Agriculture Industry Encourages Young People To Be Involved In Agriculture

As the average age of Canadian farmers continues to rise, many groups, including Protein Industries of Canada are taking steps to encourage the next generation to get involved in agriculture.

 

Recently, it launched a program aimed at introducing students to a wide variety of possible careers, including agri-food and the study plant proteins. The program is open to youth from kindergarten to grade 12, and will focus primarily on the three prairie provinces. The target is to reach close to 70 thousand students over the next few years, by helping them increase their knowledge of the industry. Canada's newest Minister of Innovation, Francois Phillipe Champagne says we must ensure we have a skilled workforce representing the diversity of talent that exists in Canada.

 

Protein Industries Canada is planning to invest more than 15 million dollars into various activities in Canada's agri-food sector.  For more information on the program to target youth in the Prairies, visit the news release from Protein Industries Canada, and for more information on the activities to build capacity, visit their Program Information Page. 

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.