2018 A Busy Year For The Alberta Ag Minister

Dec 20, 2018

Its been a busy year for Alberta's Agriculture and Forestry Minister.

A highlight for Oneil Carlier was his second trade mission to India back in February.

Carlier says he's the only Alberta Ag Minister to ever make the trip to India.

"That's a really important market and we had a very successful trade mission. Talked with a lot of folks about challenges we're having around pulses, but also expanding the swine industry with genetics to the state of Bengal, so that was great."

Another highlight for Carlier was when the Government passed the Supporting Alberta's Local Food Sector Act, which lead to the introduction of organic standards in Alberta.

However, he says 2018 didn't come without challenges, as untimely snow during harvest made it difficult for farmers to get their crops off.

Despite frustrating harvest conditions, farmers in the province managed to get 98 per cent of their crops in the bin.

"Weather aside, agriculture continues to be a larger and larger part of the economy in Alberta," Carlier says. "The manufacturing of agricultural products in Alberta is currently the largest manufactured sector in the province."

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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.