Every five years, the federal government sets out a national agri-food policy framework. It’s like a roadmap with priorities “ and the next one is due in 2023. The Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses says the framework needs to enable Canadian agri-businesses to become more competitive in world markets. But first, they say, the sector faces other challenges that need governments’ immediate attention. Image: cfa-fca.ca
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Anne and Barry Wasko are Saskatchewan beef ranchers who practice a blend of old approaches and new technology to protect the future of their grasslands and their new-born calves. Chef James McFarland of the University of Saskatchewan shares the Wasko’s’s conservation credo and says that learning more about the food you cook and consume is a matter of sustainability.
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Six British Columbia beef farmers are working with municipalities and local groups to graze their animals on crown land close to Kelowna and Cranbrook. It’s a novel way to remove underbrush that can quickly fuel wildfires. UBC residence chef Johnny Bridge also thinks creatively about B.C. beef. He marries it with a layer of roasted root vegetable for a burger that looks as amazing as it tastes.
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Quebec cattle producer Brian Maloney continually moves his grazing cattle to give the pastures time to regenerate naturally. It’s a long term strategy to maintain good grazing land. Sustainably produced foods are equally important to executive chefs like the University of Waterloo’s Javier Alarco. Why’s that? When asked what makes his beef koftas taste so good, “it’s all about the ingredients,†he says.
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Ingersoll, Ontario beef farmer Gord Dribble’s new “fresh air†barn keeps his family’s cattle herd comfortable in any weather. Farmers like Gord are proud to produce quality beef that chefs can depend on. For example, just ask University of Guelph executive sous-chef Andrew Bilyk about his glorious ‘Heaven Can Wait’ meatloaf.
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Owen Roberts is a faculty member in the Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications program at the University of Illinois. As an agricultural journalist, he is the past president of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists and a lifetime achievement award recipient from the Canadian Farm Writers' Federation. His programs and research papers have been recognized nationally and internationally through awards from the Journal of Applied Communications, the National Agri-Marketing Association, the Association for Communications Excellence, and others.