Ont Ag Week Series: Y U Ranch on Why Agriculture Matters to Ontario
Posted: October 3, 2016
Categories: GoodFoodBites / News from Sustain Members
Bryan and Cathy with their cattle. Taken by ©Laura Berman, GreenFuse Photography
Sustain Ontario is celebrating Ontario Agriculture Week by talking with some of our valued members about the importance of agriculture and the impact of their work in the province.
For our first #OntAgWeek Series blog post, we spoke with Bryan Gilvesy of Y U Ranch, an award-winning farm in Tillsonburg that raises Texas longhorn cattle under natural range (grass-fed) conditions.
Why does Agriculture matter to Ontario?
B.G: I believe agriculture in Ontario offers the greatest opportunities for sustainability, for environmental improvement, for economic growth, and for social growth through stronger urban and rural connections. Through agriculture we can work toward better health outcomes, tackle both food security and insecurity, and improve environmental wellness – for our Great Lakes, for adaptation to climate change and for increasing biodiversity.
What does Y U Ranch bring to the agricultural landscape of Ontario?
B.G: We like to think we bring a fresh approach to agriculture. We look at issues in food production through a different lens. Our doors are open to providing opportunity for experience and learning.
As a proud advocate of sustainable agriculture, Y U Ranch continuously reviews, modifies and improves techniques with the view to push the envelope on how sustainable we can become with our Agro-ecological model. Read more here on their website.
What is the importance of meat production for agriculture in Ontario?
B.G: Meat production in Ontario provides a great opportunity to help rehabilitate our natural environment. We do this, for example, by using, planting and nourishing more grasslands in the province. And with that, we see many benefits: erosion control, reduced nutrients in the Great Lakes, better soil health, more carbon sequestration, and improved overall agricultural resilience.
Thank you to Bryan and Y U Ranch for taking the time to chat with us and highlighting some of the vast opportunities that are found within the agriculture sector.
Happy Ontario Agriculture Week!