Keystone Processors Blog

This week we read in the Manitoba Co-operator that Canada’s cattle herd fell to its smallest size in 15 years last year. Cattle and calves slaughter levels in Canada were down 3.7 per cent compared to 2008. More alarming was the fall in live cattle exports of 31.6 per cent.

These declines are the result of a number of things. It was the first year of mandatory U.S. country-of-origin labelling (COOL). The continued demand for ethanol has caused a surge in grain prices, which means feed costs have skyrocketed. And the higher Canadian dollar has also cut in to profit margins. The result is fewer cattle and fewer cattle producers.

These things tell us that the industry here in Manitoba in particular (and in Canada in general) needs to look at new ways of doing things. We can’t be beholden to the fickle and often protectionist trade policies of Washington. We need our own made in Manitoba and made in Canada solution.

That solution, in our opinion, is to focus on building premium, value-added beef packing capacity here at home. We believe that Manitoba raises some of the best beef in the world. And we’re working hard at making our upgraded Winnipeg beef plant capable of marketing that beef to premium, niche markets. It’s only by developing our own markets and keeping value-added profits here at home that we can hope to see a day where cattle producers’ profits are rising and we’re not afraid of the whims of U.S. policy makers.

In the meantime, we support our agriculture minister Gerry Ritz and our government’s efforts to persuade the U.S. to repeal COOL.

Export markets, Government policy, Manitoba cattle COOL, Gerry Ritz, trade