Farms.com features articles written by University of Guelph Agricultural Communications Students

Dec 16, 2014

Today's students will play an important role dispelling many of the urban myths about agriculture

Farms.com can tie many of its beginnings to the University of Guelph. The seeds for the Canadian side of the business were planted at the University of Guelph, so it is with great pride that Farms.com has partnered with the University of Guelph (Ontario Agricultural College) to feature articles written for the University of Guelph Agricultural Communications Course given by Owen Roberts.

“The University of Guelph has been producing excellent agriculture business communicators for years,” says Farms.com President Graham Dyer (and University of Guelph alumni). “We are very impressed with the quality of the articles written by the students. It is clear that they all have bright futures in the agriculture industry.”

The Agricultural Communications course helps student to apply hands-on communications practices that will be useful in business communications throughout their future careers. The focus is on writing and presentation skills with a particular focus on agriculture issues.

Owen Roberts explains that many of these students recognize that their cohort will play an important role in dispelling many of the urban myths about agriculture….and they are ready to take on the challenge.

Over the holiday period, Farms.com will post two articles each day in the Farms.com Industry News section of the website, and the articles will also be included in the Eastern Ontario Newsletter. Each student’s bio will be featured at the end of the article. The first two articles are:

View more information about the University of Guelph Agricultural Communications course at the University of Guelph.

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.