Alberta Premier Alison Redford Signs Agriculture Trade Deal with India

Jan 13, 2014

Agricultural Agreement to Increase Sale of Swine Genetics

By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com

Alberta’s premier has signed a trade deal with the Indian State of Meghalaya, located in northeastern India, aimed at increasing access to agricultural products between the two regions.

The two parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding Sunday, the first day of Alberta Premier Alison Redford’s trade mission to India.

“This region of India has a population of more than 40 million — that’s more than Canada’s population — and it holds huge opportunities for Alberta agriculture producers,” said Redford in a release.

Alberta’s livestock farmers are expected to benefit the most from the new trade deal, which will increase the sale of livestock genetics, particularly swine. “In particular, this means Alberta’s innovative and efficient pork producers will have new and exciting opportunities in India,” explains Redford.

Redford says an agricultural working group will be established to facilitate further trade cooperation, which could lead to other trade opportunities for more agricultural products such as canola, pulses and farm machinery.

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.