Government invests in industry-led animal welfare activities

Feb 19, 2019

Guelph, Ontario – Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) - The livestock industry strives to continuously improve its capacity to respond to increasing demands by consumers and markets to demonstrate the highest quality of animal care.

Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Lawrence MacAulay today announced an investment of up to $4.56 million to the Canadian Animal Health Coalition (CAHC), on behalf of the National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC), to help update and develop Codes of Practice for the care and handling of farmed animals. The investment was made through the AgriAssurance program of the Canadian Agricultural Partnership.

The investment will be divided between four activities including:

Updating the transportation Codes of Practice for the care and handling of farm animals during transport;
Updating the dairy Code of Practice that will address new scientific findings, changes in industry practices and address changes in market and consumer demands;
Updating the goat Code of Practice that will respond to growing buyer and consumer expectations for on-farm animal welfare; and
Developing a new Code of Practice for farmed finfish. Fish welfare is a new and emerging animal welfare concern for which the industry needs to be able to demonstrate its commitment and alignment with public values and consumer expectations.

Source : Government Of Canada

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.