Ranch tour highlights Manitoba beef cattle farmers' contributions to food production, climate resilience, and wildlife habitat
WINNIPEG, MB, Aug. 24, 2026 /CNW/ -- Ranchers, policymakers, influencers, media, conservation organizations, and industry leaders gathered this week to celebrate the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP). The group toured two Manitoba beef cattle farms, highlighting the critical role Canadian beef cattle farmers play in food security and environmental stewardship.
Hosted by Public and Stakeholder Engagement, a division of the Canadian Cattle Association, in partnership with Manitoba Beef Producers, the event brought participants onto the landscape to see firsthand how farmers are stewarding lands that support food production, wildlife habitat, biodiversity and rural communities. Sponsorship for the event was provided by the Canadian Forage and Grasslands Association and Ducks Unlimited Canada.
The tour introduced participants to Scott and Janine Duguid and family of Loch Wood Farm near Arnes, as well as Laura and Ryan Plett of Sawmill Creek Livestock at Stead. Participants learned about both families' thoughtful and multi-generational stewardship of the land in their care as modern day pastoralists in two unique Manitoba ecosystems. Between farm stops, the tour also visited the Ducks Unlimited Interpretive Centre at Oak Hammock Marsh, hearing how conservation organizations partner with local ranchers to preserve critical wildlife habitat.
According to the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef's 2024 National Beef Sustainability Assessment, when considering all of Canada's crop and pastureland, land used for beef production contributes the majority of critical habitat that wildlife need for reproduction (74%) and feeding (55%). The study also revealed that land used for beef production, of which 84% is pasture, is estimated to hold 1.9 billion tonnes of soil organic carbon – this is roughly equivalent to the annual emissions from over two billion cars. By stewarding these important landscapes, beef cattle farmers in Manitoba and across the country play a critical role in climate resilience and biodiversity.
"As an Indigenous woman, I feel we can relate to ranchers through a shared sense of responsibility," said The Honourable Rebecca Chartrand, Minister of Northern and Arctic Affairs and Member of Parliament for Churchill-Keewatinook Aski, who spoke during the event. "We share a common goal to protect the precious land in our care. Working together with beef farmers, we can create solutions to improve food security in the North while also preserving the important ecosystems that support us."
Tour attendees learned how local ranchers adapt management practices to highly variable weather conditions to optimize soil and plant health. Beef cattle farmers use cattle to introduce grazing to grassland ecosystems that rely on this influence to optimize habitat and encourage root growth, in turn capturing carbon. At the same time, they generate a high-quality protein source for humans.
For host ranchers Scott and Janine Duguid and Laura and Ryan Plett, the event was an opportunity to showcase their families' legacies captured in the land in their care.
" Cattle pasture is not in competition with wildlife habitat," said Laura Plett. "They are the same thing. We enjoy seeing the ecosystem grow healthier year after year as a sign of our contributions to the land that's supported our family for generations."
"We focus on increasing diversity," said Scott Duguid. "By adapting and changing our management practices to the conditions, we seem to be providing better habitat for cattle, but also for wildlife, insects, and the soil. Our kids are the next generation learning how to care for the land and cattle together in the best way we can."
The International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists was declared by the United Nations General Assembly to raise awareness of the economic, environmental and social importance of rangelands and the people who steward them. In Canada, the initiative serves as a platform to educate the public, celebrate stewardship successes and advance policies that support both ranchers and the landscapes they manage.
About the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists
The United Nations General Assembly declared 2026 the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP) to increase awareness of the value of rangelands and the people who steward them. Rangelands cover more than half of the Earth's land surface and provide essential benefits including food production, wildlife habitat, biodiversity conservation, carbon storage, water regulation and support for rural livelihoods.
SOURCE Canadian Cattle Association
Media Contact: Amie Peck, Public and Stakeholder Engagement, 403-615-9432, [email protected]
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