Wall: Be ready to defend the ag industry

Nov 21, 2018

Sask.’s former premier delivered remarks during the Canadian Western Agribition

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

The Canadian ag industry needs to continue to defend itself from groups that challenge agriculture.

That’s the message Brad Wall, Saskatchewan’s former premier, had for farmers attending the Canadian Western Agribition yesterday.

Wall cited examples from the energy sector and warned farmers that they could receive backlash from some consumers.

“Let’s not take a knife to a gun fight… we ought to learn from what happened in oil in general, the energy sector, and the agriculture sector,” he said during his presentation, CTV reported. “We ought to be ready to put resources and effort and effect into countering what is already out there, and what's probably coming from groups that want to have a run at modern agriculture.”

And the industry is ready to stand up for itself, said Gerrid Gust, vice chair of Saskatchewan Pulse Growers (SPG).

Groups like SPG provide funding to organizations like Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan. Continuing to educate the public about agriculture is the best way to combat misinformation, he said to Farms.com.

“We’re very aware that, if we just put our heads down and don’t respond to some of the false information that’s out there, then we could lose valuable tools that we need to farm successfully.”

One of the challenges is a lack of consumer awareness about what it takes to raise food and run a business, Gust added.

“I think most people just aren’t aware of what it takes to grow food on a massive scale and still make money at it,” he said. “It takes a lot of effort and a coordinated supply chain for people to have access to food in their grocery stores 365 days a year.

“We have to make sure that, when questions do come up, we answer them honestly and provide explanations about why we do certain things on our farms.”

Swift Current Online photo

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.