Barlow Says Farmers Will See Relief Through Government COVID-19 Benefit Plan

Mar 26, 2020

Farmers won't be left behind when it comes to government money being handed to workers and businesses losing out during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Foothills MP, John Barlow, says the Feds say they're going to lift the cap on loans from Farm Credit Canada as well as opening loan applications sooner.

Barlow says a lot of these issues came up when he spoke to Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau this past week.

"Those are some things I did bring to the Minister's attention this week. As well as exempting the carbon tax from agriculture I think would be a very strong step forward. But obviously a lot of our farmers, ranchers and producers have jobs off the farm. And they can certainly apply for some of these programs through small businesses, EDC and ESTC as well."

Barlow says he also wants to assure residents the supply chain remains fully functional despite the closure of the Canada/U.S. border to non-essential travel.

he says the border remains open to trade and consumer goods.

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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.