“There’s a number of loud voices that tend to dominate the conversations,” says Ian McCreary, a grain and cattle farmer from Bladworth, Sask. McCreary is co-leading the Prairie Farmer and Rancher Forum with Gord Bacon, former CEO of Pulse Canada. Farmers for Climate Solutions is organizing the forum.

McCreary says many of the innovative farmers and ranchers aren’t talking to each other about what they’re doing to improve sustainability on their farms. The forum organizers plan to bring together 36 randomly selected producers for three meetings, held in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Each meeting will run over two-and-a-half days.

Some producers will have received invitations in the mail, but other producers from the three Prairie provinces are welcome to register as well. The more people who register, the more representative it will be of western Canadian viewpoints, McCreary says.

Producers do not need to hold any particular view on the environment or climate change to participate, but they must earn most of their income from farming or ranching, and be able to attend all three forums. Forum organizers expect to recruit people with diverse opinions.

McCreary’s wife, Mary Smiley, is facilitating the discussions, and her goal will be to set the tone “to make sure that everybody, regardless of how much their opinions differ, treat each other respectfully,” says McCreary.

Participating producers will also get a phone call before the first session to ask questions, so forum organizers can build the agenda around those questions, he adds.

“And then similarly, the agenda for the second set of meetings will be determined by the discussions and the questions that come out of the first set of meetings.”

McCreary says that to some extent they’ll be able to manage diverse views “by answering people’s questions, providing information and creating an environment where people who disagree with each other can have respectful conversations about ideas that have the potential to work for more than just individuals.”

McCreary sees a few potential outcomes from the forums. One is a report that outlines how to create a more sustainable future. Another is a network of farmers and ranchers who are trying new things, who can discuss what works and what doesn’t on their operations. He also hopes to find a practical way to measure gains in sustainability on the farm.

“You can’t measure nitrous oxide coming off your fields. You can’t measure methane coming off your cattle herd and it’s really difficult to know the volume of carbon dioxide that came from the nitrogen fertilizer that you used and that was produced.”

McCreary is no stranger to farm politics, having been a Canadian Wheat Board director for 10 years and having chaired a community pasture patrons association. Afte that, he decided to take a break from farm boards, unless it was focused on long-term sustainability or relations with First Nations.

While combining one day, he got a call from someone asking if he’d be interested in chairing a task force looking at climate solutions for the farm. At first he tried to deflect the request, but then looked into who else was involved.

The people involved weren’t interested in “screaming and sort of waving placards. They’re interested in trying to find solutions. And so I agreed to chair this task force.”

Farmers for Climate Solutions is a relatively young organization focused on the science around climate, as well as what’s practical for producers. Part of McCreary’s focus is keeping it as grounded as he could on Prairie issues, as it’s difficult for people from the Maritimes or Vancouver Island “to understand how vast the Prairies are.”

Interested producers can register online or by calling 1-833-537-1758. The registration deadline is Nov. 28. More information is available on the FCS website.

— Lisa Guenther is editor of Canadian Cattlemen.

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About two-thirds, or 5,200, of B.C.’s non-supply managed livestock producers, and all the supply-managed dairy cattle and poultry premises in the province, are registered in the program, the province said Wednesday.

“We experienced the hottest temperature ever recorded in Canada this week, the forests are dry and the risk of wildfires is very, very real,” Agriculture Minister Lana Popham said in a release.

As of Saturday morning, the province reported 177 active wildfires out of 611 fires so far in 2021. As of Friday morning, neighbouring Alberta reported 31 active wildfires out of 648 so far this year.

“Having a Premises ID helped B.C. ranchers protect their animals during the intense wildfires of 2017 and 2018, and it could help you this year too.”

The province also expects 2021 will likely be the last year participation in the Premises ID program is voluntary.

A new mandatory Premises ID regulation under the province’s Animal Health Act was announced in February and is expected to be in place early next year.

