Manitoba Agriculture Applauds Successful Effort to Conclude CPTPP Negotiations

Jan 25, 2018

Manitoba's Agriculture Minister applauds the efforts of those involved in the successful conclusion of efforts aimed at creating a new Trans-Pacific free trade agreement.

On Tuesday the 11 nations participating in negotiations aimed at creating a Trans-Pacific free trade agreement announced a deal had been struck and will be officially signed in early March.

Ralph Eichler, Manitoba's Minister of Agriculture, says Manitoba sees the Comprehensive Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership as a substantial benefit for Canada and for Manitoba even without the U.S. participating.

Ralph Eichler-Agriculture Minister Manitoba:

The CPTPP countries represent a market of about 494 million people, a combined GDP of 10.2 trillion and close to 13.6 of the world economy so successful implementation of the CPTPP with Canada as a founding signatory is vital to Manitoba.

As you know, for Agriculture in particular, it gives us access to the Japanese market which is key for beef, pork, canola oil and wheat.

Japan is our largest customer when it comes to our Manitoba pork which is strong.

In 2016 46 percent of Manitoba pork exports, worth 425 million went to Japan alone.

This is a huge step for us, we're excited about this opportunity and looking to expand our markets even more as a result of this agreement.

Source : Farmscape

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.