Wynne to be Sworn-in as Ontario Premier and Minister of Agriculture Today

Feb 11, 2013

Kathleen will appoint herself as Minister of Agriculture in swearing-in ceremony

Premier-designate Kathleen Wynne will be sworn-in on Monday, as the new Ontario Premier along with her new cabinet. Wynne has already announced that in addition to being Premier she will also appoint herself as Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs for at least one year, with hopes of raising the Liberal profile in rural ridings, where the Liberals were wiped out in the 2011 general election.

The reaction to her unusual appointment as Minister of Agriculture has garnered mixed reaction, with some saying that this move will be good for rural Ontario with the focus of the Premier, while others are raising concerns over her being an Urban MPP from Toronto siting concerns about a potential lack of understanding or rural and agriculture issues, there is also concern that she will be taking on too much – and will not be able to focus sufficiently on critical issues.

The swearing-in ceremony will take place Monday afternoon.

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.