Ranchers who have a Premises ID number “are in a better position to respond to emergencies that could impact them,” the province said.

Those in the program “can be given direct notice of approaching extreme weather events that could threaten their animals and land, and using their Premises ID can make it easier to arrange for access to check on their animals in areas under an evacuation order.”

Producers who haven’t yet opted into the Premises ID program are “encouraged to register land where animals are kept, handled, assembled or disposed of.”

When registration becomes mandatory next year, the province said, it “closes an information gap about where farm animals are located when government agencies and industry need to respond quickly to disease and natural disaster emergencies.”

A mandatory system “will also inform whether some livestock and poultry operations can continue operating during emergencies and strengthen the province’s traceability system,” the province said in February. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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A cyberattack against the U.S. unit of Brazilian meatpacking giant JBS SA that idled nearly a quarter of America’s beef production earlier this month, as well as plants in Canada and Australia, again highlighted vulnerabilities in the country’s meat supply chain and caused more headaches for farmers.

Ranchers, as well as the U.S. Agriculture Department (USDA), say the sector is too consolidated and therefore reliant on a handful of large processors and their industrial meatpacking plants.

Four industry behemoths — JBS USA, Tyson Foods, Cargill and National Beef Packing Company — slaughter 85 per cent of grain-fattened cattle carved into steaks, ribs and roasts for consumers.

Smaller startup meat plants are aiming to provide local ranchers with more places to slaughter cattle, particularly those raised to produce higher-quality beef. They say adding plants can ensure some meat production continues if large facilities close.

When large meat plants close, meat supplies tighten while ranchers get stuck with cattle that would otherwise have been slaughtered. That means the price of cattle generally falls, while the price of meat in supermarkets rises.

Extended shutdowns of some of the biggest U.S. slaughterhouses due to COVID-19 outbreaks hobbled meat production in spring 2020, leading to limits on consumers’ purchases at grocery stores and a decline in frozen inventories that processors have yet to replenish.

Rusty Kemp saw the need for more processing capacity after a 2019 fire at a Tyson Foods plant in Holcomb, Kansas, left meat buyers scrambling for supplies and cattle producers with nowhere to sell their cattle. Then the pandemic and ransomware attack on JBS hit.

Kemp is now planning to break ground on a US$300 million beef plant in Nebraska this fall.

“We thought the Holcomb fire was an absolute train wreck and then COVID came along and Holcomb didn’t seem that bad,” he said.

Kemp’s plant, named Sustainable Beef, will kill 1,500 cattle a day and use blockchain technology so consumers can track a piece of meat all the way back to the ranch, he said.

Sustainable Beef is co-owned by cattle producers who will provide animals for slaughter to the plant, instead of to major packers, Kemp said. He hired former executives of one of the biggest processors, Cargill, as consultants because of their expertise.

But Kemp said he is not trying to pick a fight with the four major processors and that bigger plants are still needed to produce large volumes of meat.

“We absolutely need more capacity and more players,” Kemp said.

More room to slaughter

Across the U.S., at least five new processing facilities of varying sizes have opened or are planned following supply shocks early in the pandemic. Combined with expansions at existing plants, including one owned by JBS, daily U.S. slaughter capacity is set to increase by about five per cent, according to a Reuters calculation and data from industry group the North American Meat Institute.

Market conditions are favourable for new entrants. Cattle supplies are ample, while beef prices and profit margins for packers have soared due to strong exports and demand from U.S. consumers.

In Butler, Missouri, Todd Hertzog and his family opened Hertzog Meat Company this month after considering the project for five years.

Though the US$3.75 million plant is only slaughtering about 20 cattle a day, it serves nearby ranchers who want to produce higher-quality beef, said Hertzog, who manages the operation.

“The pandemic opened our eyes to the needs of local producers,” he said.

Production disruptions during the pandemic pushed Cliff Welch to begin construction on a meat processing plant near Central City, Kentucky, at a price tag of more than US$1.2 million. The cyberattack on JBS then reinforced Welch’s decision to build the facility, slated to open in late 2021, he said.

