Statement from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Meeting with China’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Tang Renjian

Jan 19, 2024

Agriculture Secretary Vilsack offered the following statement following his meeting today with People’s Republic of China Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Tang Renjian:

“Today I hosted a meeting with my counterpart from the People’s Republic of China, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Tang Renjian. In addition to addressing outstanding market access issues and other U.S. agricultural stakeholder concerns, we discussed approaches to tackling climate and food security challenges. I emphasized the importance of an enabling environment for innovative technologies and practices to ensure productive and sustainable agriculture systems and to facilitate trade.

“I look forward to further exchanges and cooperation as we continue to forge a relationship that expands and improves market access opportunities for U.S. farmers and ranchers in China, an important agricultural export market.”

Today marked the first meeting since 2015 of the Joint Committee on Cooperation in Agriculture, which was established in 2003 as a forum for coordinating bilateral exchanges and cooperation in agriculture between the United States and China.

Source : usda.gov

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.