LETHBRIDGE – Jim Hines decided to park his combine for a day earlier this month so he could sell his crop of Hereford calves in Lethbridge.
The commercial cow-calf producer from Dewberry in northeastern Alberta sent more than 250 calves to the British Influence sale on Oct. 18 and won a trophy and a $250 cheque for offering the best liner load.
His calves earned him $1.20 to $1.40 per pound, indicating a return to optimism in the industry after two years of BSE uncertainty and closed borders.
“We got through it but it’s been a struggle for everyone,” he said.
Read Also
VIDEO: How to check your feed mixer’s efficiency
Dwayne Summach, livestock and feed extension specialist with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, showed visitors at Ag in Motion 2025 how to use the Penn State Particle Size Separator to check the efficiency and performance of your total mixed ration feed mixers.
A long-time Hereford breeder, Hines wants docile cattle that give him a good return at the end of the day.
“We’ve had a Hereford base since my grandfather,” he said.
The annual sale draws consignments from the four western provinces and features Hereford, Angus and Shorthorn straight bred, as well as crossbred cattle with at least 50 percent British influence.
Besides the sale, a panel of four judges awards prize money and trophies to the best liner load and best pens of 10 steers and heifers based on breed and crossbreds.
This year, Brad and Tammy Corbiell of Cluny, Alta., won the awards for top pens of 10 steers and 10 heifers, as well as supreme champion.
British Influence offers breed specific cattle and auctioneer Bob Balog was pleased with the outcome.
“If we could keep it that way for the rest of the season, I’d be happy,” he said.
More than 3,400 head sold in six hours with Balog never leaving the block. He sold cattle ranging in weight from 380 lb. to more than 600 lb. Sale averages for Alberta have been coming in at around $145-$166 per hundredweight for 300-400 lb. calves, while 400-500 lb. averaged $134-$160 and 500-600 lb. came in at $134-$146.
The British Influence sale fills the stands because buyers are looking for uniformity among calves from a single ranch.
“There is ringful after ringful of big drafts of cattle that come from one owner. Buyers like that,” Balog said.
“You could buy 500 steers that are like peas in a pod from one outfit. That is the ultimate for some cattle buyers.”
Buyers seemed to be looking at options, considering the range of weights on offer. They may put their purchases directly into feedlots or keep them over the winter and put them on grass next summer. However, owners may decide to sell early if the value of grass cattle surges.
Most of the calves came with age verification, which Balog said is necessary if that is what it takes to reopen foreign beef markets. What he sees in the ring is another matter.
“There are way more producers doing it than cattle buyers asking if it had been done,” he said.
The feeder run is just starting for southern Alberta as community pastures and leases close and calves are weaned.
“A lot of those calves never go home; they come straight to town,” Balog said.
