September 24 2009
Canada's cattle herd continues downsizing on low profitability
Poor profitability in the Canadian cattle industry has continued to reduce cattle herd, with mid-year inventory falling 2.3 percent to 14.8 million head as of July 1, 2009, the fourth consecutive yearly decline, according to Canfax.
Reduced returns have occurred due to lower export demand, strong competition, continued market access limitations, higher feed costs and the implementation of the country-of-origin labelling (COOL) in the US.
These factors have resulted in producers reducing their cow herds over the past four years, said Canfax.
Beef cow numbers fell 5.6 percent in the past year to 4.58 million head, the lowest level since 1994.
Beef calf numbers fell 3.4 percent this year, restricting fed cattle supplies. Beef heifers for slaughter increased 3.9 percent while beef replacement heifers decreased 2.5 percent. These indicated that producers do not intend to stabilise or expand herds over the short term.
Canadian cattle on feed in feedlots with 1,000 or more head in the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan fell 8.4 percent on-year to 631,415 head on September 1, down 20.3 percent from two years ago.
Placements in August fell 9.6 percent on-year to 172,322 head.
Canada's cattle exports in the first half of 2009 also decreased 31.7 percent on-year, according to Statistics Canada.
