NAEGA Annual Members Meeting

Trade Outlook Program

Grand Hyatt | Nashville, Tennessee

Canada Trade Panel: Perspectives from the Canadian Ag Industry

Erin Gowriluk

PRESIDENT
Canada Grains Council

  • Erin Gowriluk is the President at the Canada Grains Council (CGC), a national umbrella association which represents the interests of the entire grain value chain in Canada. Erin works with her team and Council members to lead policy development and advocacy initiatives on cross-commodity issues and opportunities, striving to build consensus and speak as one voice on the issues that matter to Canada’s grains sector.

    Erin serves as the Chair of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Crops and represents CGC on the Canadian Advisory Committee for the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture. Internationally, Erin serves as the Vice-President of the International Grain Trade Coalition, and is a member of the Global Grains Geneva Conference Advisory Board.

    Prior to joining CGC, Erin served as the Executive Director at the Grain Growers of Canada, where she advanced federal policy priorities on behalf of 65,000 grain farmer members from coast to coast. She has an extensive and diverse background in agriculture policy having held senior policy roles with Syngenta Canada, the Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions, and the Alberta Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Erin holds a Master of Arts in Leadership from Royal Roads University.

Lief Carlson

VICE PRESIDENT, MARKET AND TRADE POLICY
Cereals Canada

  • As Vice President of Market Intelligence and Trade Policy, Leif leads efforts to promote Canadian cereals and protect the interests of the value chain in global markets. Since September 2025, he has also represented the sector as a Director with the Canadian Agri Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA), advocating for fair, open, and predictable trade.

     Leif holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Master of Science in Agricultural Economics from the University of Saskatchewan. Before joining Cereals Canada, he held roles in sales, market analysis, and logistics with the Manitoba Department of Agriculture and the ag industry.

    His expertise, commitment to agriculture, and strategic leadership strengthen the Canadian cereals value chain and help ensure dependable market access and sustained global demand for Canadian wheat, durum, barley, and oats.

Troy Sherman

SENIOR DIRECTOR, GOVERNMENT & INDUSTRY RELATIONS
Canola Council of Canada

  • Troy joined the Council in August 2021 and is based out of the Council's Ottawa office. He spearheads the Council’s government relations activities, trade policy, market access and market development work, and advocacy on key issues of interest to the canola value chain.

    The Canola Council of Canada is a full value chain organization representing approximately 40,000 canola growers, processors, life science companies and exporters. The Council’s mission is to facilitate market access and strategic development and enable industry innovation to grow the value and profitability of Canadian canola.

    Troy also represents the Council on the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance's Board of Directors - a coalition of national and regional organizations that advocate for a more open, rules-based, and fair international trading environment for Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sectors.

    Prior to working at the Council, Troy was a manager at a government relations firm in Ottawa, where he was focused on advancing clients' public policy priorities at the federal level.

    From 2017 to 2019, Troy was Policy Manager for the Canadian Produce Marketing Association and was responsible for the association's government relations activities. His primary areas of focus were international trade, finance and taxation, health, and innovation. Troy worked closely with government and industry stakeholders on tax reforms, Canada’ s Food Guide, the new NAFTA, and food waste.

    Troy has a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from Queen's University where he focused on international relations.

U.S. Ag Trade and Tariffs – Opportunities for U.S. Agriculture

Dr. Shawn Arita

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR AND ASSOCIATE RESEARCH PROFESSOR
Agricultural Risk Policy Center North Dakota State University

  • Shawn Arita is a Research Associate Professor at North Dakota State University and the Associate Director of the Agricultural Risk Policy Center. At the Agricultural Policy Risk Center, Shawn direct research teams in markets, trade disruptions, and risk management and leads policy outreach and DC engagement with Federal, Congressional, and industry stakeholders—ensuring direct communication of agricultural policy economic analysis and research. His work bridges rigorous academic research with practical policy implementation, translating complex analyses into actionable insights for decision-makers across government and industry. 

    Before joining NDSU, Shawn served as Senior Economist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of the Chief Economist, where he led key modelling and economic analyses for various USDA programs, including the Market Facilitation Program, CFAP, and others.  Additionally, Shawn provided model-based assessments for WTO trade dispute arbitration and evaluations of agricultural markets under trade agreements. He was recognized as USDA’s Economist of the Year for his work on the market disruptions on U.S. agriculture, and his economic analyses have also informed White House offices. Shawn previously served with the U.S. Trade Representative and, prior to that, was a research economist at the Economic Research Service. 

    Shawn is widely recognized for his expertise in agricultural policy and trade, agricultural commodity markets, economic modeling, and impact assessment. He has authored over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and policy briefs. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Hawaii and originally hails from the Aloha State. 

Working with Brussels: What exporters should know in a volatile 2026

Graeme Taylor

FOUNDER CEO
Endure Consulting

  • Graeme Taylor is a leading adviser on European food and agriculture policy with over 20 years’ experience across the UK Government, the European Commission, CropLife Europe and Syngenta. Now founder of Endure Consulting in London, he supports companies, investors and trade associations on EU/UK regulatory strategy, SPS issues and political risk. He also mentors ag-tech innovators through the European Innovation Council. Graeme brings a candid, insider view on how Brussels works and what exporters need to know in 2026.