APAS President Promoting Saskatchewan Issues In Ottawa

APAS President Todd Lewis is in Ottawa this week taking part in the Canadian Federation of Agriculture's Annual Meeting.

 

On Monday, Lewis met with Ambassador Cong - the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China.

 

He said they talked about how important the trading relationship with China has been over the years and that politics and food really don’t mix.

 

‘We're going through a bumpy time now in canola; but, I mean it’s important to recognize that for instance peas, we've increased our trade with peas with China. It's not just canola there's a number of crops and livestock that go into China. Canada's been very successful in those markets and China's an important market for all sorts of Canadian commodities. So, he was very receptive with the points we put across and the conversation we had.”

 

Lewis says they also talked about the Coronavirus and the impact it is having on China.

 

A key issue of discussion during the CFA’s Annual Meeting is expected to be the rail blockades.

 

Rail blockades continue to pop up across the country slowing rail movement of agricultural goods to Port.

 

APAS President Todd Lewis is concerned with the continuing blockades and the impact it’s having.

 

“Certainly these blockades have really affected the movement of traffic across the country and certainly in Western Canada. I mean rail was backed up all the way from the coast, way into Saskatchewan and Manitoba. You know it's a very difficult situation, it’s gonna take weeks to untangle and, you know there's a number of boats, over 50 boats, waiting on the West Coast looking for our product.”

 

He notes, unfortunately, farmers are going to have that demurrage cost passed on to them, something they don’t need and really can’t afford.

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.