FAO joins Canadian ranchers to mark International Year of Rangelands
Alberta ranch tour highlights grasslands' role in food security
17 July 2026
1 minute read
By: A delegation from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, including the director general, joined Canadian ranchers, conservation groups and government representatives on a ranch tour in southern Alberta on July 14, marking the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, the Canadian Cattle Association announced.
The Alberta leg was the first part of the North American Grazing Lands Congress, with the second portion hosted in Utah by the US Roundtable for Sustainable Beef. The tour began at the UNESCO World Heritage Site Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, where attendees learned about the role of bison and Indigenous peoples in shaping North American grasslands, before visiting the South Porcupine Ranch and the Waldron Ranch Grazing Co-operative.
Native grasslands are among Canada's most endangered ecosystems, with ranchers managing vast areas that provide habitat for hundreds of species while storing carbon and protecting watersheds.
"Canadian beef cattle farmers and ranchers are critical to preserving grassland ecosystems that house numerous species at risk, capture carbon, and support the production of high-quality protein in the form of beef," said Tyler Fulton, president of the Canadian Cattle Association.
"Ranchers have been long-term caretakers for grazing lands in North America," said Samantha Werth, executive director of the US Roundtable for Sustainable Beef. "Preserving these ecosystems and producing protein for our growing population offer a service to society that should be recognized and supported."
The United Nations General Assembly declared 2026 the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists to raise awareness of the economic, environmental and social importance of rangelands and the people who steward them.
