The Canadian cattle herd has declined by more than two percent, according to the most recent Statistics Canada report released Aug. 20.
Statistics Canada said there were 13 million cattle on 82,050 farms as on July 1, down 2.1 percent from July 1, 2014, continuing a decline in the size of the national herd. The total inventory of cattle and calves on July 1, 2015, was 23 percent below its peak level recorded in 2005. However, prices have gone up more than 80 percent in the last five years.
The number of beef cows fell 3.4 percent from July 1, 2014, to 3.8 million head, while the number of beef heifers held for breeding edged down 0.6 percent year over year to 612,600 head.
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The statistics report said there are a limited number of animals to go to market as the herd size declined. Slaughter decreased 13.5 percent to 1.4 million head compared with the first six months of 2014.
The hog industry reported some expansion at 1.1 percent. There are 13.2 million hogs on 6,995 farms. It is estimated there are 1.2 million sows and gilts, a slight increase over last year.
Hog slaughter increased during the first six months of 2015 by nearly three percent from 2014 when 10.5 million were killed.
Canada exported 2.8 million hogs in the first half of 2015, up 17.8 percent from the same period in 2014.
The sheep population fell 2.1 percent to 1.1 million head. Market lamb numbers were down and there are fewer breeding ewes. Replacement lambs fell three percent compared with the same date in 2014.
There were 1.4 million dairy cows and heifers, down 2.2 percent from July 1, 2014.
Contact barbara.duckworth@producer.com
