SARM Holds Mid-Term Convention In Regina

RM delegates from around the Province are in Regina for the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities Mid-Term Convention.

 

SARM President Ray Orb told the group this morning that he’s concerned with the amount of unharvested acres that have been left out in the Province and some recent actions by the Prime Minister.

 

Orb says the Prime Minister recently called some big city mayors but didn’t reach out to rural municipal organizations like SARM.

 

There’s a number of issues he’d like Ottawa to address including the carbon tax, noting that it’s really unfair that farmers should be saddled with another tax.

 

“They’re paying carbon tax on the fuel that they use to dry their grain and we’re not happy about that. The other issue is the Trans Mountain Pipeline; we don’t want any more delays on that pipeline project. The last one I guess would be the equalization formula, that’s a huge bone of contention in Western Canada. We need to talk with the Prime Minister and see if there’s something that can’t be resolved with that formula because it’s really unfair, really hurting the West right now.”

 

Delegates attending the convention this week will debate a number of resolutions including one from the RM of Maple Creek calling for a return to the Gopher Control Rebate Program.

 

“The resolution is asking that SARM continue to lobby the PMRA to allow the use of Strychnine. Also, it’s asking that SARM lobby the Ministry of Agriculture to reinstate the Gopher Rebate Program that was actually in place in 2007 and offer rebates of 50% to landowners.”

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.