Grain Growers of Canada deliver ‘Speech from the Combine’

In advance of the federal Speech from the Throne, which will be delivered later this week, the Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) has released its own “Speech from the Combine,” a video asking for government support for Canada’s grain industry in order to drive the post pandemic recovery.

 

The seven-minute video outlines six priority areas that require immediate attention in order to position the agriculture industry for success, said GGC Chair Jeff Nielsen – who voiced the Speech from the Combine from his farm in Olds, Alberta. “At GGC we have long been advocating for these changes directly to the federal government, but now they are more important than ever,” he explained. “As Canada begins its economic recovery period, the agriculture sector faces its own challenges including the need for regulatory modernization, market access issues and a lack of reliable business risk management programs.”

 

The six requests of the federal government are, as follows: provide effective Business Risk Management programs; support science and innovation in agriculture; support crop health; help improve trade access; provide carbon tax exemptions; and improve cellular service and connectivity in rural areas.

 

“Through our Speech from the Combine, we have provided the government with clear and specific directives for what needs to be done,” Nielsen added. “As the government develops a plan for economic recovery we wanted to ensure that Canada’s agriculture sector is central to that plan, so we can all work together for everyone’s benefit.”

 

The full video is available here.

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.