Trade Issues with China Dominates Headlines In 2019

Jan 01, 2020

Trade issues with China dominated the canola sector this year.

In March, China banned canola seed shipments from two of Canada’s biggest exporters, Richardson International and Viterra, over what it said was pests of concern found in their shipments.

Jim Everson, president of the Canola Council of Canada says earlier this month Canadian officials were on the ground in China to discuss technical issues in face-to-face meetings.

"We are working very closely with the Government of Canada. We have some excellent people in terms of our diplomatic core. We have a new ambassador in China who is very much aware of our issues from a canola perspective and its something that's top priority for our industry and for the Canola Council to reinstate our exporters in the Chinese market and return that market to a predictable one."

At this point China is only taking about a quarter of what they would normally take from us each month in canola seed exports.

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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.