Welch aims to slaughter 75 cattle a week to start, with the capability to eventually kill 300 head a week. He said he will produce custom cuts of meat using “old-style butchery” and plans to sell it locally.

“I’m starting from ground zero,” Welch said. “It’s a big undertaking.”

Welch said he received a US$250,000 grant from Kentucky for the project.

The U.S. Agriculture Department has pledged to support increased processing as part of a US$4 billion initiative to strengthen the country’s food system.

“The hope would be that by spreading out, by creating diversity in size and diversity of ownership and diversity of operations, we create greater resilience,” USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack told reporters after the JBS attack.

Missouri last year paid about US$17 million in grants to meat processors with fewer than 200 employees that wanted to expand or build new facilities, state agriculture director Chris Chinn said. The payments doubled the amount of red meat inspected by the state in a program sparked by the pandemic, she said.

“It added stability to our local communities and our rural areas,” Chinn said. “They didn’t have to depend on one local source to get their food.”

Smaller plants, same problems

Small facilities are finding they face some of the same challenges as larger outfits, notably a labour shortage, without the benefit of a big corporation behind them.

After opening in March, Missouri Prime Beef Packers struggled to find workers for a plant in Pleasant Hope, Missouri, that now kills about 200 cattle a day, despite putting ads in newspapers and on radio, said Dallen Davies, director of company culture.

The facility is slaughtering cattle raised under special guidelines, such as being grass-fed or certified for humane handling, as a way to add value for ranchers and provide a better product for consumers, Davies said.

Plants need to differentiate themselves because they cannot compete with industry titans on volume or on low prices achieved with mass production lines.

Former President Donald Trump last year said he urged the Justice Department to look into allegations the meatpacking industry broke antitrust law because the price that slaughterhouses pay farmers for animals dropped even as meat prices climbed. U.S. governors and lawmakers are pushing the department to keep probing.

Those involved in slaughterhouse expansion say they still need to do something to give ranchers more options in the meantime.

“We really don’t want to wait around and see if the government is going to solve this problem,” Kemp said. “We decided to take matters into our own hands and do this.”

EXPLAINER: How four big companies control the U.S. beef industry

U.S. lawmakers are seeking increased oversight of the beef sector as concerns about anticompetitive behaviour increase after the pandemic and a cyberattack on a major meat company, JBS USA.

Agriculture officials are meanwhile pushing for more processing capacity and ranchers are opening new slaughterhouses after plant shutdowns highlighted the industry’s reliance on large facilities run by four main processors.

How concentrated is the U.S. beef sector?

Four companies slaughtered about 85 per cent of U.S. grain-fattened cattle that are made into steaks, beef roasts and other cuts of meat for consumers in 2018, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

When factoring in other cows used to make hamburger meat, the companies comprise about 70 per cent of total U.S. beef production, according to the North American Meat Institute, an industry group.

Which companies control the sector?

The big four processors in the U.S. beef sector are: Cargill, a global commodity trader based in Minnesota; Tyson Foods Inc, the chicken producer that is the biggest U.S. meat company by sales; Brazil-based JBS SA, the world’s biggest meatpacker; and National Beef Packing Co., which is controlled by Brazilian beef producer Marfrig Global Foods SA.

When did the companies gain control of the sector?

The amount of cattle slaughtered by the four firms rose from 25 per cent in 1977 to 71 per cent in 1992, according to USDA data. A shift toward larger processing plants led to sharply increased concentration in cattle slaughtering, the USDA said in a 2000 report.

Why did plants get bigger?

Meatpackers are able to lower the cost of processing each animal by running bigger operations instead of smaller facilities.

In 1977, 84 per cent of U.S. steers and heifers were slaughtered in plants that killed fewer than half a million cattle a year, according to the USDA. By 1997, plants in that category saw their share drop to 20 per cent.

