FCC Outlines Major Trends To Monitor For Cattle And Hog Operations

Feb 09, 2021

2020 was uneven across the red meat livestock sectors, a trend Farm Credit Canada expects to continue in 2021.

JP Gervais, FCC'S Chief Agricultural Economist, expects to see growing strength in demand for red meat.

"As we move into 2021, as we are reopening the economy, reopening the food service sector, vaccines bring a lot of hope and as we can deploy those vaccines out and then reopen the economy with confidence, I really do think that this is going to have a positive impact."

Other trends to watch for in 2021, according to FCC, include China’s efforts to rebuild its pig herd and rising feed costs.

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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.