When Larry Schweitzer went looking for ways to make his Manitoba farm more profitable, his attention was drawn to cattle.
The demise of the Crow Benefit grain transportation subsidy had made shipping his grain more costly, and Schweitzer found it was “getting tough to make things match up.”
As the owner of a mixed farm near Hamiota, Schweitzer decided his best option was to increase his number of cattle on feed. Others shared that sentiment, resulting in a new feedlot company forged among seven partners.
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“This looked like a pretty viable thing for us to do,” said Schweitzer, who is now president of Hamiota Feedlot Ltd. “We wanted to get a better return on our acres.”
Landscaping is under way for the feedlot, which will handle up to 5,000 head. The feedlot should be ready for its first shipment of cattle in September, Schweitzer said.
The Hamiota venture is one of many that may beef up Manitoba’s feedlot industry this year. A growing number of farmers are opting to put feed grains through their livestock rather than ship it to market.
That trend is evident throughout the province, said Dave Stewart of the Manitoba Cattle Producers Association.
Stewart, who chairs the association’s feedlot committee, doesn’t expect to see many large-scale feedlots launched here during the next couple of years. But several smaller lots are expanding and new ones are appearing.
“I think you’re seeing a little added interest all over,” Stewart said.
Allan Preston travels throughout Manitoba as manager of veterinary field services for Manitoba Agriculture. Through his work with producers, he also sees a resurgence of feedlots.
Because of low feed costs and ample affordable land, he believes Manitoba is well positioned to increase its number of cattle on feed.
“There’s a lot more interest now than there was a few years ago,” he said. “I think our time is about due to see our industry expand.”
Heartland Livestock, headquartered in Regina, shares that point of view. The company has formed a partnership with Borderland Ventures, with plans to build a 10,000-head feedlot near Russell, Man.
Borderland represents a group of people in the Russell area who banded together in the mid-1990s to pursue an ethanol plant for their community. That goal was eventually expanded to include ethanol and gluten production, as well as a feedlot.
Heartland isn’t interested in an ethanol venture, but it’s taking a serious look at the feasibility of a major feedlot near Russell.
“We’re in the process of doing our final evaluations,” said John LaClare, Heartland’s chief operating officer. “We’re very hopeful it’ll go forward.”
Heartland, owned by Saskatchewan Wheat Pool and Manitoba Pool Elevators, wants to establish six to eight major feedlots on the Prairies in the next few years. The goal, said LaClare, is to establish those ventures by partnering with interested communities.
Finding that kind of partnership shouldn’t be a challenge. Heartland has had numerous enquiries from people interested in feedlot operations, LaClare said. Some are simply curious, while others are serious about pursuing a venture.
“We’ve always believed that feedlots in Saskatchewan and Manitoba were viable operations,” LaClare said. “I think there are more communities now seeing the same type of opportunity.”
