Ontario Ag Minister Tours Drought Fields

Jul 24, 2012

NFU Pressures Ontario Government to Provide Relief

After lobbying pressures by the National Farmers Union (NFU) for the Ontario government to provide disaster relief for farmers, Ontario agriculture minister Ted McMeekin went out into the field of Niagara based Vuckovic Farms to see first-hand the impact that drought has had on farmer’s crops. Since April, Ontario has only had 40 to 60 percent of normal rainfall putting stress on crops which could severely impact yields. The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs predict that 10 to 20 percent of the provinces corn crops are already unsalvageable.

“Our members across much of the province are facing a severe shortage of pasture and forages to feed livestock for the rest of the summer and to store for winter feed,” Ontario NFU co-ordinator Ann Slater said in a statement.

It’s going to take a lot more than a walk in the field to convince Ontario farmers that the province has their back. It will be interesting to see if the government will step in to provide additional relief above basic crop insurance that farmers already have.

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.