What brought attention to consolidation?

Three separate events in 2019, 2020 and 2021 highlighted the country’s reliance on large beef plants run by the four biggest processors.

First, a large Tyson Foods plant in Holcomb, Kansas, closed for four months following a fire on Aug. 9, 2019, that reduced U.S. beef production and removed a market where farmers could sell their cattle.

The second disruption occurred as COVID-19 spread last year, causing slaughterhouses nationwide to close to contain outbreaks of the virus among workers.

On May 30, 2021, JBS detected a ransomware attack on its systems that temporarily closed all its U.S. beef plants.

What are cattle producers worried about?

Ranchers are frustrated that cattle prices drop when major plants close, while meat companies still benefit from rising meat prices. After the Tyson plant fire and the start of the pandemic, the difference between prices for cattle and beef rose to record levels, according to the USDA.

Plant shutdowns remove markets for ranchers to sell their animals and tighten meat supplies by reducing production. Ranchers say there is too little competition among beef processors to buy cattle.

What is being proposed?

Lawmakers have proposed legislation to create an office for a special investigator within USDA to address concerns about anti-competitive practices in the meat and poultry industries.

USDA has said it plans to strengthen enforcement of a 100-year-old federal act intended to protect farmers and ranchers from unfair trade practices. The agency pledged to support increased processing capacity as part of a US$4 billion initiative to strengthen the country’s food system.

A group of U.S. governors is pushing the Justice Department to continue an investigation into anti-competitive practices in the meatpacking industry.

The North American Meat Institute, which represents meatpackers, said processors and ranchers “benefit from a fair and competitive market.” — Reuters

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The province announced Tuesday it expects the new policy to come into effect in late autumn this year and “in the coming months” will release new guidelines on what would be considered “exemplary stewardship.”

Lengthening public land leases to a maximum of 20 years “will allow ranchers to spend more time focusing on their business, and less time dealing with regulatory red tape through lease renewals,” the province said in a release.

Alberta’s Public Lands Act already allows the province to “lease public land for a term not exceeding 20 years for the purpose of grazing livestock,” or for up to 30 years on “heritage rangeland.”

Today, though, the standard tenure for a grazing lease on Alberta public land is 10 years.

The 20-year-maximum leases, under the new policy, would be granted to ranchers “who show exemplary care for Alberta’s water, land and air resources.”

According to the Alberta Grazing Leaseholders Association, there are about 5,700 grazing leases in Alberta which cover an estimated 5.2 million acres of public land and provide capacity to feed about one million head of livestock.

“Extending grazing tenures for ranchers who go above and beyond our environmental standards recognizes their good behaviour and encourages others to do the same,” provincial Environment Minister Jason Nixon said in a release.

“Ranchers have always been exemplary environmental stewards — it’s good for the health of the environment and for the health of our businesses. It’s nice to see that the government is willing to recognize us for our responsible work,” Alberta Beef Producers executive director Rich Smith said in the province’s release.

The province’s release didn’t offer specific examples of exemplary stewardship, but the environment ministry has had a grazing lease stewardship code of practice in place since 2007, based on four “key rangeland management principles.”

Those principles include:

• balancing livestock demands with the available forage supply;
• promoting even livestock distribution with fencing, salt placement, water development and other tools;
• avoiding grazing during vulnerable periods, such as early spring; and
• providing effective rest periods after grazing, to allow range plants to recover.

The code was signed at the time by Ted Morton, the province’s minister for sustainable resource development, and by representatives from ABP, the AGLA and the Western Stock Growers Association. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Trump, in a statement announcing the new round of tariffs, warned that if China takes retaliatory action against U.S. farmers or industries, “we will immediately pursue phase three, which is tariffs on approximately $267 billion of additional imports.”

China replied Tuesday it has no choice but to retaliate against the new U.S. tariffs, risking even stronger action from President Donald Trump in an escalation of the trade war between the world’s largest economies.

