Canadian Foodgrains Bank Working To Ensure Existing Programs Continue

Apr 27, 2020

COVID-19 is having a sharp impact on many households around the world in terms of the food supply.

Jim Cornelius is the executive director with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB).

"Food supply chains still are functioning largely but they're starting to be disrupted to the extent that as they get more disrupted you'll start to see prices going up, we're seeing that in some countries, which then of course prices poor people out of the market very quickly," he commented.

Cornelius says Canadians are fortunate to have a program like the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB).

"People are in quite a panic mode in many countries and these countries are often not well positioned to quickly roll out a safety net program like we have in Canada now with the CERB. That's really what's needed, is to get cash into people's hands so they can have food."

He says the immediate priority is to ensure that the CFGB existing programs can continue, noting most partners have been able to adapt their programs.

Cornelius adds many Canadians are facing their own challenges, and the Canadian Foodgrains Bank is aware of that. He's hopeful that many of the growing projects will still get a crop in this year.

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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.