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  4. Livestock – Video Library

Livestock – Video Library

  • Back to Roots Farm – Depth of Field (https://youtu.be/TaA_SYq-faE?si=Z5WsQtnfEDlBmaaw)
    • Back to Roots Farm is a family-owned, natural based farm cultivating mixed vegetables, free-range goats and laying hens for eggs on 78 acres. They believe in reconnecting people with their food source and the importance of regenerative farming models, such as rotational grazing, which creates a balanced ecosystem on the farm. 
    • The NFU has teamed up with award-winning documentary filmmakers of March Forth Creative Inc. to produce and present Depth of Field: Films About Farming–a series of short documentaries featuring individual farm stories across Canada with a focus on sustainable agriculture. To view more films about livestock producers and other farmers, visit https://www.nfu.ca/filmsaboutfarming/
  • Farmers Confronting Concentration with Julia Smith on Small Scale Meat Production (https://youtu.be/ageaefUHtsE)
    • November 2022
    • Julia Smith is a member of the NFU Livestock Committee who also serves as the Executive Director and Project Manager of BC’s Small-Scale Meat Producers Association. She is a determined and outspoken advocate for decentralizing food systems, and meat production in particular. 
  • Managed Grazing: A Grassroots Tool in our Climate Change Toolbox (https://youtu.be/r34Kj2oJSUw)
    • January 13, 2022
    • NFU members Lydia Carpenter (MB) and Paul Slomp (QC) share their in-the-field experiences and analyses regarding grazing, grass management, soil building, climate adaptation, resilience, and livestock-production economics. A deep dive into how grass, grazing, soil, nutrients, and animals can be key parts of whole-system agricultural climate solutions. An inspiring session from two NFU farmer leaders!
  • Davey Creek Ranch – Depth of Field (https://youtu.be/BEcETxizJmA?si=0JIRgPFYOoB2_wza)
    • Davey Creek Ranch is a farm in South Central Alberta owned and operated by Glenn and Patricia Norman. It was originally a cow/calf operation that grew all of its own feed but, faced with decades of low cattle prices and aging operators, things needed to change. So about 10 years ago they remade the farm as a direct marketing operation. They reduced their cow numbers and elected to market finished farm raised beef directly to consumers. They also produce and market quality hay and honey.
    • The NFU has teamed up with award-winning documentary filmmakers of March Forth Creative Inc. to produce and present Depth of Field: Films About Farming–a series of short documentaries featuring individual farm stories across Canada with a focus on sustainable agriculture. To view more films about livestock producers and other farmers, visit https://www.nfu.ca/filmsaboutfarming/
  • Taking Stock of Abattoir Regulations | NFU 2021 Convention (https://youtu.be/ui_dz936jDc)
    • November 2021
    • Tim Dowling co-manages 80 head of grass-fed beef cattle calving-to-finish on Howe Island, Ontario. He focuses on managed rotational grazing to enhance soil life and animal productivity. He previously served as the NFU’s National Livestock Committee chairperson and a member of the abattoir working group in Region 3 (Ontario).
  • Who benefits from “fake meats”? Silicone Valley and the Future of Farming (https://youtu.be/BAHdPx8QzbQ)
    • April 29, 2021
    • Elisabeth Abergel is a professor in the Sociology Department and at the Institute of Environmental Science at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). Her talk critically assesses the field of cellular agriculture and questions its health, animal welfare, and climate mitigation claims. What does the expansion of animal replacement products imply for Canadian farmers? Cliquez ici pour la version française. (https://youtu.be/A-olqMJ_aL4)
  • Black Sheep Farm – Depth of Field (https://youtu.be/hLKF-BIXv9A?si=wGVzfxNbkrImtVg7)
    • Black Sheep Farm is an agroecological farm, run by Brenda Hsueh and Skyler Radojkovic. They raise sheep on pasture, using intensive managed grazing, to maximize the soil building effects of ruminants, while producing meat and fibre from grass and sunlight. They want to see farming become the climate crisis saviour it should be, building soils, sequestering carbon, being a moisture sponge, increasing biodiversity, all while feeding people without exploiting themselves or the people they work with.
    • The NFU has teamed up with award-winning documentary filmmakers of March Forth Creative Inc. to produce and present Depth of Field: Films About Farming–a series of short documentaries featuring individual farm stories across Canada with a focus on sustainable agriculture. To view more films about livestock producers and other farmers, visit https://www.nfu.ca/filmsaboutfarming/
  • Mooove over Cargill! | NFU 2020 Convention (https://youtu.be/sB76tDTT7RU)
    • November 2020

Corporate consolidation in the livestock sector has made things worse for farmers, workers, consumers, and the ecosystem. Speaker Devlin Kuyek will look at how Canada’s livestock and meat system changed from a dispersed, regional, Canadian-owned sector to the highly concentrated, foreign owned system we have today – and the impacts this change has had. Tony McQuail will explain how livestock plays a role in ecological food systems today. And together, webinar participants will discuss and envision a better future for farmers, workers, consumers, animals, and the environment – and propose new policy ideas that can take us towards a vision of agroecology and food sovereignty for Canada.