“To protect its legitimate rights and interests and order in international free trade, China is left with no choice but to retaliate simultaneously,” the commerce ministry said in a brief statement, without specifying what action it would take.

Apple’s iPhone was not among the “wide range” of products that the company told regulators would be hit by the $200 billion round of tariffs in a Sept. 5 comment letter to trade officials (all figures US$).

But if the Trump administration enacts a further $267 billion round of tariffs, the iPhone, along with all other smart phones, are likely to be included in the list.

Collection of tariffs on the long-anticipated list will start Sept. 24 but the rate will increase to 25 per cent by the end of 2018, allowing U.S. companies some time to adjust their supply chains to alternate countries, a senior administration official said.

So far, the U.S. has imposed tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese products to pressure China to make sweeping changes to its trade, technology transfer and high-tech industrial subsidy policies.

The escalation of Trump’s tariffs on China comes after talks between the world’s two largest economies to resolve their trade differences have produced no results. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin last week invited top Chinese officials to a new round of talks, but thus far nothing has been scheduled.

A senior Trump administration official told reporters that the U.S. was open to further talks with Beijing, but offered no immediate details on when any new meetings may occur.

“This is not an effort to constrain China, but this is an effort to work with China and say, ‘It’s time you address these unfair trade practices that we’ve identified that others have identified and that have harmed the entire trading system,'” the official said.

China has vowed to retaliate further against any new U.S. tariffs, with state-run media arguing for an aggressive “counterattack.”

China’s yuan currency has weakened by about six per cent against the U.S. dollar since mid-June, offsetting the 10 per cent tariff rate by a considerable margin.

Consumer tech trimmed

The U.S. Trade Representative’s office eliminated about 300 product categories from the proposed tariff list, along with some subsets of other categories, but administration officials said the total value of the revised list would still be “approximately $200 billion.”

A broad, $23 billion category of internet-connected devices will remain subject to tariffs, but some products, such as smart watches, Bluetooth devices, and other consumer-focused technology products were removed following a lengthy public vetting period during which more than 6,000 comments were received.

Also spared from the tariffs were Chinese inputs for U.S.-produced chemicals used in manufacturing, textiles and agriculture.

Consumer safety products made in China, such as bicycle helmets sold by Vista Outdoor and baby car seats and other products from Graco also were taken off the list.

But the adjustments did little to appease technology and retail groups who argued that the tariffs would hit consumers hard.

“President Trump’s decision to impose an additional $200 billion is reckless and will create lasting harm to communities across the country,” said Dean Garfield, president of the Information Technology Industry Council, which represents major tech firms.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association pointed out that the new tariffs would still hit more than $1 billion worth of gas grills from China, $843 million worth of luggage and travel bags, $825 million worth of mattresses, and $1.9 billion worth of vacuum cleaners.

“Tariffs are a tax on American families, period,” said Hun Quach, RILA’s vice president for international trade. “Consumers — not China — will bear the brunt of these tariffs and American farmers and ranchers will see the harmful effects of retaliation worsen.”

Earlier on Monday, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the U.S. was ready to negotiate a trade deal with China if Beijing was ready for serious discussions.

“We are ready to negotiate and talk with China any time that they are ready for serious and substantive negotiations towards free trade, to reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers, to open markets and allow the most competitive economy in the world — ours — to export more and more goods and services to China,” Kudlow said.

— Reporting for Reuters by Steve Holland, David Lawder, Ginger Gibson and Eric Beech in Washington.

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“The NAFTA countries are nowhere near close to a deal,” U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a statement, pointing to “gaping differences” on a host of issues, including intellectual property, agricultural access, labour and energy.

Lighthizer said he would continue to work toward “the best possible deal for American farmers, ranchers, workers, and businesses.”

The future of trade talks between the U.S., Mexico and Canada was in limbo as a Thursday deadline passed to present U.S. lawmakers with a revamped NAFTA after a push to conclude a deal in the past few weeks.

