Minister's Statement regarding Processing Tomato Negotiations

Mar 17, 2017

"I am pleased that Ontario's Processing Vegetable Growers (OPVG) and our three major tomato processors worked together to reach negotiated agreements for the 2017 growing season. I appreciate their hard work during the negotiating process to ensure a deal was reached for the parties involved.

I look forward to continuing to follow this matter as all parties continue to discuss long-term solutions and fulfill the directive I issued last August to develop a regulatory framework to achieve reform for the 2018 growing season and beyond. The work that has been done and continues to be done ensures we maintain regulated marketing in Ontario - a system our government continues to support and uphold - to ensure that high quality food is produced here in the province of Ontario for our consumers; that processing jobs are retained; and ultimately, that farmers, processors and consumers all benefit from this decision."

- Jeff Leal, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

Source: OMFRA

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.