ITAC convection held in Saskatoon last week

Nov 14, 2017

The Inland Terminal Association of Canada [ITAC] held it’s Annual Convention last week in Saskatoon and navigating new fiscal realities was the common theme for them.

ITAC promotes the interests of its five farmer-owned facilities including four in Saskatchewan.

The group’s Executive Director Kevin Hursh says things are changing.

"The NAFTA negotiations and the uncertainty of it, and an unpredictable U.S. president is one thing, and that has a lot of ramifications together with other things on everything," he said. "From interest rates to the Canadian exchange rate, to a bunch of other factors as well."

Hursh added that potential agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership holds a lot of potential.

"Those Asian Pacific markets are very important to a large number of our communities," Hursh said. "A great deal of growth is expected and there are some tariff barriers that a multilateral trade agreement could tear down."

He says the overall message from the presentations is that things seem to be steady as she goes in the grain sector of Agriculture.

He notes some concerning issues for producers that are out of their control are trade and tariffs.

Source : Discoverestevan

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.