There was no immediate reaction to Lighthizer’s comments from the offices of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland.

U.S. officials say the negotiations need to wrap up very soon to give the current Congress time to vote on a final text.

Earlier on Thursday, Trudeau said he felt “positive” about talks to rework NAFTA, while a top Mexican official noted a deal might be possible by the end of May.

“To be honest, we are down to a point where there is a good deal on the table,” Trudeau told the Economic Club of New York. “It’s right down to the last conversations… I’m feeling positive about this, but it won’t be done until it’s done.”

Freeland traveled to Washington on Thursday for internal meetings with labour officials and representatives from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a spokesman for her said.

A Mexican technical negotiating team is in Washington, but there is no date set for the next NAFTA ministerial meeting with the U.S. and Canada.

Mexico’s economy minister, Ildefonso Guajardo, said a deal could be reached by the end of May, but added that if no agreement is reached the talks could extend beyond the July 1 Mexican presidential election.

For that to happen, though, the U.S. and Mexico would have to end what officials say is deadlock over U.S. demands to raise wages in the auto sector and boost the North American content of cars made in the three NAFTA nations.

Critics complain the move is a clear swipe at Mexico, which U.S. President Donald Trump says added low-wage manufacturing jobs at Americans’ expense after NAFTA was signed in 1994.

“Any renegotiated NAFTA that implies losses of existing Mexican jobs is unacceptable,” Guajardo said in a tweet.

Under the Trade Promotion Authority statute that would allow a simple yes or no vote on NAFTA, Trump must notify Congress 90 days before he can sign the agreement. The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) then has up to 105 days after the signing to produce a study on the effects of the agreement.

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan has said that the Republican-controlled Congress would need to be notified of a new deal by Thursday to give lawmakers a chance to approve it before a newly elected Congress takes over in January.

Ryan, asked on Thursday whether there was any wiggle room in the NAFTA approval timeline for Congress, said, “The wiggle room would be at the ITC.”

“My guess,” he added, “is there is probably some wiggle room at the ITC for what it takes for their part of the process but not an indefinite amount and that means time is really of the essence.”

— Reporting for Reuters by David Lawder and Jonathan Spicer; additional reporting by Amanda Becker in Washington, David Ljunggren in Ottawa and Sharay Angulo in Mexico City; writing by Anthony Esposito, David Ljunggren and Dave Graham.

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About three-quarters of farmers and ranchers surveyed said a family member, someone they know or they themselves have taken an illegal opioid or are dealing with addiction.

That compares with 45 per cent of the rural population as a whole, according to an online poll of 2,201 adults living in rural areas throughout the U.S., conducted by Morning Consult on Oct. 26-29.

The opioid crisis, driven by addiction to prescription painkillers and drugs such as heroin and fentanyl, played a role in more than 33,000 deaths in 2015, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

U.S. President Donald Trump last month declared the crisis a public health emergency as estimates show the death toll rising.

“Opioids have been too easy to come by and too easy to become addicted to,” said AFBF president Zippy Duvall, who called the results “heartbreaking.”

The group did not examine why the epidemic is disproportionately impacting its members, but government data show that, for farmers, rates of work-related injuries that may be treated with painkillers far outpace those in most other U.S. occupations.

Three in four farmers and ranchers said it would be easy for them or someone in their community to get a large amount of prescription opioids without a prescription, the poll found. Just 46 per cent of rural adults as a whole said the same.

A third of those surveyed said it would be easy to access addiction treatment in their local community, while 38 per cent said they felt treatment would be effective, affordable or covered by insurance.

— Karl Plume reports on agriculture and agribusiness for Reuters from Chicago.

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Alongside a number of online campaigns launched in support of affected farmers and families, the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association on Monday launched a wildfire relief fund to help affected ranchers.

Tens of thousands of acres were burned and an estimated $1 million in livestock died or had to be euthanized in the wake of last week’s fires, propelled by strong winds and dry conditions, the SSGA said.

