US/China Trade Negotiations Continue

Jan 16, 2020

It's a big week for trade in the US, and Canada will be impacted on both fronts.

On Wednesday, the US and China signed the first phase of their new trade deal. The US still plans to keep the tariff war going for now, while phase 2 of the trade deal is worked out.

On the 2nd front, The US Senate is expected to vote today on the new NAFTA.

The expected vote promises sweeping bipartisan support for the legislation that will replace the original NAFTA. Most farm groups in Canada support the deal, but Canada's supply-managed dairy industry isn't as excited.

They're being forced to give up more market share to the US. The Trudeau government has been promising them billions in compensation for the loss of that market share.

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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.