Canadian Agriculture Literacy Week Kicks Off

Mar 04, 2013

Celebrating Agriculture in Classrooms Across Canada

This week marks the second-annual Canadian Agriculture Literacy week (CALW). Students in classrooms across the country will engage in activities to both learn and celebrate agriculture through a number of activities including – reading, watching videos and classroom visits from farmers and others involved in agriculture.

Increasing ag literacy in the classroom will help further students’ knowledge and interest in agriculture. The fundamental goal is to enhance children’s understanding of agriculture, while providing them with the opportunity to have a platform to engage and discuss agri-food topics.

Many provinces across the country are taking on a leadership role to bring agriculture literacy into the classroom. For example, Ontario Agri-Food Education Inc. (OAFE) will be delivering programs in over 60 elementary and secondary schools across the province. OAFE is also partnering up with young agricultural leaders, like 4-H ambassadors to help deliver the program material in secondary schools.

This initiative is made possible through the support of Farm Credit Canada

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.