MORDEN, Man. – Cattle producers in the south-central part of Manitoba have traditionally fed more cattle than in other parts, according to Morden rancher Art Petkau.
And with a new environment that puts ranchers here at a competitive advantage to their Alberta counterparts, Petkau thinks more producers will be interested in finishing cattle.
Petkau and about 30 other producers met here last week to review the annual report of the Manitoba Cattle Producers Association and find out what the association is up to.
President Dale Smith said the biggest change for cattle producers this year has been the end of the Crow Benefit, which he said distorted grain prices. Now, Smith said the price of grain is demand minus freight, meaning that Manitobans can buy feed between 60 to 75 cents per bushel cheaper than Albertans.
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Smith said this has sparked the feedlot industry in the province. “There are considerably more cattle on feed this winter, and there and more and more people talking about it as the idea sets in and they understand what’s going on,” Smith said.
Smith said cattle raised in Manitoba feedlots can have up to a $100 per head advantage over those raised in Alberta. They’re also closer to markets in Eastern Canada.
Cow-calf ranchers “aren’t as discouraged as they thought they might be,” Smith added, noting that prices are 10 cents per lb. higher than expected. “They also understand that the reason for the calves being down is that the price of feed grain has gone up substantially,” Smith said.
Smith told producers that Manitoba used to export between three and four million tonnes of grain per year, but the expanding cattle industry could easily eat up 25 to 30 percent of that.
The association has also been busy promoting Canadian genetics and Manitoba livestock in Mexico. Members went on a development mission to two regions of the country and found markets for commercial females and purebred bulls. A private semen and embryo transfer company has bought six females and one bull, and the association is negotiating a bull test station in the Chihuahua region.
Smith said that members have come up with about 20 resolutions so far for the association’s annual meeting, which is Dec. 7-8 in McCreary, Man. However, Smith said the meeting, which celebrates 40 years of organized stock growers, won’t likely focus on any big issues.
