TESA presentation is always a highlight for the Canadian Cattle Association's Semi-Annual Meetings

Aug 18, 2022

The National Environmental Stewardship Award (TESA) is being presented tonight as part of the Canadian Cattle Association's Semi-Annual Meetings in British Columbia.

TESA recognizes producers who go above and beyond standard industry conservation practices, and set positive examples for other cattle producers and the general public.

Producers are nominated at a Provincial level with the winners moving on to the National Award with this year's nominees representing B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes.

Saskatchewan's nominees are Gerald and Patti Anhorn of Windy Ridge Ranch at Elrose.

The couple ranch in the north end of the Missouri Coteau with 4000 acres of native grassland, and 4000 acres of marginal cropland that they seeded over to perennial cover.

As part of their management plan they defer grazing til September on some of their native pasture with a goal of providing at least a year long rest.

They also intensively manage the tame pastures, and have additional water sources through pipelines and remote watering systems to extend grazing on the native grass.

The ranch is also home to wildlife and a number of species at risk making it an important area for environmental conservation.

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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.