Supporting Farm Families by Celebrating Ontario Agriculture

Sep 29, 2014

Farms.com

Ontario Agriculture Week is an event that celebrates farm families who invest their time to produce and deliver quality products throughout the year. Farm and Foodcare, Foodland Ontario as well as 37,000 farm families throughout Ontario are coming together to raise awareness for Ontario farmers, their families and the work they do for Ontario.

Agriculture week lasts from October 6th to 11th and will hold several events, such as Breakfast on the Farm at Wilmot Orchards in Newcastle, Ontario. Tickets can be reserved for the event at www.farmfoodcare.org with the first 2,000 receiving a free ticket. Breakfast will be served for free at the event for all attendees. The Toronto Argonauts and the Hamilton Tiger Cats will also show their support for farmers at their game by hosting a Tribute to Farmers Night. More than 150 farmers will be giving their thanks to fans for their support in purchasing local produce and livestock.

If you want to support farm families as well as Agriculture week but don’t have time to attend any of the events then the hastag #loveONTfood may be the solution to show your support. The hastag can also be used to take part in a photo contest by submitting a photo with your favorite local business.

The purpose of Ontario Agriculture Week is simple. It is to support all the local producers by celebrating all the hard work that Ontario farm families do to ensure our food is of the highest quality. Ontario farm families, Foodland Ontario as well as Farm and Foodcare also want you to remember that supporting farmers can be accomplished beyond Agriculture Week. It begins and continues by purchasing from local vendors and farmers markets throughout the year. Using hastag #loveONTfood also shows your friends and families that you support your community and gives them information about local vendors offering quality produce. It is an opportunity for farmers and the community to thank one another for choosing Ontario.

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.