Less Fieldwork, More Focus: Chris Davison Explains the Canola Council’s New Direction

With the release of its refreshed strategic framework, Canola Forward: A Strategic Framework for 2025–2030, the Canola Council of Canada is recalibrating its role in the Canadian canola sector.

While the headlines focus on big-picture goals like volume, value, and membership, one of the most striking changes is this: the Council is winding down its field-based agronomy team.

That doesn’t mean agronomy is off the table, though.

“Agronomy has not diminished in importance,” said Chris Davison, president and CEO of the Canola Council, in an interview yesterday. “What our members and stakeholders told us very clearly, however, is that we need to refocus.”

Davison emphasized that the decision wasn’t made in isolation. The new framework was shaped through consultations with board members, the Canola Council’s broader membership, and stakeholders from across the canola value chain — and even beyond it.

“We’re operating in an environment that’s facing increased complexity and volatility,” Davison said. “That includes trade and market uncertainty, cost pressures, and challenges to our global competitiveness. The message from industry was clear: we need to focus on the most critical areas.”

That translated into three core strategic priorities: volume, value, and members. Under that structure, the Council’s role in agronomy is being repositioned — not discarded — with greater emphasis on long-term threats and production risks, rather than more immediate production challenges.