Next steps being taken in the Primary Agriculture Review

GATINEAU, QC - The agriculture and agri-food industry is a significant contributor to Canada's economic growth and vitality. The Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program is an important tool to support the sector in filling vacant and seasonal positions when qualified Canadians and permanent residents are not available.

 

Collaboration between the Government of Canada and agriculture employers contributes to the overall success of the TFW Program in addressing the sector's labour needs and ensuring that workers are protected while they are here. That is why the Government of Canada will engage with employers, workers and other stakeholders on ways to modernize the TFW Program's Primary Agriculture Stream to address key issues raised during the Primary Agriculture Review, including:

Making these changes to modernize how the TFW Program works for agricultural employers and workers will help to ensure that the labour needs of Canada's evolving agriculture sector are met, while supporting the domestic labour market and protecting foreign workers.

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.