Drought Relief Support Top Priority For New Ag Minister

Jul 16, 2021

The immediate priority for the province's new agriculture minister Ralph Eichler will be to develop drought relief support for hard-hit farmers and ranchers.

Eichler replaces Blaine Pedersen, who announced his retirement from cabinet on Thursday.

Eichler commented on the drought situation.

"We need to partner with the federal government and municipal governments and producer groups, commodity groups, in order to ensure we get the programs that are going to work. Certain parts of the province, very few, are not really in too bad of shape, but others are in dire situation. Not only drought, we have grasshoppers," he said. "I know Minister Pedersen did reach out to stakeholders last week and asked for feedback on suggestions. I will be reaching out to Minister Bibeau early on...I'm going to try and respond as quickly as possible, so our government can be at the table to assist and put programs in place and carry on the good work of Minister Pedersen."

Eichler previously served as agriculture minister from 2016 to 2019.

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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.