There appears to be tentative growth in Canada’s livestock herds.
Cattle
Canadian cattle farmers had slightly more than 12.5 million cattle on their farms on Jan. 1, up 0.5 percent from the same date a year earlier.
The herd in the west grew by one percent and in the eastern provinces it fell by one percent.
The inventory of beef cows in Canada fell by one percent to 4.2 million head, continuing a downward trend that started in January 2006.
However, the inventory of beef replacement heifers increased by 4.3 percent to 554,300 head.
There were about 1.4 million dairy cows and heifers on farms, roughly unchanged from last year at the same time.
In 2011, cattle and calf slaughter totaled 3.5 million head, down 7.5 percent from 2010 and down 6.5 percent from 2009.
There were an estimated 689,300 head of cattle and calves exported in 2011, down 35.2 percent from 2010 and 35.4 percent below the level of 2009.
Hogs
The hog inventory as of Jan. 1, was 12 million head, up 1.1 percent from the same time last year.
There were 1.3 million sows and gilts reported, down fractionally from a year ago and 1.3 percent less than at the start of 2010.
The largest percentage gain was in Saskatchewan where the herd grew by 15.5 percent over the year. British Columbia’s small herd grew by 12.7 percent, Alberta’s grew by one percent and Manitoba by 0.4 percent.
The eastern herd fell by 0.4 percent.
Domestic hog slaughter totaled 21.3 million head in 2011, down 0.1 percent from 2010. Hog slaughter in the fourth quarter of 2011 was up 2.4 percent from the same quarter in 2010.
Hog exports were reported at 5.8 million head in 2011, up 1.3 percent from 2010 but 8.4 percent below exports in 2009 and 41.8 percent below 2007.
Sheep
The number of sheep on Canadian farms increased to 828,600 head as of Jan. 1, up two percent.
All provinces except Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador saw increases.
Total sheep and lamb slaughter in Canada was 698,800 head in 2011, a decline of 2.1 percent from 2010.
Exports of sheep and lambs rose to 9,800 head in 2011 from 1,400 in 2010.
