The LineUp
The LineUp content hub features the latest releases and articles as they are distributed by Newsline, and it serves as a central location for the agriculture sector and media professionals to stay informed and up to date.
GGC launches Vote for Grain campaign to give farmers a voice this election
March 24, 2025 (Ottawa, ON) – As Canadians head to the polls, Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) is launching Vote for Grain, a national campaign to engage grain farmers in the federal election and ensure their voices are heard. “This election comes at a pivotal moment for grain farmers,” said Kyle Larkin, Executive Director of GGC. “Farmers are facing mounting challenges, and this campaign gives them a direct way to engage with their local candidates and understand where political parties stand on key issues affecting their operations. Political parties need to hear directly from farmers about the policies that will shape their livelihoods.” The campaign is available at www.VoteforGrain.ca and features a click-and-send tool that allows farmers to easily contact their local candidates. It also includes a key issues guide that outlines challenges facing producers such as trade uncertainty with the U.S. and China, the carbon tax, and the capital gains tax increase. It also highlights the need for plant breeding investments, extended interswitching, and the right to repair—issues that directly impact farmers’ competitiveness and profitability. “This is a critical time for grain farmers as we are being hit from all sides,” said Tara Sawyer, Chair of GGC. “Trade uncertainty …
ACA Welcomes First Step Towards Removing Carbon Price from farmers, Urges Legislative Action to Provide Certainty for Farmers
March 17, 2025 (Ottawa, ON) – The Agriculture Carbon Alliance (ACA) welcomes the Prime Minister’s announced elimination of the consumer carbon price via Order-in-Council (OIC) until further legislative action provides increased certainty for farmers. “The reduction of the consumer carbon price to $0 is a good first step for Canadians – and, by extension, our farmers, growers and ranchers,” said Dave Carey, co-chair of ACA. “We welcome this news, and we look forward to the ongoing discussion on permanently removing the carbon pricing mechanism for producers.” “With many farmers on the eve of a new growing season, and others in the midst of harvest, they need certainty when it comes to future carbon pricing and the impact on all farms. We hope this this will come through legislative action once Parliament has resumed.” The Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, passed in 2019, sets out a legislative framework for both the consumer carbon price and the industrial price. Without a future legislative change though, the risk remains that farmers could continue paying a carbon price on essential farming activities such as irrigation, grain drying, feed preparation, heating or cooling of barns and other agriculture growing structures. “Our farmer members are facing a …
Canadian Grain Farmers Threatened by Trade War on Two Fronts with the U.S. and China
March 10, 2025 (Ottawa, ON) – Canadian grain farmers are facing a trade crisis on two fronts, with escalating tariffs from both the United States and China threatening billions in exports and putting the future of family farms at exceptional risk. The Chinese government’s decision to impose 100 percent tariffs on Canadian canola oil, canola meal, and peas comes as trade tensions with the U.S. continue to pressure Canada’s grain sector. “With uncertainty mounting with the United States, our largest export market, the last thing grain farmers needed was a trade war with China, our second largest export market,” said Kyle Larkin, Executive Director of GGC. “Together, the U.S. and China account for over half of all Canadian grain exports — losing access or facing exorbitant tariffs in both markets at once is a threat farmers cannot afford to absorb.” Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) echo the concerns raised by the Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA), Canola Council of Canada (CCC), and Pulse Canada that farmers are facing mounting pressure which could cause a net loss for many. In 2024, Canada exported 2 million metric tonnes of canola meal to China, valued at $918 million, and over 15,000 metric tonnes …
CORRECTION: GGC Sounds the Alarm on U.S. Tariffs Threatening Family-Run Grain Farms
March 4, 2025 (Ottawa, ON) – Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) is sounding the alarm on the United States’ decision to impose 25% tariffs on Canadian grain and grain products, a move that threatens the viability of family-run grain farms and drives up food costs for American consumers. “Tariffs of this magnitude will put family-run grain farms at risk by introducing widespread market uncertainty,” said Kyle Larkin, Executive Director of GGC. “The U.S. is by far our largest trading partner, with over $17 billion CAD of Canadian grain and grain products exported to every year. These unjustified tariffs threaten that trade relationship—and farmers’ livelihoods.” Canada exports over 70% of the grain it produces to over 150 countries around the world. The prices Canadian farmers receive for crops such as wheat, canola, oats, barley, and pulses are tied to international markets. Disruptions to trade networks drive down farmgate prices, making it harder for growers to stay afloat. “As price takers, grain farmers are at the whim of the global markets that we export to,” said Tara Sawyer, Chair of GGC and an Alberta grain farmer. “Margins are already razor-thin, and an added financial burden like this could put the future of …
