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The Bovine by Alberta Beef Producers
Join our hosts as they interview researchers, ranchers, ABP delegates and staff, chefs, nutritionists, and others all along the beef supply chain. You’ll hear content as diverse as the guests who bring it – from cooking beef to managing pastureland, the latest tech to great entertainment, cattle markets to weather predictions, and more. You'll feel motivated to level up your farm management, try new recipes, and perhaps find some entertainment for a long drive.
The Bovine by Alberta Beef Producers
Tyler Fulton on CCA Priorities and Industry Leadership
How do you lead 60,000 cattle operations and still make time for TikTok?
Tyler Fulton might have the answer.
Kara Mastel sits down with the newly minted President of the Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) to talk about his whirlwind entry into the role, what it’s like balancing a cow-calf operation while representing ranchers on the national stage, and why trade advocacy and producer engagement are more important than ever.
From urgent trade talks in Washington to grassroots outreach via social media, Tyler shares how relationships — not just regulations — drive the beef industry forward.
Listen For:
5:03 Taking the reins during a trade war
7:27 Why building trust matters more than logic in policy advocacy
9:10 Engaging producers through social media
13:09 Trade as the industry's existential challenge
16:20 Why now is both the most profitable and riskiest time for beef
22:59 U.S. remains irreplaceable, even with tariffs
24:54 Tyler’s advice to young producers: network and speak up
GUEST: TYLER FULTON
Tyler, the current President of CCA, became involved with the organization through his work with the Manitoba Beef Producers. He advocates for cattle farmers and ranchers, emphasizing their role in sustainable food production and aiming to improve Business Risk Management programs in Canada. Tyler, along with his wife Dorelle and their children, operates Tyton Farm Ltd near Birtle, Manitoba, managing 600 cow-calf pairs and a small backgrounding lot. Their farm spans about 5,500 acres, integrating hay, corn, and grain production with their cattle operation.
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Kara Mastel (00:14):
Hi. Hey. Hello. Whatever your preferred greeting is, I can never seem to choose, but anyways, look at me. Digressing right off the hop. Welcome back to another episode of the Bovine podcast, brought to you by Alberta Beef Producers. I'm your host, Kara Mastel, and as always, I am so happy to be here. In March, 2025, the Canadian Cattle Association held its annual general meeting in Ottawa, Ontario, where Tyler Fulton was elected as the new president, born and raised in Manitoba. Tyler now runs the family operation there with his wife and children. Today I am joined by Tyler to talk about the whirlwind of the last few months and what his goals are as he dives into a role leading a national organization. Tyler, thanks for taking the time here to join me on the bovine today. I always enjoy the opportunity to catch up with you. I guess first and foremost, before we start off here, congratulations on the role. I know you're excited to take on the challenges facing cattle producers, but before we dive into all the challenges and opportunities, can you tell me a bit about
Tyler Fulton (01:22):
Yourself? Sure, yeah. I was born and raised on a cow-calf operation in Western Manitoba. After I graduated from high school, I went to University of Manitoba and got a degree in agribusiness and then wanted to get into the field of risk management and wanted a job that gave me some trading opportunities as quickly as I could. So at the time there were some jobs available in the pork sector, and so I started working for a pork marketing cooperative. Quickly kind of moved into the role of director of risk management, moved to kind of a halftime position. I've maintained that, but over the last 20 years since I've been back on the farm, so we moved back in 2007 and my wife, well, Darrell and our kids have lived exclusively on the ranch and grown the herd that I was raised with by about double.
Kara Mastel (02:24):
So was that the move that got you kind of wanting to get back more into cow politics specifically if you were more on the pork side for a while?
