Ag Minister MacAulay promotes ag trade at SIAL

May 05, 2017

Minister says CETA will help farmers

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

The Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) could expand Canada’s agri-food exports by $1.5 annually to Europe, according to Federal Minister of Agriculture Lawrence MacAulay.

MacAulay made his comments during the opening of SIAL Canada on May 2, the country’s largest agri-food tradeshow.

He was accompanied by Phil Logan, European Union Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development.

Canada’s 2017 budget set goal to grow the country’s agri-food exports to $75 billion by 2025.

CETA allows that to happen, says MacAulay.

“(CETA) is a historic win for both Canada and the EU,” he said in a May 2 statement. “This agreement will deepen our trading ties and create new and exciting opportunities for Canadian farmers and our agricultural sectors…”

Before the agreement, nly 25 per cent of Canadian goods were imported to the EU duty-free. Once CETA is fully implemented, the EU will eliminate tariffs on 99 per cent of tariffs, according to the Minister of Agriculture.

On processed cereals, tariffs averaged CAD$81.76 per 100 kg. That number will drop to $0 after CETA is fully implemented.

“We are confident that CETA will bring more products to discerning consumers in Canada and Europe,” Hogan said in the statement.

On the other side of the agreement, CETA will allow some milk and cheese to be imported into Canada, which could cost Canadian producers $116 million annually, Dairy Farmers of Canada said in November 2016.

To offset the impact on the dairy industry, the Government announced a $350 million investment to support the industry’s competitiveness.

$250 million is earmarked for a Dairy Farm Investment Program to allow farmers to upgrade equipment, and $100 million has been set aside for a Dairy Processing Investment Fund, designed to help processors modernize their operations.

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.