Winnipeg, Manitoba March 20, 2025—To demonstrate how the cereals value chain is meeting the challenge of sustainable cereals production, Cereals Canada today released a series of sustainability reports for Canadian non-durum wheat, durum wheat, barley, and oats.

“Canada is a global leader in the production of high-quality, nutritious, and sustainable cereal grains,” said Mark Walker, vice-president of markets and trade. “These reports confirm that Canadian farmers grow some of the most sustainable crops in the world.”

The reports were developed by Cereals Canada using a set of six environmental sustainability indicators—carbon footprint, soil organic carbon, fertilizer use, irrigation, pesticide use, and soil erosion—and compare Canadian cereal production to other major cereal-producing countries, including Australia, France, Italy, Sweden, and the United States. Based on those six indicators, the reports show that Canadian cereal production boasts several sustainability advantages compared to other areas.

For example, widespread adoption of regionally specific conservation management practices has resulted in Canadian soils sequestering vast amounts of soil organic carbon (SOC) and becoming a substantial CO2 sink. Because of this, the carbon footprint of wheat production in Canada is generally smaller than in the United States or Australia, when measured as tonnes of wheat grown and by tonnes of wheat protein produced. Additionally, conservation management practices have substantially reduced erosion rates on Canadian croplands.

“Canadian farmers have responded to demands for sustainable food production by adopting technologies and conservation management practices that have reduced the environmental impact of Canadian grain production,” said Walker. “These reports will be a useful tool in helping us communicate the sustainability of Canadian cereals to our global customers in existing and potential markets, and to policy makers here at home.”

Read the reports at Cereals Canada – Sustainability.