Senators Make Ag Labour Recommendations

Apr 13, 2020

A group of Canadian Senators has written a letter to the federal government with a number of recommendations concerning foreign workers and Canada's food supply.

PEI Senator Diane Griffin was one of those involved.

"We always have a shortfall of workers in the agricultural industry but this year is going to be worse because of the virus," she said. "Some people just will not be able to come or not be allowed to come to Canada and when they're here, they're going to have to undergo a 14-day isolation. That's two work weeks. Quite a major impact on the amount of person hours that are going to be available to be spent actually working."

The group would like to see Canadian workers receive financial incentives to fill the positions normally occupied by foreign workers.

Click here to see more...

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.