.
Lisa Ashton with RBC Thought Leadership provided a fascinating—if disheartening–presentation about Canada’s economic and trade performance. Although Canada’s agriculture sector has all the ingredients to be the best in the world, productivity has been steadily declining in recent years, and Canada is falling behind global competitors. She said Canada needs to focus on innovation, investment, export-oriented infrastructure, digital infrastructure, and overseas agri-food promotion.
The event also included a panel discussion about collective efforts with Grain Growers of Canada, Cereals Canada, Canola Council of Canada and Pulse Canada, plus a political commentary and live taping of The Line Podcast with Jen Gerson and Rob Breakenridge.
Each of the crop commissions reported on their activities over the past year. Highlights included:
- SaskWheat: New research commitments were announced; the Global Agriculture Technology Exchange (GATE) facility will be a continued priority in 2026.
- Sask Pulse Growers: Trade issues continue to demand significant time and attention; new research project in collaboration with GIFS and PIC to fast-track pulse variety development.
- SaskOilseeds: Launched their new website that encompasses information for both canola and flax producers; trade with China is an ongoing priority.
- SaskBarley: 70% of expenditures are for research commitments with USask, AAFC, CMBTC and others; increased focus on market development in the past year.
Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan and Canadian Food Focus staff were pleased to take in the presentations and connect with our members and supporters.