Statement from Canadian Organic Growers:
AAFC Continues With Plan to Terminate Canada’s Only Federal Organic Research Program Despite All-Party Warning
June 3rd, 2026
Canadian Organic Growers is calling on the Government of Canada to reverse the termination of the Organic and Regenerative Research Program at the Swift Current Research and Development Centre and protect the continuity of Canada’s only dedicated long-term federal organic agriculture research program.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has cultivated the plots associated with the program and announced it will uniformly seed the land with wheat. While maintaining land under organic management matters, it is not the same as maintaining a long-term organic research program.
The scientific value of the Swift Current program depended on continuous trials, long-term rotations, accumulated datasets, scientific oversight, and nearly two decades of integrated management. Seeding the land uniformly does not preserve the research platform that made the program nationally significant, nor does it address stakeholders’ calls to reinstate the program.
The House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food issued unanimous all-party recommendations calling on the government to reconsider the cancellation of the Swift Current program, table an action plan for affected research, and pause and reverse agricultural research closures announced in January.
Irreversible decisions affecting this long-term research program should not proceed before the government has tabled a response to the committee’s report.
Canadian Organic Growers has confirmed that ongoing and planned research projects remain affected by the termination of the program, including projects expected to continue or begin during the current growing season but not permitted to proceed. These include work related to soil quality and health, regenerative crop production systems, crop yield and quality, and evaluation of farmer-bred wheat lines.
For nearly two decades, the Swift Current program has addressed the priorities of agricultural producers in one of the driest growing regions of Canada and informed organic and low-input agricultural research across the country.
The issue is not whether organically managed land remains at Swift Current. The issue is whether Canada will continue to maintain its only dedicated long-term federal organic agriculture research program — not replace it with the possibility of future research at some later date.
Canadian Organic Growers is urging the Government of Canada to immediately pause any further operational decisions that would further compromise the continuity and integrity of the Swift Current program, reinstate affected research where possible, and work with researchers, producers, employees, Parliament, and the broader sector on a credible path forward.
There is still time to prevent irreversible damage — but only if the government acts now.
Fact Sheet
- Canada’s organic sector is economically significant. Canada’s organic market is worth more than $11.88 billion, making Canada the fifth-largest organic market in the world.
- Organic demand is outpacing Canadian supply. Domestic organic production continues to lag behind consumer demand, resulting in increased reliance on imports and missed opportunities for Canadian farmers and processors.
- Trade and export opportunity. Canada has nine organic equivalency arrangements, providing access to 35 countries and more than 90 percent of the global organic market. Protecting and expanding organic research is essential to reducing import dependence, strengthening Canadian supply, and helping farmers capture growing domestic and export opportunities.
- Organic production can increase farm net income. Research by the Organic Task Force found that organic crop production delivers net returns per acre that are 117 percent higher on average.
- Expanding organic production would generate farm income. Tripling organic acreage in Canada could generate $173 million in additional net farm income annually.
- Organic agriculture supports national resilience goals. Expanding organic production would significantly reduce synthetic fertilizer use, pesticide use, and greenhouse gas emissions.
- The Swift Current program is nationally significant. The Organic and Regenerative Research Program at Swift Current is Canada’s only long-term federally funded dedicated organic agriculture research program.
- Addressing long-term producer needs. For nearly two decades, the program’s research has supported practical innovation in soil health, weed management, disease suppression, fertility management, crop rotations, low-input production systems, and climate resilience for organic and non-organic farmers.
- Long-term organic field trials cannot simply be recreated. Their value depends on continuous management, long-term rotations, regional conditions, and accumulated scientific datasets.