Lobbying over beef

May 29, 2013

Lobbying over beef

Ontario beef farmers host 10th annual Queen’s Park BBQ

Ontario Corn-Fed Beef was on the menu at Queen’s Park on Monday as the Ontario Cattlemen’s Association (OCA) held its 10th annual BBQ outside of the Ontario Legislature. The event started in 2003, to thank politicians for their support during the years of the BSE crisis. The event has grown over the years and today is considered by many to be one of the most popular events at Queen’s Park.

The OCA served over 600 attendees with Ontario Corn-Fed Beef tenderloin to Members of Provincial Parliament (MPP) and their staff. All three party leaders Premier Kathleen Wynne, Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak and Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath were in attendance.

Dan Darling, OCA President says the annual BBQ event provides an opportunity for Ontario beef farmers to discuss industry issues with MPPs. Some of the key issues that were raised included OCA emphasising the importance of Ontario’s Risk Management Insurance Program, the value of investing in beef research in the province and enhancing programs that would encourage young beef farmers to enter into the beef business or continue the family tradition.

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.