Boosting Economic Growth in Rural Ontario

Feb 01, 2017

Ontario is supporting local projects that will attract investment, create jobs and boost economic growth in rural communities through the renewed Rural Economic Development (RED) program.

The province is now accepting applications for the renewed RED program, which bolsters economic growth in rural and Indigenous communities across Ontario by providing support for projects that allow rural municipalities and partners to diversify and grow their local economies.

Communities can use this support to remove barriers to local economic growth through initiatives such as developing a downtown revitalization plan or implementing a tourism-related marketing and promotion strategy to attract businesses, investors and visitors to their city.

Supporting economic growth in rural and Indigenous communities is part of our plan to create jobs, grow the economy and help people in their everyday lives.

Source: Ontario.ca

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.