Tyler Fulton (02:32):
Yeah, I mean, I'd had some different voluntary roles with the different organizations, the community development corporation and the local school board, and I just wanted to get a little bit more focused on egg and in particular cattle. And so my dad had had some experience in cow politics 30 years ago and kind of encouraged. He thought that I would like it. And so yeah, I got into that in Manitoba, and then as things go slippery slope, you get looped in and move to the national level, the Canadian Catalyst Association, and so been sitting as a director with A CCA for I think five years now,
Kara Mastel (03:23):
And then suddenly you're leading the whole darn thing.
Tyler Fulton (03:26):
Yes, it's crazy how that can happen. It does not seem like five years, but pretty feel pretty fortunate that I've got the confidence of the board to do that, and it's some mighty big shoes to fill too. There's always a lot going on and there's just such a legacy there that I want to maintain.
Kara Mastel (03:50):
Did you go to school for agriculture? Was that something that was in your post-secondary stream as well?
Tyler Fulton (03:56):
Yeah, so ag business degree at University of Manitoba and always had a preference for livestock related side of agriculture. We do have a bit of a mixed farm. We crop about a little over a thousand acres, but for the most part we're pretty focused on it as a 650 head cow calf operation. Yeah, I would say that my specific interests have always been more on the cattle side. I love that work, just using the natural environment to earn your living, and I think it really breeds a level of resilience into ranchers and beef operators that is unique across agriculture.
Kara Mastel (04:48):
So let's take a shift here and look at CCA directly. Obviously, you come into this position and you have some visions for what could come. What's your vision for the CCA during your time?
Tyler Fulton (05:03):
Well, I mean, let's frame this, right. I moved into the role in the middle of March, right in the middle of the tariff threats and a developing trade war. So within a week I was in Washington meeting with congressmen in that capacity and just ensuring the message that the beef industry is a North American fully integrated North American market and that the benefits accrue to American and Canadian ranchers and farmers alike. That was the message, and we were really advocating, I think, to lean on the uzma agreement that was already in place that beef was already compliant for. And so the following week when the tariffs were announced broadly for all of the world, I was really happy to see that there was some recognition for that. It's impossible to know really the influence that we had, but what I can say is for years, obviously trade has been a top priority for CCA and maintaining the relationship and staying aligned with our US counterparts in the states and CBA is just such a critical component to that. We need to ensure that we maintain those relationships and stay aligned because we are just so reliant on trade with 50% of the production in Canada going as export for either live cattle or beef. You can expect that that's going to be a main focus for everything that we do.
Kara Mastel (07:08):
And talk about the importance of, like you said, there's all these things happening at once, but talk about the importance of making the time to get a seat at the table and grow these relationships so that when things like this happen, you're able to go there and say, Hey, okay, don't forget Canada.
Tyler Fulton (07:27):
Yeah, can't, honestly, I overlook that coming in and not having a ton of experience previously. I think one thinks that you can just make a logical argument and that's enough, but the problem is you can't get the meetings that you need with the decision makers. You don't if you don't previously have the relationships. And further to that, you don't have the level of trust that you need in order to convey some of these nuanced issues and concerns if you haven't been there year after year after year. And so I overlooked, I think the importance of that and is probably, I think probably one of the most critical things that CCA does over the decades that it's been advocating for beef farmers and ranchers is just simply maintaining and growing those relationships to ensure that we have a seat at the table and that when we speak it comes with credibility.
Kara Mastel (08:45):
Yeah, it's one thing to speak, but another to be actually heard, which is like you said, a really important part of that relationship building. And while we're on the topic of relationship building, let's shift here and talk about also with the producer. I know one of your focuses too, I know you've been doing a lot of social media stuff and really trying to talk to the producer. Do you want to talk a bit about that too?
Tyler Fulton (09:10):
Yeah, no, I'd love to. So I think it's a struggle. It's tough to juggle all of the balls. We're all trying to maintain our own operations. We have all these different issues that pop up, and sometimes we overlook that connection back to the people that we're advocating for. And I think I would've been one to say, oh, we can trust that they get what we're doing and that we're motivated by the right things because that's just the reputation. And so we should focus the time on these other relationships, but that's just not the world that we live in. Social media really has changed the dynamic there. And if you're not engaged and sharing what you're doing, then it's really a struggle to convey the importance of your work. And so I think I've tried to be a little bit more engaged that way. Let's be honest, there's 60,000 beef cattle operations across the country.
