High grain prices, drought and a closed U.S. border push prices lower and prompt many producers to sell their herds
CAMROSE, Alta. — A look at bison memberships across Canada may give a hint of the state of the bison industry.
Across Canada, memberships in bison associations are down almost 16 percent, to 436 in 2023 from 518 in 2022.
Doreen Neilley said the issue figures large at the Canadian Bison Association board meetings she attends.
“It is one of those things, when the industry hurts we lose members. When the industry is better, we gain members. In the meantime, we have to run the organization to keep the rest of us going,” said Neilley during a discussion at the Bison Producers of Alberta about possibly increasing membership fees. The Alberta bison group’s yearly budget is about $80,000, about half raised from the $2 per tag fee when producers buy ear tags.
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“We have seen a loss of memberships across the nation,” said Steven Lunty, chair of Bison Producers of Alberta.
“Producers are exiting and they’re exiting because they are either getting out of the industry or retiring.”
A combination of high grain prices, lingering drought and a closed border to bison meat products has pushed bison prices lower for the past five years and many bison producers have sold their herds.
Bison producer Perry Kolesar said producers will only stay in the industry if prices increase.
“I think the cow-calf guy has been beaten to death over the last five years and I think we are at the bottom. There has been a ton of cows shipped, an absolute ton. We have got the smallest calf crop on the ground.”
Bison producer and feedlot operator Brian Newton hopes with fewer bison cows, prices will start to increase and bison producers will stay in the industry.
“We will have prices start climbing again because there is a shortage of calves. But that being said, if the feed prices don’t come down I don’t know how everybody who feeds is going to make a profit. It is tight. Even with calf prices now and the feed prices, there is not a whole lot of margin. If feed prices come down and barley come down a buck a bushel, it would be an incredible difference.”
Carl Flis, executive director of the Canadian Bison Association, said there are bright spots in the industry. For the first time in his memory, bison products are listed on his grocery store flyers.
“Marketers are seeing a difference. They are working very hard. We are raising consumer awareness. I wish I had a crystal ball but really it comes down to raising consumer consumption of bison. The trend is in the right direction. I really think the pendulum is swinging.”
