Canada's recently-appointed minister of agriculture Lawrence MacAulay met with Alberta minister of agriculture RJ Sigurdson, as well as with stakeholders and industry representatives from national and provincial beef, cattle and crops sectors late last week, to discuss ways to expand exports and the economic growth of the sector, according to a government-issued press release. This is the first in-person meeting of the ministers since their respective ministerial appointments.

During their meeting, MacAulay and Sigurdson discussed priorities for Alberta's agricultural sector, including regional challenges such as drought – reaffirming the importance of working in partnership with industry to encourage proactive participation in federal-provincial-territorial business risk management programs such as AgriStability. The ministers also discussed the importance of coordinating cooperative preparation for issues such as a potential outbreak of African swine fever and maintaining strong international partnerships, including taking advantage of international protocols such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy.

Industry representatives shared their perspectives on opportunities to enhance the resiliency and sustainability of the sector, market opportunities, challenges and priorities for the region, international trade goals and Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership funding priorities and opportunities, as well as the Sustainable Agriculture Strategy. 

During his outreach, MacAulay had the opportunity to tour the Canadian Beef Centre of Excellence and see the results of past federal investments, including new, state-of-the-art digital resources and tools that are essential to expanding international market opportunities for Canadian beef.

Stakeholders also identified opportunities and unique challenges facing their operations and the sector from a producer perspective, and reinforced the importance of support for adopting beneficial on-farm management practices to grow their business, while tackling climate change. They expressed appreciation for federal funding programs such as the On-Farm Climate Action Fund, and shared examples of real-world results of the program.

This is the first ministerial outreach by MacAulay since his reappointment as Canada's minister of agriculture on July 26, 2023.