Ag Policy Framework Feedback moves Online

Consultations for the next agricultural policy framework are moving online.

 

Growing Forward 2 (GF2), the current federal, provincial, and territorial agreement on ag policy, is set to expire in 2018. In order to obtain feedback to help shape the development of the next framework, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) has created a website for stakeholders and Canadians to share their views and provide input.

 

"On the website there's a questionnaire, it's a short 12-question questionnaire, (to gather) feedback in asking people how they're using the programs now, what programs they're using, what they've experienced in terms of positives, what challenges they've faced, and what new things they'd like to see in the next framework," explains AAFC's director general of policy, planning and integration, Andrew Goldstein.

 

Goldstein says the questionnaire will be available until July 31, adding the public can also submit feedback via email or letter.

 

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.