Manitoba Beef Producers GM Looks Back On 2020

The beef sector was one industry that felt the impact of COVID-19 early on.

 

Carson Callum is general manager of Manitoba Beef Producers.

 

"Obviously, a big impact in the spring when these closures came down as a result of some health challenges with the staff at these different processing plants, so that was a big concern in the sector and that led to some backup of cattle and some market fluctuations. Definitely folks took a hit during that period."

 

Callum says improving Business Risk Management (BRM) programming was a key priority in 2020.

 

"As COVID has shown more than anything, there really needs to be effective Business Risk Management tools for agriculture producers to manage some of their risk that does arise. Really, that's been the focus of a lot of advocacy work from us and other lobby groups, to look at improvements to those different programs. Hoping that we can see some movement on that and adjustments to different programs such as AgriStability would be welcome."

 

Callum lists public trust, Ag Crown Lands, and BRM programming as key priorities heading into 2021.

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.