CFA AGM Plots Direction For Upcoming Year

Mar 07, 2019

Carbon pricing, rural investment, mental health and the federal election were among the top priorities discussed during the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) 2019 Annual General Meeting, held in Ottawa last week. The theme this year was "Producing Prosperity".

"We want to show how investments in rural Canada and the agricultural sector can have benefits for Canada as a whole socially, economically and also environmentally ," said Ron Bonnett, outgoing CFA President.

During his opening keynote, former Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Lawrence MacAulay highlighted the successes of agriculture but also discussed chronic issues and upcoming challenges. He also announced the new FCC Starter Loan program.

CFA held elections for President, First Vice-President and Second Vice-President, with current President, Ron Bonnett, stepping down after nine years in the position.

Elected as CFA President is Mary Robinson, former President of the Prince Edward Island Federation of Agriculture.

"I'm really looking forward to continuing on this path," she said. "I've been involved in ag politics for over a decade now and having the opportunity to be a leader at the national level, especially for an organization like the Canadian Federation of Agriculture is very exciting."

Keith Currie, President of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, was elected as 1st Vice-President. Chris van den Heuvel, former President of the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture, was elected as 2nd Vice-President.

CFA members passed 36 resolutions that will guide its advocacy efforts in the coming year. This year's resolutions cover a range of areas, including: trade, business risk management, transportation, tax policy, sustainability, crop protection, labour, animal health, rural infrastructure, carbon pricing and other topics.

There was also the presentation of the first annual Brigid Rivoire Award for Champions of Agricultural Mental Health, an award that goes to an individual or organization that has been doing work in the field of agricultural mental health. This year's winner was the UPA's Sentinel program.

Two policy workshops prior to the AGM focused on Big Data/ Right to Repair as well as Value Creation Models for grain, followed by a consultation with AAFC and CFIA on those Value Creation Models.

Source : Steinbachonline

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.