Farm bill hot topic at UCP debate in Red Deer

Oct 04, 2017

Alberta party’s leadership candidates focus on ag, social issues

By: Kate Ayers

Staff Reporter

Alberta’s four United Conservative leadership candidates promised yesterday to end the NDP government’s farm safety bill if elected in 2019.

Jeff Callaway, Brian Jean, Jason Kenney and Doug Schweitzer outlined intentions to revoke Bill 6 during a leadership debate in Red Deer last night, according to a CBC online news article.

“Bill 6 was an unnecessary attack on Alberta farmers and I believe our Conservative government should repeal it within weeks of forming office,” said Kenney on stage.

The farm safety bill was passed December 2015, subjecting farms and ranches to health and safety rules, despite producer opposition.

“We have to look around and listen to them,” Jean said. “You know, like actually having a committee hearing and invite farmers and ranchers and those groups that represent them. What a surprise that would be.”

Besides agriculture, other topics of discussion last night included the national carbon tax, the Kinder-Morgan pipeline expansion, equalization payments and providing services for lower-income Albertans.

Two more debates are scheduled (Fort McMurray on Oct. 12 and Lethbridge on Oct. 17) before a leader will be chosen. Voting starts on Oct. 26 with the winner announced Oct. 28 in Calgary.

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.