New funding partnership with Canada will benefit Yukon farmers and support local food production

 

Member of Parliament Larry Bagnell, on behalf of Federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lawrence MacAulay, and Yukon Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources Ranj Pillai announced today the details of Yukon programs under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership. The announcement follows the signing of the Canada-Yukon Canadian Agricultural Partnership bilateral agreement in late March.

 

The new agreement will see up to $7.4 million in programming and funding over five years to continue the development of Yukon’s farms, markets, community gardens and food processing and distribution infrastructure.

 

In the past five years, Yukon agriculture producers have invested in diversifying farm businesses, increasing crop storage, and meeting food safety requirements using federal-territorial funding programs. Yukon has seen increases in many agricultural products including vegetables, pork, beef, chicken, and eggs. These products are available at grocery stores, community markets, restaurants, and through farm gate sales.

 

The new Partnership will allow the governments of Canada and Yukon to take the successes of the past years even further with Yukon’s farmers, ranchers and greenhouse growers. It provides more than 15 programs, fine-tuned for the needs of northern producers. These programs will enable strategic investments to encourage innovation, profitability, adaptability and long-term sustainable growth for Yukon’s agriculture economy.

 

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.