2014 Declared International Year of Family Farming, UN

Jan 03, 2014

Last spring, the United Nations (UN) announced that it would recognize 2014 as the International Year of Family Farming. The declaration aims to increase awareness on the importance of family farming in addressing world issues such as poverty, food security and protecting the environment.

On its website, the UN says that the goal of the declaration is to “reposition family farming at the centre of agricultural, environmental and social policies in the national agendas.” It hopes that it will spur discussion at local, national and international levels of governments. The declaration includes both developing and developed countries.

According to the UN, family farming is important in three main ways: it is linked to world food security, it also promotes balanced diets and helps protect biodiversity; and lastly, it promotes strong local economies when coupled with other policies which serve to protect the well-being of communities.

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.