Farm organizations need producer input on seed royalties

Sep 23, 2019

LETHBRIDGE — The Canadian Federation of Agriculture is urging farmers to have their say about proposed changes to seed royalty structures.

In July, producer groups across the Prairies launched an online survey about the federal proposal to change how royalties are collected from farmers on saved seed.

Now the federation is urging producers across Canada to weigh in before the survey closes on October 15th.

Agriculture Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency held a series of public meetings over the winter to gauge feedback on the proposals, but that process is now on hold.

Farm groups would like to hear more from producers before the consultations resume later this year.

Click here to see more...

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.