Justin Trudeau to make an appearance at the International Plowing Match

Sep 17, 2014

Federal Liberal Party Leader Justin Trudeau is expected to visit the 2014 International Plowing Match (IPM) and Rural Expo on Thursday.

The Ontario Plowmen’s Association (OPA) issued a media notice about the leader’s visit, saying that they are “pleased to welcome [the] leader of the Liberal Party of Canada” to the plowing match in Ivy, Ont., on Thursday September 18^th.

Trudeau was scheduled to make a public appearance at the IPM last year, for the 100^th anniversary, held in Perth County near Mitchell, Ont., but had to pull out last minute due to illness.

He plans to offer some remarks at the match site on Thursday afternoon in the new Future Farming Tent. During his stop, Trudeau will be taking in the sights at the IPM. Some of the potential areas that he could be visiting include, the 100-acre Tented City with over 500 venders and exhibitors, and enjoying the agricultural and historical displays.

While in the Barrie area, he will be attending a liberal fundraising event in the evening for area ridings at Horseshoe Valley. The event starts at 6 p.m. and tickets are $150 each.

Each year, the IPM celebrates the rich agricultural heritage of farm communities in Ontario. It is held in a different part of the province from year to year. In 2015, the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry will host the match. The five-day event runs until September 20.

More information about the IPM and the list of scheduled events can be found at: www.plowingmatch.org.

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.