KAP Welcomes Funding Review

 

The province is currently reviewing the funding system for Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP).

 

The current system sees about 50 per cent of members pre-pay their $200 membership, while the other half pay through a check-off system when delivering grain.

 

KAP General Manager James Battershill says this can result in many producers overpaying and then having to wait for a refund.

 

"The system the way it's set up now is very problematic and there's a lot of red tape involved and administrative cost," he explained. "We know that it's frustrating for us but also for farmers and for the purchasers who collect the current KAP check-off. We're looking forward to working with the province on finding a way to streamline the system and improve it so that it's less frustrating and it reduces the red tape."

 

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.