GRAIN IMPLICATIONS
BY IAN DOIG • ILLUSTRATION BY EMILY CHU
Mark Walker’s maternal grandparents farmed in Manitoba’s Interlake Region and his father grew up on a livestock farm just outside Victoria, B.C. These deep family farming connections led him to pursue an academic path to a career in agriculture.
Cereals Canada vice-president of markets and trade, Walker holds a degree in international economic policy from Carleton University as well as law and political studies degrees from the University of Manitoba. Having completed his studies, he welcomed the opportunity to apply his expertise in an industry that feeds the world. Prior to taking up his current position in April 2022, he worked for the Canadian Canola Growers Association managing national and international environment and sustainability policies.
Yet with all his formal education and on-the-job experience, the Winnipegger also credits 4-H Manitoba for the critical job skills it gave him. As a 4-H youth member in various executive positions, he absorbed Robert’s Rules of Order and practiced public speaking.
Of the many agricultural topics he tackles, Walker particularly enjoys trade policy. With a laugh, he also admitted he really enjoys analyzing legislation and regulations. Light reading it isn’t, but at his Cereals Canada desk, each workday brings an armload of this favourite subject matter as he calculates legislative outcomes and implications for the ag industry. “That is so important because the impacts go all the way across the value chain from the farm gate to Ottawa,” he said.
GrainsWest: What are your job duties?
Mark Walker: I lead our markets and trade team. It focuses on government relations, market intelligence and trade policy, crop protection and production, environment and sustainability as well as our domestic and international programming. I’m so lucky that I get to go to work every day with a team of experts in their respective fields.
GW: What are the areas of most concern in Canada’s global cereals trade, and what are the most promising opportunities?
MW: What concerns me most, internationally and domestically, is derogation from science-based principles. Internationally, we see that used as a foil for protectionism. Outright protectionism is getting so bad we see some countries blatantly being
protectionist without any sort of excuse other than it’s their own right. And we’re seeing this being advanced by countries that traditionally have been focused on the liberalization of trade at the World Trade Organization. Thankfully, our government is making best efforts to speak to and work against this at the World Trade Organization. But we have got to find allies and build consensus.
Of course, with countries like the U.S., we continue to have alignment on liberalization of trade. But we also see other major ag exporting countries like Brazil come forward that are very pro-free trade. Making sure we can work through our governments and our stakeholder groups to keep advancing that is so important.
Internationally, most promisingly for our trade, industry and exports, is the role of the middle class around the world. Canadian cereals are a premium product. They’re used to improve other global varieties. When folks enter the middle class around the world, they look to products that are more nutrient dense, have higher protein and higher functionality. Canadian cereals can fill that gap.
GW: You’ve done a lot of work on sustainability for Cereals Canada. How has this area of agricultural policy evolved?
MW: It is fascinating. But, of course, it means different things to different people. Most important is how it’s meaningful for farmers. Sustainability must consider economic, social and environmental aspects. We lose folks when the dialogue shifts away from economic considerations if it doesn’t make sense. Making sure the economic components are at the front of this conversation is of critical importance.
We are seeing some growth in this dialogue internationally. And that’s where Canadian cereals have a fantastic story to tell. We’re low carbon, our fertilizer use is among the lowest in the world, we use our crop protection products judiciously, just like all our international competitors, and our water use is also among the lowest globally. We must make sure we are properly equipped to speak to our competitive and comparative advantages. Making sure that domestically, our governments are aware of all the good things our Canadian farmers do every day, is so very important.
GW: How does Cereals Canada contribute to the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Crops (CRSC)?
MW: The benefit and value for the CRSC is truly that it is a clearing house for all things sustainability for our industry. And it’s an organization we work closely with. We are well represented on a number of its committees. What I’m most looking forward to is getting the Foundations of Sustainable Crop Production across the finish line over the next several months. [To highlight sustainable crop production practices used on Canadian farms, the initiative will make this information available at sustainablecrops.ca in 2025.] That’s been a project for many folks in our industry for quite some time. Apart from that, we hope to see a continuation of the organization’s good work.
GW: Cereals Canada maintains a market support plan for wheat, durum, barley and oats. What should farmers know about this initiative?
MW: Our market support and development committee meets a minimum of twice a year to review global trends and market priorities and plan our market engagement for the year. We do this with our in-house experts, representatives of member companies as well as producers from our membership. This planning exercise and execution is essential to ensure we use our resources efficiently and effectively and work to maintain and grow our international markets.
GW: What direction have you taken in your leadership role with Cereals
Canada’s long-term government relations engagement strategy?
MW: The most meaningful part of my direction as a government relations professional is consistency, candour and just being agreeable. While we don’t have a permanent presence in Ottawa, I’m there at least quarterly, working with officials, MPs, staffers and ministers to make sure folks are apprised of our sector’s issues. And as issues arise—whether it’s trade, science or export related files—that might negatively impact our sector, we can speak to those and work with folks to get them resolved. As a government relations professional, you need to have those frequent touch points with folks to make sure your issues remain on people’s radar.
GW: Following a two-year hiatus for COVID, the Cereals Canada New Wheat Crop Trade and Technical Missions resumed in December 2022. Why are these meetings so important?
MW: The in-person engagement with our international customers is important as a piece of cultural goodwill but also to maintain our competitive position in markets around the world. North Americans are quite happy to have phone calls and virtual meetings. However, we’re alone in that regard when it comes to the rest of the world. In many of our key international markets, if we don’t maintain those relationships in person, folks might not look to us as a preferred supplier. Our international competitors know this. France, Australia, the U.S. and Germany all have a permanent, on-the-ground, cereals focused presence in their top international markets where we compete. Making sure we meet in person at least once a year is essential so we can maintain, and in some cases defend, our international positions in markets.
Comments