Beef Industry Keeps Close Watch On China Tensions

Mar 28, 2019

The Canadian Cattlemen's Association is keeping a close eye on trade tensions with China.

Executive Vice-President, Dennis Laycraft, says they haven't received any signals Canadian beef will be dragged into the canola dilemma with China.

Laycraft says they have good relationships with Chinese importers.

"We're obviously watching it closely. We're not a huge exporter, we're in the $100 million range where some of the other products are in the billions like canola."

He says the industry just had a pilot project to export chilled beef to China and they're gearing up to have beef of all ages eligible to ship to China.

"Those things get delayed when you have the tension that exists right now between China and Canada," he said. "Our objective is to maintain as positive of a dialogue as we can in the meantime."

Laycraft says they look forward to continued discussion with China once the issue is resolved, as China is the fastest growing beef market in the world.

Source : Discoverestevan

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.