Budget cuts to agriculture not slicing the sector

Jun 03, 2016

Manitoba's Department of Agriculture was one of only two departments to see cuts in this year's provincial budget.

The budget, which was introduced this week, shows a $1 million cut to agriculture, but Finance Minister Cameron Friesen said on Tuesday that this number isn't as bad as it looks.

"These have been strong production years," he says, "so part of what you're seeing reflects the decrease in the insurance amounts. So in other words, farm insurance programs are not having (high) payouts... So in some respects, it's a good news story if the Department of Agriculture can come in under."

Ag Minister Ralph Eichler says this drop in forecast spending for agriculture is also to do with re-jigging some of the funding.

"For example, we used Hometown Grants through... rural initiatives, we've moved some of those over to municipal funding because it's more about rural communities than agriculture," he explains.

While agriculture saw an overall drop in funding, the budget numbers on agricultural research and innovation saw an almost $60,000 increase, which Eichler says is important.

"We wouldn't be growing corn (in Manitoba) if it wasn't for science," he says. "Science is what we want to base our future on."

Source : Portageonline

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.