Legislative Agriculture Chairs Summit Offers Opportunity to Make and Build Relationships

Jan 05, 2018

Manitoba's Agriculture Minister says there is an opportunity to make an already strong relationship among provincial and state agriculture and rural leaders even stronger.

Manitoba's Agriculture Minister is in Kansas City, Missouri today, tomorrow and Sunday, taking part in the Legislative Agriculture Chairs Summit hosted by State Agriculture and Rural Leaders.

The summit brings together elected officials from the United States, Canada and Mexico representing agricultural and rural issues to collaborate on shared priorities.

Ralph Eichler says there is a strong level of support within the group for maintaining trade.

Ralph Eichler-Agriculture Minister Manitoba:

In 2003 BSE broke out and the State Agricultural Leaders Group asked us to join their organization as Canadians and focus on trade and, more importantly back at that time, it was based on getting the border opened for our beef cattle to go back into the United States to be processed or grown or finished.

Certainly we took advantage of that opportunity so we've developed a great relationship over the past number of years.

If we look at what happened in the past in regards to BSE and Country of Origin Labelling they've been right by our side day in and day out saying, we want trade with Canada, we know it's a priority for us, we want to continue on that trade and we'll do what ever we can to assist you in order to be able to do that.

Source : Farmscape

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.