Farm Organizations Take Part in Roundtable with Ontario's Minister of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs

Dec 18, 2018

There was an agriculture roundtable in Owen Sound.

A dozen representatives from the local agriculture sector had a meeting on Tuesday with the Province's Agriculture Minister.

Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound MPP Bill Walker hosted the roundtable with the Minister of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs Ernie Hardeman at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church.

The purpose of the roundtable was to discuss about farmers and producers dealing with bureaucracy.

Hardeman says his government are already eliminating some of the red tape that farmers are facing.

He says while he has heard from farmers that they are pleased with what the government is doing, there is much more to do and they will continue eliminating some of those barriers.

Hardeman was asked about whether red tape meant cutting out regulations.

He says his government is committed to protecting areas like the green belt.

Hardeman says when no one is responding to something, that is red tape.

He says his government have no intention of taking out regulations to ensure safe, high quality food.

One of the participants of the roundtable was Brian O'Neill.

O'Neill is the President of the Grey County 4-H and says the roundtable was a great learning experience.

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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.