NFU congratulates Premier Wynne in her new roles

Feb 12, 2013

National Farmers Union highlights the importance of the re-introducing the Local Food Act

The National Farmers Union (NFU) released a statement welcoming Kathleen Wynne to her new roles as Premier and as the Minister of Agriculture. The letter put specific emphasis on the anticipation of Wynne’s campaign promise to re-introduce the Local Food Act. The NFU is looking forward to working with Wynne on this initiative and hopes to share some insights and experiences into how the act would benefit not only farmers and rural communities, but all citizens in the province.

While the letter was fairly upbeat, it did mention some of the challenges that NFU has been experiencing over the past year, especially in regard to its accreditation under the Farm Registration and Farm Organizations Funding Act.

"Our members are extremely frustrated with the decisions of the Tribunal in 2012. They feel the Tribunal has taken away their voice and their option to choose the general farm organization which best represents their interests through the Farm Business Registration program. The ongoing delay by the Tribunal in releasing the reasons for the December 19 decision is exacerbating this frustration and leading to further questions about the mandate and oversight of the Tribunal,” says Ann Slater, NFU-Ontario Coordinator.

The NFU is one of the three Ontario general farm organizations in the province.

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.