Ont. announces trade mission to South Korea and Japan

Sep 17, 2019

Ministers Hardeman and Fedeli will lead the mission between Oct. 12 and 24

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

Job creation and the search for new markets for Ontario ag products will be the key components of a trade mission next month.

Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Minister Ernie Hardeman and Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Minister Vic Fedeli will lead a trade mission to South Korea and Japan from Oct. 12 to 24, Premier Ford announced during the International Plowing Match and Rural Expo (IPM) in Verner, Ont. today.

The pair will be joined by Raymond Sung Joon Moo, minister of seniors and accessibility, who will help with networking and business development.

Minister Hardeman will promote local pork, beef, grain and other products while meeting with grocery reps.

Ontario exported more than $401-million worth of agri-food products to Japan in 2018, OMAFRA says.

And trade between Ontario and South Korea totaled more than $7.2 billion that year.

As ag trade is stalled between Canada and China on multiple fronts, now is a good time to explore other avenues for Ontario’s ag exports.

“This is an exciting opportunity for Ontario,” Minister Hardeman said during the IPM’s opening ceremony. “Minister Fedeli and I will be there to promote Ontario and the incredible opportunity that is both in our province and the products we produce. Through this mission, we’re going to stand up for our farmers and we’ll go with them to help open doors to international markets.”

Farms.com has reached out to Beef Farmers of Ontario and Ontario Pork for comment.

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.