International Trade Tension Impacting Homefront

Feb 06, 2020

Some of the ongoing issues Canada has with countries like China, Saudi Arabia and India are starting to impact confidence back here at home.

According to Reuters, trade confidence among Canadian exporters fell to its lowest level in nearly 10 years.

The numbers are from Canada's export credit agency. In the bi-annual survey of 1000 Canadian exporters, the trade confidence index fell to under 70 per cent the lowest levels since 2012 and 6 per cent below the survey's historical average.

A spokesman said trade barriers are now the number 1 challenge bigger than issues like finding skilled talent and financing.

The survey was done between mid-November and mid-December before the US and China signed phase 1 of their new trade agreement which could serve to ease some of those concerns this year.

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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.