Ontario Government Helps Promote Corn-Fed Beef Program

Jan 14, 2013

The Ontario corn-fed beef program is getting a boost from the provincial government to assist beef farmers to increase production and gain access to new markets.

The province is supporting a three-year market and brand development expansion that seeks to increase the number of outlets who carry the Ontario corn-fed beef product, increase the number of primary producers raising beef under the program, and will also seek to find new markets for cuts of beef that aren’t typically sold in Canada.

“Ontario produces the safest, best-tasting, most nutritious food in the world. By building international markets for Ontario-grown products, we are well positioned to take an even larger role in helping to feed a hungry world,” said Ted McMeekin, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

The Ontario corn-fed beef program was launched in 2011, by the Ontario Cattle Feeders’ Association. The association was a recipient of the Premier’s Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence in 2012 for their efforts to build a unique brand for Ontario beef products.

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.