Canadian Organic Growers Receives Federal Funding

On Thursday, the federal government announced an investment of over $640,000 to the Canadian Organic Growers (COG) to help get more Canadian consumers buying Canadian-made organics produced locally by Canadian organic farmers.

 

“Demand for organic food is growing rapidly and we want to ensure that it is Canadian producers who are benefitting from that increased demand. Our government is focused on ensuring Canadians have greater self-sufficiency and sustainability in our food supply system, and this investment in the organic sector strategy will help us get there," said Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.

 

With this investment, COG will develop a strategy to identify and find solutions to organic supply chain barriers so that Canadian organic producers can realize their full economic potential and more Canadian consumers can buy locally produced Canadian organic food.

 

Strategy recommendations will be assessed and evaluated by an independent industry-wide national advisory committee and a final report will be published that will explore investment opportunities to meet domestic demands and recommendations on how to best seize the opportunities. The report will also help quantify the economic and environmental benefits of increasing domestic organic production and supply chains.

 

Annual retail sales of certified organic products in Canada are approximately $6.38 billion.

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.