Jim Everson, left, president of the Canola Council of Canada, and Tyler Bjornson, executive vice president, Canada Grains Council, open the first in-person Canadian Crops Convention in three years. The pandemic canceled the last two in-person events.

Ken Seitz, president and chief executive officer of Nutrien, discussed how growers are key to sustainable solutions to feed the growing population.

Close to 300 people were in attendance at the event, hosted by the Canola Council of Canada and the Canada Grains Council.

Panelists, from left, Chantal Hébert, political columnist; Jack Mintz, President’s Fellow, School of Public Policy, University of Calgary; and Sean Speer, editor at large, The Hub, discussed Canadian political trends and strategies.  

In honor of International Women’s Day, all the women in the Canadian agriculture industry in attendance gathered for a photo.

Kendal Netmaker, an entrepreneur and author, shared his experience as a member of the Sweetgrass First Nation and offered strategies for attracting and retaining indigenous talent. 

Cynthia Xing, partner and vice president of Yuan and Associates, with the recovery of domestic demand following the COVID-19 pandemic, China will need to import a considerable amount of agriculture products every year. However, the nature of China’s demand is shifting from quantity to quality.

Several companies sponsored different portions of the event.

Janice Gross Stein with the University of Toronto addresses opportunities for the ag industry during a time of enhanced power competition.

Economic growth will be sluggish with different things impacting different parts of the world, said Linda Nazareth, economist, futurist and senior fellow, economics and population change at the Macdonald Laurier Institute. The United Kingdom is struggling, the United States is seeing some growth but interest rates are likely to rise again and China is a huge wild card.

Save the date for next year's Canadian Crops Convention in Winnipeg, Manitoba.