Canadian farmers reported fewer cattle and calves on the farm, said a Statistics Canada livestock inventory report.
“It absolutely doesn’t surprise us,” said Andrea Brocklebank, research manager with Canfax, the research arm of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association.
The report estimated 15.2 million head of cattle on farms, a decline of 4.3 percent from last year and continuing a downward trend that began in 2006.
The beef herd dropped 4.8 percent and the dairy herd declined 1.2 percent.
Brocklebank said they’ve known cow slaughter has been at record high numbers and heifers are going into feedlots and not staying on the farm for breeding.
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The surprise was an expansion of the beef herd in 2004 and 2005 despite economic signals that should have encouraged farmers to reduce their herds. But today’s strong Canadian dollar and high feed grain prices are signs few can ignore.
The beef cow inventory was down 4.7 percent and the number of calves born fell 4.8 percent from a year ago, despite an improving calving rate since the BSE crisis in 2003.
With the increase in coarse grain prices, the number of cattle in feeding operations has declined 12.3 percent since last summer.
Over the past two years, the number of farms reporting cattle and calves has stabilized at 107,000 operations, following a loss of 8,500 cattle farms during the past three years.
Brocklebank said it’s important to look beyond Canada’s borders. While other cattle-producing countries were more profitable in the BSE-affected years, this past year all countries have seen herds contract slightly or stay steady.
High grain prices have affected American cattle producers and the U.S. herd has declined slightly. A combination of drought and high feed grain prices caused Australian herds to shrink, especially for feed grain-fed cattle.
Brazil has also seen a reduction in numbers because of drought and feed grain prices.
“We’re actually following a global trend.”
On the flip side, lower herd numbers will likely mean higher beef prices in future and improved profitability for Canada, she said.
