Will We See A Familiar Face In The US Department Of Agriculture?

Jan 22, 2021

US President Joe Biden is now sitting in the Oval Office in Washington, DC.

One of his top priorities will be finalizing his inner cabinet.

Tom Vilsack is expected to return as Secretary of Agriculture a role he served in under the Obama Administration.

Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau says the change in the White House means we should have a partner that is more predictable:

"We know that the Americans will always be a tough trading partner, but in the same time, I'm confident that we will have discussions based on science. That we will be able to trust that they will comply with the agreement that we have both signed. This predictability will be very much appreciated."

Some farm groups here in Canada may have some issues with Vilsack's return, remembering the battles over U.S. country-of-origin labelling and Canada's supply managed sector.

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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.