OFA to submit ideas for Ontario’s Long-Term Energy Plan

Oct 21, 2016

Organization says farmers need access to sustainable energy

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

The Ontario Federation of Agriculture is set to submit its ideas for the province’s Long-Term Energy Plan (LTEP).

The Ministry of Energy is looking for public input to help develop the plan, which will outline the government’s strategies for maintaining reliable, clean and affordable energy.

“Energy is a hot topic these days,” Pat Jilesen, OFA director, wrote on the organization’s website. “We depend on affordable energy to grow our farms, businesses, communities and the Ontario economy.”

Jilesen said the OFA’s official submission will focus on three key issues:

Rural Ontario’s need to access natural gas and renewable natural gas systems to reduce energy costs and help stimulate the rural economy.
The need for a combination of fuel solutions that address rural needs and climate change.
Rural Ontario’s need for effective smart metering and smart grid technology to manage energy generation, distribution and load use.

“For agriculture, and OFA’s 36,000 farm business members, energy represents a vital farm input,” Jilesen wrote. “OFA is asking the Ontario government for a strong rural focus in the next LTEP, balanced with reliability, conservation and community considerations that will benefit all Ontarians.”

The public can give their input about the next LTEP until December 17, 2016.

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.