“Some producers have lost over half their herds,” SSGA president Shane Jahnke said in a release.

“The drought conditions that fuelled the fires had already caused feed shortages… Now producers need to buy winter feed to replace the grass and the bales they lost to the fires.

“We’re collecting donations of cash, hay, feed, trucking — whatever people can offer… The fires destroyed animals, buildings, fields, feed and everything else in their way. Miles of fencing were destroyed. With winter coming, there’s a lot of people who need help.”

Donors can support the SSGA fund through its website or by calling 306-757-8523. Producers may also call that number to report what help they need, or download forms at the site to either request help or nominate a producer for support. SSGA membership is not required to be eligible for support.

Campaigns have also been set up on the crowdfunding website GoFundMe for several affected producers and their families, including:

A campaign to assist the family of James Hargrave, a Walsh, Alta. rancher who died in a vehicle crash while volunteering in firefighting efforts on the Saskatchewan side of the border. As of Tuesday evening, that campaign had surpassed its $50,000 goal with over $71,400 raised.

A campaign to assist Ron and Evan Wedrick and their families. The father and son were taking part in firefighting efforts near Tompkins, Sask. and both are now hospitalized in Calgary with severe burns. That campaign, which set a $5,000 goal, has so far raised over $103,000 in pledges.

A campaign to help Joce and Laurry Orr, who farm west of Lethbridge and lost over 600 round hay bales’ worth of winter feed to wildfire. That campaign set a goal of $20,000 and has so far raised over $13,400.

A campaign for the Brown family of Carseland, Alta., who lost four of their five dogs when their home burned in last week’s fires. That campaign, seeking $10,000, has so far raised almost $9,700. –– AGCanada.com Network

PODCAST: Jeremy Simes of the Western Producer discusses the havoc wreaked by last week’s windstorms on the Oct. 26 episode of Between The Rows. Listen to the podcast HERE.

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Closure of Western’s feeding operations, likely early in 2017 once its current cattle are sold, will make it more difficult for ranchers to find markets for their young cattle and pinch supplies for Alberta’s big beef packers, Cargill and JBS.

Feedlots buy young cattle from ranchers and fatten them to slaughter weight, then they are sold to packers.

Loss of the feedlot “takes out a material portion of demand for cattle across the Prairies,” said livestock industry analyst Kevin Grier. “To me, this is pretty big news.”

Canada is the world’s sixth-largest beef exporter, and Alberta raises more cattle than any other province.

Western’s holdings include feedyards at Strathmore, High River and Mossleigh, Alta., with combined capacity for 100,000 head of cattle.

The company said in a statement it would suspend its feedlot operations after the animals it now has on feed are marketed. Past that point, Western said, it will not buy any feed grain or feeder cattle, nor hire any employees.

However, the company said Wednesday, it will continue its other farming operations “for the foreseeable future.”

The Alberta Cattle Feeders Association has previously cited Western’s establishment at Strathmore, east of Calgary, in 1958 as the launch point for the province’s commercial cattle feeding industry.

Western’s owners made the decision voluntarily because of the high-risk, low-return environment in cattle ownership, and poor political and economic conditions in Alberta, Western CEO Dave Plett said in an interview.

“Our shareholders see the challenges facing the industry in the next few years are going to be greater,” he said.

Alberta, which last year elected its first left-leaning government in decades, no longer offers an advantage in business climate, Plett said, declining to give specifics.

Many of Western’s 80 staff will eventually be laid off, he said.

Grier said the loss of feedlot capacity is not surprising, given short Canadian supply and the high price of young cattle and the weak price of fed cattle.

Recent Alberta fed cattle prices of $125 per hundredweight are down 30 percent from a year ago, he said.

— Rod Nickel is a Reuters correspondent covering the agriculture and mining sectors from Winnipeg. Includes files from AGCanada.com Network staff.

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