(10:29):
It's not reasonable for me to speak to everybody, but if I can lend a little bit of credibility just by taking a short video on my farm and talking about the importance of trade, then I'll do that. And I am now two months into this job. I'm really hoping that I can maintain that and really always encourage producers to reach out and call and make those connections. So it is a desire of mine. The other consideration here is that I want to show value for money right across the country. CCA collects 53 cents on every animal that's sold. Now, some of those funds are refunded, but the provincial organizations are still submitting those to CCA to fund what we do to fund this advocacy work. And so it's really important that I get back to the grassroots producers and say, this is why it's important, and we can't do it without that assessment, that 53 cents. And so that's important now, but things aren't getting any cheaper and it's getting more expensive. And so if we're not actively sharing the value that we bring the industry, then we can't expect to be able to ask for more if we don't have a track record.
Kara Mastel (12:19):
And I think there's something to be said there too, about reminding the people on social media that are watching that you're human too. I think sometimes we can all get caught up in titles and, okay, you're leading this whole big organization, but also you're somebody that's running an operation too, and you get it.
Tyler Fulton (12:37):
Yeah. I think that's the hope is that I'm no different than anybody else. I am dedicating some time away from my operation, and what I hope is that guys will give me the benefit of the doubt that I'm motivated to advocate on behalf of the whole industry.
Kara Mastel (13:01):
So currently right now, trade probably one of the biggest challenges facing the cattle producer.
Tyler Fulton (13:09):
Yeah. Yeah, a hundred percent. When you think about it on all of our top issues, so much of it is motivated by trade. And so I mentioned the US advocacy work and meeting with US lawmakers. That's one aspect, and that's not done, but it also connects back to the work relating to market access issues. I'll bring up what is another key priority right now. It's very current, and that's the bovine TB investigation that's developed in Saskatchewan. Most people just kind of overlook the fact that we need to do these things in order to maintain our market access to the United States and to other countries around the world. And so when there's a struggle or delay or there needs to be improvements into that system, and there many, we need to be there doing that work because if we lose access, then it is an existential crisis in the beef industry that 50%, 50% of our production doesn't have a home.
Kara Mastel (14:39):
And I think that's a very, very important point there too, that it's not just about growing that market access. We talk about different opportunities and maybe there are some opportunities, but it's about maintaining too.
Tyler Fulton (14:52):
Yeah, yeah, so much so absolutely. Further to that, the way I look at it right now, when you see the market values that are available for all classes of cattle, whether you're talking calves or grasses or feeder cattle or fat cattle, man, what an incredible time that we are in now. The beef industry in Canada has easily overtaken the top category in agriculture for top farm cash receipts. And so there is just so much opportunity there, and it's just so fun to be part of the industry at a time like this. But by the same token, it comes with just exceptional risk. The value of cattle that feedlots are, for example, buying in today elevates that level of risk to a point that we have never previously seen. And the volatility in the market, whether it be trade related or any disease related aspects just has never really been higher.
(16:20):
And so as kind of part of that process and managing all of the components of it, we need to make sure that we have the tools in place to be able to take advantage of the market opportunity that's in front of us. And so that includes improvements to agri stability and an increase to the cap on agri stability and specifically actually cost shared premiums for livestock price insurance. I think we need across all of agriculture, I think we need to move to a more industry led proactive programs that address the uniqueness of each of the sectors of agriculture and for the cattle industry, I think livestock price insurance is a perfect example of that, that if we had a comparable cost sharing of the premium that for example, crop insurance has, I think it would be an absolute game changer to the growth and trajectory of our industry and our herd.
