Taking Canada's beef goals and message to the world

Nov 25, 2022

The Canadian cattle sector was represented during the recent climate-focused COP27 meetings.

This year, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change also placed a key focus and emphasis on agriculture and food systems.

CCA’s Bob Lowe and Mitchell Zoratti participated in COP27 as official observers and as part of Canada’s official delegation and were on the ground to participate in the many discussions.

Lowe, past president of the CCA, says beef producers experience climate-related events firsthand and we work every day to continuously improve our working landscapes for generations to come.

Canada already has one of the lowest GHG intensities for beef, and the beef sector has set a reduction target goal of 33 per cent for 2030.

Lowe points out that as climate policy decisions are made, it is extremely important for producers to be present in the discussions.

Click here to see more...

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.