Global warming a double edged sword for northern Ontario says Hajdu

Dec 04, 2023

Global warming is such a huge topic nowadays, and crops that could only be growing down south are now starting to be grown in the north.

The minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for northern Ontario is Patty Hajdu. She told BayToday recently that there are positives and negatives.

"Through the Canada Research Council, the federal government funds a lot of research on how agriculture is changing across the country, including in northern Ontario, and climate change in some ways provides an opportunity to grow things in northern Ontario that we've never been able to grow before."

She says the growing season also can be longer, but it also makes it more challenging.

"What we're hearing from farmers across the country is that climate change is presenting an enormous challenge in terms of the kinds of drought that some regions of the country are seeing, the kinds of flooding that often can happen, and the unpredictability of weather that makes it harder for farmers.

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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.