International market development: Support for biofood exports

Quebec City, Quebec – The Government of Canada and the Government of Quebec are proud to announce the joint Soutien aux exportations bioalimentaires (SEB) program. Mr. Jean-Claude Poissant, Parliamentary Secretary to the Federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Mr. Lawrence MacAulay, and Mr. André Lamontagne, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, highlighted that the program has an annual envelope of $2 million over three years, from 2018 to 2021. The new program, which will be administered by the Agri-Food Export Group Québec‑Canada, will provide support for agri‑food businesses in implementing their international business plan. These investments are made under the Canada-Quebec Agreement on the implementation of the Canadian Agricultural Partnership.

 

Ever-increasing international competition and new, highly competitive products from exporting countries force Quebec businesses to be creative, adapt and adopt marketing strategies to remain competitive. These efforts require significant resources. The SEB, which replaces the Exportateurs de classe mondiale program, is intended to support businesses through these challenges and introduces some new features:

The 2018-2025 Biofood Policy - Feeding Our World aims to increase Quebec’s international biofood exports from $6 billion to $14 billion by 2025. The SEB will contribute to achieving this target.

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.