High hay prices, low stocks and low cattle prices add up to lower spirits for some producers.
No one is yet calling the short supply of hay in Alberta and southern Saskatchewan a crisis, but everyone in the industry is hoping for better weather.
“Folks that normally winter graze haven’t been able to and people who usually keep a year’s surplus hay on hand don’t have it,” said Tracy Dow, of Alberta Agriculture in Claresholm, Alta.
“Cattlemen planning on feeding 60 days this year have already fed more than 100 and winter isn’t over yet,” said Dave Spencer, a provincial agrologist in Medicine Hat, Alta.
Read Also
VIDEO: Agritechnica Day 4: Robots and more robots, Nexat loves Canada and the trouble with tariffs
Agritechnica Day 4: Robots and more robots, Nexat loves Canada and the trouble with tariffs.
Jack Forsythe, a Tompkins, Sask., cattle producer, said: “There is no surplus around. Everybody is just sneaking by hoping that the milder weather is here to stay. Hay is just too high priced to be buying a lot of it right now.”
At a high of $150 per tonne, good quality hay is in short supply, say producers, so poorer quality forage is demanding strong prices. Two years of extreme winter weather, with the 1996 winter damaging a large portion of the alfalfa stands in southern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan, emptied farm inventories.
Saskatchewan livestock producers are facing a feed shortage, says their provincial agriculture minister, Eric Upshall. He is appealing to farmers to provide an inventory of their available feed grain and forage through the provincial listing service.
Consumption higher
The minister blames a hard winter for the shortfall of feed stocks. Near-record cold temperatures and snowfalls, along with an early winter, are causing higher than usual feeding rates.
Heavy snow will likely prevent early access to pasture, extending the feeding period.
“We aren’t exactly sure what stocks remain out there and we are working to establish whether or not this will become a crisis situation … . We are trying to encourage farmers to use the feed and forage listing service if they have any surplus hay,” he said.
The 14-year-old listing service provides a free bulletin system to sell or buy hay. A toll-free phone line allows people to post or retrieve information at 1-800-667-7564.
The information is also available via the internet at www.gov.sk.ca/agfood/stats/fdgrfor.htm.