Kara Mastel (17:43):
Absolutely. And that proactive versus reactive is huge. How have you had that conversation in Ottawa? Is that something that regularly happens as well? You say, okay, we're trying to get ahead of this.
Tyler Fulton (17:55):
Yeah. We've advocated for cost shared premiums on livestock price insurance for a number of years now. And in knowing that I'm going to be sitting down with some new government cabinet ministers over the next couple of days, I think that this message very much resonates in this very volatile market, but also with the government, the federal government goals that are focused on productivity and economic growth. I think that you give, if you support the industry with the tools that they know work for them, that it can only feed into greater prosperity, not only for our sector, but across all of rural Canada and by extension all of Canada.
Kara Mastel (19:04):
And speaking of tools, are there any emerging opportunities that you believe could really benefit cattle producers?
Tyler Fulton (19:11):
Well, I think the market is just so hot right now that it's been hard to be in the cattle business and not do well, but let's be absolutely clear here. The market doesn't rise forever. It's exceptionally risky environment right now. And so I think utilizing these risk management tools has got to be, I view it as an opportunity. What's different now, for example, for agri stability and livestock price insurance is that we actually have something, we have some margins to protect. And for the last 20 years, we really struggled with such a low margin hangover from BSE that you could never rationalize spending a bunch of money on tools that were not because you were just in such cost management mode. But that's not the scenario we find ourself in now. We have to switch gears and really try to move the needle to get more farmers and beef farmers and ranchers engage on ag stability. The fundamental difference here is that there's margins here now, and if we get guys enrolling again, I think it's going to be a much more effective program than what all of us had the experience of 10 or 15 or 20 years ago,
Kara Mastel (21:01):
If there's any way we can learn from what happened. That's incredible. And speaking of not just looking backwards, let's take a look forwards. What are you looking forward to within the CCA?
Tyler Fulton (21:18):
There's always emerging market opportunities. We're seeing great feedback from beef buyers in Asia, in particular, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, these emerging markets, they represent material improvement material increases in volume. Further to that, there's still our go-tos in Asia with Japan and Korea. They are a phenomenal opportunity, especially with a desire and a focus to diversify some of that risk. But I want to make it clear for so many products, the US is, even if we were experiencing a tariff of 25%, there's still so many products that would still end up flowing to the United States because they are the benchmark top market for beef, and you can't fight economics that way. And I think it's those principles and those principles of a free and open market that CCA really espouses that allows us the long-term reputation to say, this is why free and open trade matters.
Kara Mastel (22:59):
And speaking of reputation, talk about the strength Canadian beef holds at the table there.
Tyler Fulton (23:09):
From a North American market standpoint, we're at a time when we are very pinched for supply, and I think our US counterparts understand that there is advantages to both parties. We're both better off if we can see cattle moving in two directions based on where the available feed resources are or for the products like 50 CL beef trim that we have in abundance here. There's a market there in the United States that need it for their ground beef for their hamburger, and without it, they would be paying more. And so there is such a complimentary relationship there that I think North American participants in the beef industry have that understanding that you can't have one without the other. If you introduce barriers to that two-way flow, then everybody pays more in terms of the consumer side, sorry.
Kara Mastel (24:38):
So any advice for maybe young producers that are looking to either enter the industry in general or get involved in, whether it's a producer group or a national organization?
Tyler Fulton (24:54):
Oh, wow. Yeah, there's some great, I mean, cattle I think leads agriculture. I think in some of our youth programming, whether it be the Canadian Cattle Youth Council or the Young Leaders Program, we've been really blessed with some awesome applicants. And I think that it's that networking don't overlook. I guess there's two things that come to mind in terms of advice to young producers. Don't overlook the value of networking because it really does pay dividends back on your own farm. And personally, those connections are really what make all of this so much fun and make our industry just that much more resilient. So that would be one thing I would say. The second thing is whenever you sit in a board meeting or you have an opportunity to ask some questions, don't stay silent. Just ask the questions, drill everybody that you can to learn more. And I think that we're all better off if we have engaged producers, especially young producers, that are willing to speak up and reveal a little bit. Sometimes by asking a question, it reveals a little bit of ignorance or that you are not totally up to speed on something, but it's actually in doing that, that it connects you with others by even coming off a little vulnerable. It just connects you more closely with others. And that's, I think, such a positive thing.