U.S. Tariffs on Canadian Grain Will Cost American Families, Says GGC
Feb. 3, 2025 (Ottawa, ON) – The U.S. administration’s decision to impose a 25% tariff on Canadian grain and grain products, set to take effect tomorrow, will drive up the cost of essential food staples for American families, warns Grain Growers of Canada (GGC). “This isn’t just a tariff on Canadian farmers—it’s a tax on every American family purchasing loaf of bread, oatmeal, canola oil, and other food staples at the grocery store,” said Kyle Larkin, Executive Director of GGC. “A 25% tariff is, in effect, a 25% tax on American consumers,” he added. The United States imports over $17 billion worth of Canadian grain and grain products every year to meet domestic demand. These imports include wheat for bread, durum for pasta, oats for food products, canola for oil and biofuels, barley for feed and brewing, and other grain and grain products for widespread usage. As of 2023, Canadian wheat exports to the U.S. totaled over $1 billion, oats reached $580 million, barley accounted for over $200 million, and canola exports—crucial for cooking oil and biofuels—were valued at $8.5 billion. “Reckless tariffs will only lead to costly consequences,” said Tara Sawyer, Chair of GGC and Alberta grain farmer. “This is both true for …
GGC Remains Opposed to the Capital Gains Tax Increase Despite Deferment
STATEMENT Jan. 31, 2025 (Ottawa, ON) – Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) continues to be opposed to the capital gains tax increase despite the announcement today by the Government of Canada that they would postpone collecting the increase until January 1st, 2026. The tax hike has already forced many family farms to sell early and will increase cost for most family-run grain farms who produce the majority of food that Canadians and the world rely on once implemented next year. Delaying bad policy doesn’t fix bad policy – it just drags out uncertainty, derails succession planning, and challenges the future of family farms. When this tax hike takes effect, it will also target farmers’ retirement plans, move the goalposts for the next generation of producers, and further complicate the tax code, driving up accounting and legal expenses for all farmers. To protect family farms, we are continuing to call on the government to completely reverse the capital gains tax increase to ensure that family-run grain farms continue to be the backbone of Canada’s agricultural sector. -Kyle Larkin, Executive Director of Grain Growers of Canada -30- For media inquiries, please contact: Grain Growers of Canadamedia@graingrowers.ca | 514-834-8841
CWRC commits $11.8 million to USask Crop Development Centre
Jan. 28, 2025 (Carman, MB; Saskatoon, SK; Calgary, AB) – The Canadian Wheat Research Coalition (CWRC) has committed $11.8 million over the next five years to a core breeding agreement (CBA) with the University of Saskatchewan’s (USask) Crop Development Centre (CDC). The new agreement ensures continued CWRC funding for the CDC’s industry-leading wheat breeding programs, as the previous CBA concluded at the end of 2024. “This renewed investment by the CWRC will directly benefit western Canadian farmers by supporting the development of wheat varieties with improved yields, stronger disease resistance and better adaptation to our growing conditions,” said Dean Hubbard, CWRC chair and a farmer near Claresholm, AB. “Farmer-funded breeding programs like this ensure that producers have access to innovative, high-performing varieties that are in demand and help make their farms more productive and sustainable.” CWRC funding via the 2025-29 CBA will support the CDC’s development of new Canadian Western Red Spring (CWRS), Canada Northern Hard Red (CNHR), Canadian Western Amber Durum (CWAD) and Canadian Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) wheat cultivars with strong agronomics and improved resistance to common diseases such as the wheat rusts, common bunt and Fusarium Head Blight. This funding will also support the application of genomic assisted …
Farm Groups Call for Reversal of Capital Gains Inclusion Rate
(OTTAWA, ON – January 17, 2025) The over 130,000 Canadian farmers and ranchers represented by the Canadian Canola Growers Association, Canadian Cattle Association and Grain Growers of Canada are calling on the Government of Canada to reverse its decision to administer the proposed capital gains inclusion rate legislation. Despite the fact that the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance tabled a Notice of Ways and Means Motion (NWMM) to introduce a bill entitled An Act to amend the Income Tax Act and the Income Tax Regulations, these changes are subject to parliamentary approval and should not be implemented without the express approval of Parliament. The average age of Canadian farmers is now over 55 years old and tens of billions of dollars in farm assets are set to change hands over the next decade. Canadian farms continue to expand, often supporting multiple households, with more and more farms incorporating for tax and estate planning purposes. Meanwhile the cost of land and farm assets continues to rise and those looking to purchase a farm face unprecedented capital costs. We continue to express opposition to the accelerated pace of implementation, the lack of consultation in the lead-up to these proposals, and the changes that undermine the …
