Natural gas relief on the horizon

 

Staff Writer

Farms.com

 

Rural residents have hope for more affordable and efficient natural gas, thanks to the passing of the Second Reading of Bill 32 by the Ontario government, said a Tuesday release from the Office of the Minister of Infrastructure.

 

If passed, Bill 32, the Access to Natural Gas Act, would permit the government to develop a natural gas program that promotes partnerships between private distributors and communities, widening access to “affordable and efficient natural gas,” the release said. 

 

The act builds on the Ford government’s decision to eliminate the carbon tax from natural gas bills, allowing small businesses to save roughly $285 a year and families to pocket roughly $80 annually.

 

“In Southwestern Ontario, where I was born and raised and where I still call home, an estimated 40 per cent of households do not have access to natural gas,” Monte McNaughton, minister of infrastructure, who introduced the legislation, said in the release. 

 

The act could create natural gas connections for roughly 80 communities and could connect roughly 33,000 households.

 

“If we’re successful in passing this legislation … from an agriculture and business standpoint, it really sends a signal that Ontario is open for business,” McNaughton said to Farms.com yesterday. “For those businesses who have access to natural gas, it will lower their energy costs.” 

 

A residential customer who switches to natural gas can save, on average, between $800 and $2,500 annually, the release said. The benefits can be even higher for farm families. 

 

“Recently, I met with a farmer from Southwestern Ontario who switched to natural gas, and they are saving $40,000 per year,” McNaughton said to Farms.com. “This is keeping in-line with what we committed to during the election campaign. We announced during that campaign that we would put forward an aggressive plan to expand natural gas across rural and Northern Ontario … to lower energy costs for those businesses and families.” 

 

The government will provide program details if Bill 32 is passed and related approvals are received.

 

 

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.