North American Ag Officials Hold Videoconference

May 29, 2020

On Thursday, Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau spoke with Mexico’s Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development Victor Villalobos and US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue as part of their continued collaboration during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“My videoconference with my North American counterparts today provided an opportunity to discuss the importance of our mutual agriculture and food trade, which last year totaled $38.9 billion," said Bibeau. "Trilateral cooperation and stable, strong trade is more important than ever to support our farm families and agri-food businesses, and to keep our economy resilient.”

They discussed the importance of sustaining uninterrupted food and agriculture trade to ensure food security and safeguard the citizens in the three countries.

The leaders also emphasized their commitment to a smooth and effective transition to the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) which enters into force July 1, 2020.

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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.