There are few surprises and some disappointments at the end of Q2. Total slaughter cattle numbers are up 5.1 per cent and tonnage is up approximately nine per cent over the same period in 2015. The larger increase in tonnage is due entirely to increased carcass weights. Further, the increase in the percentage of AAA […] Read more
Beef industry appears to be stalled
Charlie Gracey's take on cattle markets and the cow-calf industry
Assessing the first quarter – cattle inventories disappointing
News Roundup from the May 2016 issue of Canadian Cattlemen
At the end of the first quarter the domestic steer slaughter was down 2.3 per cent while the domestic heifer slaughter was down 9.1 per cent. That doesn’t tell us much until we factor in live slaughter steer and heifer exports. The sex of fed cattle slaughter exports is not known until closer to year-end, […] Read more
The first signs of beef herd expansion
At last there are clear signs of beef herd expansion in Canada! In 2015 the output, or productive capacity of the national herd was reduced: almost 13 per cent in numbers of animals marketed and 10 per cent in tonnage. Most of that reduction, however, is explained by an almost 20 per cent decline in […] Read more
Beef Grading: Yield is down, fat is up
News Roundup from the February 2016 issue of Canadian Cattlemen
The year-end 2015 grading results are cause for concern but I doubt many have noticed. On the positive side we see a very sharp increase in AAA carcasses from 57.1 per cent of the total in the Prime to A series to 62.0 per cent. In fact Prime plus AAA now make up almost two-thirds […] Read more
How rapidly can we increase marketable beef supplies?
If the Canadian industry is to take full advantage of recently opened and expanded markets outside of NAFTA this will require a significantly expanded breeding herd. The industry is already missing out on these opportunities and will continue to do so if cow numbers do not increase. This caused me to take a look at […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
