Cattle producers in P.E.I. exploring ways to buck beef herd decline
Statistics Canada figures show the number of cattle nationally dropping, but P.E.I. numbers up slightly
Canada's cattle herd is shrinking, according to the latest numbers from Statistics Canada, but beef producers in Prince Edward Island are exploring ways to turn that trend around.
There is a new pilot project in the Maritimes offering price insurance to cattle producers. Meanwhile, the P.E.I. government has a livestock strategy that it says is beginning to make a difference.
Dennis Hogan has been in the beef industry for four decades, and has about 200 head of cattle on his farm in Cumberland. He's also chair of the P.E.I. Cattle Producers Association.
He said margins have been tight in recent years because the price of beef has increased to producers, but so have their costs.
"Export markets for potatoes and soybeans and corn and wheat and barley and all these other commodity crops have gone up," Hogan said.
"It puts more pressure on the beef industry because we need land to grow those crops. And then the beef industry kind of takes a back seat."
The new figures from Statistics Canada show that the number of cattle in the country has dwindled to the lowest level since 1987.
The Canadian cattle herd fell 1.4 per cent from last year on July 1, to 11.9 million head. Beef cattle took an even harder hit, dropping 2.2 per cent.
It's the third year in a row the federal agency has recorded a decline in cattle numbers.
Hogan said P.E.I.'s beef and potato industries used to be closely linked. But potato growers have moved toward different crops for disease prevention purposes, and away from ones that would typically be used as cattle feed.
"It certainly put more pressure on trying to find available cattle feed. And then the price of feed went up in the last few years with strong exports," he said. "So that's playing a role in the decline of the cattle numbers."
He said it's important to attract new people into the beef industry, especially as the average age of farmers increases.
"Like any industry, it's [expensive] to get into it. It takes some capital for sure," Hogan said. "To get those people who are interested to get the money they need, to back them, would certainly be a big bonus."
Hogan said the new Maritime-wide price insurance pilot may also help. The program offers protection against an unexpected drop in cattle prices over a defined period of time.
"If you bought an animal today, it takes one to two years to see your return on that investment. You don't know where the market is going to be in that time frame," he said.
"We're at a high point now, but maybe by the time you were going to sell those animals it's at a low point, and the price insurance would help take some of that risk away."
Off-Island competition
Allan Larsen, a fourth-generation beef and potato farmer in Cape Traverse, feeds about 600 head of beef cattle and grows 400 acres of table stock potatoes. He said that combination helps him navigate some of the challenges in the cattle industry.
"We have a pretty good land mass, and we're able to grow all the feed we need to feed our cattle in rotation with our potatoes," Larsen said.
"It also gives manure back to the soil and that helps grow potatoes, especially in years where we don't get a lot of rain. You get better organic matter in the soil and better moisture retention."
Larsen struggles to compete with farmers from other parts of the country who come to the Island to buy feeder cattle, and in turn drive up prices for local producers who want to add to their herd.
P.E.I. producers are also paid less for their finished product than their competitors in Ontario and Quebec, he said.
"In order for us to buy those same cattle, we have to be on par with the price they're paying and driving the price of feeder cattle up," Larsen said.
"There needs to be a way for feed lots and farmers that are finishing cattle to be more competitive with other regions in Canada."
Les Halliday, beef development officer for the P.E.I. Department of Agriculture, said he is seeing some positive signs in the industry.
"P.E.I. is in the enviable position and that we do have lots of feed. We've had two years of good crop growth. So our hay and silage inventory is is very high," Halliday said.
"That kind of makes a farmer feel that [they] ... can feed a few more cattle. So we've started to see ... that our cattle numbers are just starting to level out again."
Halliday said there is work being done on feed efficiency to make raising cattle more cost-effective. There are also breeding programs to produce animals that will achieve the same growth from less feed.
"We've been working hard with farmers to improve grazing management practices, crop yield, and then it comes back to manure," Halliday said.
"If we can get more and manure back into the land to improve soil health, then we get more productivity from our crops.... So you don't have to rent as much land and you don't have to own as much land."
Halliday said the strategies appear to be paying off.
"We are starting to see an increase now. Our StatsCan numbers show a slight increase in beef cow numbers," he said.
"Farmers are telling me that they're keeping a few more heifers this year. Those heifers will come into the herd next year, and over the next two or three years we should start to see an increase."
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