(26:57):
I never would've said that. I would say this I think 10 or 15 years ago, but it's all about the relationships at the end of the day. And without them, I think we've got an industry that really struggles, but it's something that I hold up very high.
Kara Mastel (27:16):
Well, and like you said, embracing that vulnerability, we've all been there. We've all been that person that feels like they're the least knowledgeable at the table, and I think you can learn so much when you're in that position.
Tyler Fulton (27:30):
Yeah, yeah. Really truly feel that way.
Kara Mastel (27:32):
And it's amazing how though, as we grow and change how perspectives maybe change there too, and you realize we're all just figuring it out as well.
Tyler Fulton (27:41):
Yep, a hundred percent. I feel like I am just more aware of how little, little I know now versus where I was 10 years ago where I thought I was probably a bit of a know-it-all, and I've got 10 more years experience on me, and I know a lot more than I did then. So what was I thinking?
Kara Mastel (28:06):
And it's amazing really though how small, there's so many different facets of agriculture, but how small the industry really is when it comes to that relationship building. And we all say the importance of not burning those bridges, but also you never know that one random person you're talking to at a farm show is suddenly leading the CA and you're like, that was a cool relationship to make.
Tyler Fulton (28:29):
Yeah, yeah. No, a hundred percent. It's whatever, the six degrees of separation. Well, in Canadian agriculture, I think we're talking two degrees at best, and you can make those connections because we all have rural, that rural background that is, that links us that I think gives us credibility when we meet new people, and I hope that we never change.
Kara Mastel (29:04):
At the end of the day, we're all going to want to know what the weather's like wherever the other person's located.
Tyler Fulton (29:09):
Yep, exactly.
Kara Mastel (29:11):
Okay. Well, is there any other messages you would like to send to producers before I let you go here today?
Tyler Fulton (29:16):
I'll reiterate the fact that I want to state that we can't take our eye off the ball with respect to how much we rely on trade. It connects to almost everything that CCA does, whether it be the US advocacy work or the traceability work or any of the science-based initiatives that we have. All of that is just about maintaining and gaining market access. And I feel proud that we have that culture that sometimes it gets overlooked when you're on your own place and you're focused on ensuring that calves stay alive during calving season or what have you. So I think I'll leave that as just the final thought, that it's important that we don't lose sight of how reliant we are of trade.
Kara Mastel (30:20):
Absolutely. Great note to end on. Okay. Thank you very much for your time, and of course, again, congratulations. We look forward to seeing you in your term at the CCA.
Tyler Fulton (30:30):
Appreciate it. Thanks, Kara.
Kara Mastel (30:41):
Thanks again for tuning into another episode of the Bovine podcast. Okay. It's time for me to jump onto my soapbox here quickly and remind you to check in with both your physical and mental health. It's a busy season, and pardon the cliche here, but it's very hard to pour from an empty cup. I have a friend who likes to say there's always a lot of balls to juggle, but you have to remember which ones are glass and which ones are plastic. The plastic ones you can drop and you can pick back up the glass ones. Well, as you can imagine, they will break when you drop them. So just remember which ones are which, and know some of the balls are always going to be plastic. You've got this. As always, if you have any questions or feedback, don't hesitate to reach out either through ADP's social channels, or you can reach me on my email kara m@albertabeef.org. Until next time, how about Let's just ignore the weeds on the front lawn and go for a walk instead. It'll help, I promise. Okay. Bye for now.
