January 6, 2004
Canadian Cattle Prices Set For 40% Fall
Canadian young cattle prices could fall as much as 40% in the coming days as the US border remains closed.
Cattle buyer Graham Friesen said he's receiving orders from operators dramatically scaling back what they are willing to pay since mad cow disease was detected Dec. 23 in a Washington state dairy cow - an animal tentatively traced to Alberta.
"My orders (show) a drop of 40% from what they were prepared to pay before Christmas - these are fairly big feedlots, the big players," said Friesen, who buys upwards of 10,000 animals a year for feedlots and will be at the first sale of young animals Tuesday in Olds, Alta.
U.S. officials said Monday there will be no decision on resuming live cattle trade with Canada until the United States is finished investigating the latest mad cow case. DNA results were expected back as early as Tuesday that would definitively say if the Holstein is Alberta-born.
"Having the border open for us now is pie in the sky - we've been waiting since last May," said Friesen.
"Who says they're ever going to open the border? Realistically, we need to work with what the market is going to be if the market doesn't open," he said.
"If it opens, great. Maybe we'll make up some of the money we've lost."
Cattle producers brought just 22 older animals to market Monday in High River, Alta. It was one of the few livestock sales since the latest case of the brain wasting disease was discovered. The cattle - all over 30 months - sold for between 13 and 20 cents a pound. Those same animals would have fetched between 18 and 26 cents a pound before Christmas.
Danny Rosehill, co-owner of the Olds Auction Mart in central Alberta, said he expects to see a price drop of up to 20%, but balked at the suggestion buyers will be seeking twice that.
"If that's what they want to pay, they may not have a lot to bid on,"' said Rosehill.
"There may be a lot of people who will keep the cattle at home and say 'We'll wait this out for as long as we can.' "
