Alberta
Recent rain may not be enough to halt the shrinking of Canada’s cattle herd
CALGARY — Anxious Alberta ranchers praying for rain got their wish this week, but it may not be enough to stop the ongoing decline in Canadian cattle production.
The moisture that fell on parts of drought-parched Alberta came as a welcome reprieve to the hundreds of cattle farmers who have seen their pastures wither and their water supplies dry up this June.
But a few inches of rain won’t be enough to cut it in much of Canadian cattle country, which is still trying to dig its way out of a significant moisture deficit.
“I think this is the driest I’ve ever seen it,” said Bob Lowe, a rancher and feedlot operator from the Nanton area of southern Alberta.
“The grass started this spring, and came up a little bit, and then it just turned around and died. It’s supposed to be green this time of year, but it’s just grey-brown.”
According to Agriculture Canada’s Drought Monitor, 82 per cent of the agricultural regions of the three prairie provinces were either “abnormally dry” or in “moderate to extreme drought” as of the end of May.
Some ranchers have been spending hours every day this spring hauling water by truck or trailer to their cattle after their watering holes completely dried up, said Ryder Lee, general manager of the Canadian Cattle Association.
“Or they’re filling dugouts from other places with pipelines and pumps,” Lee said.
“There’s lots of creativity and ingenuity in the industry, but all of that takes a toll on people.”
It also takes a toll on an industry that has already been steadily shrinking for years. Last year, the size of the Canadian cattle herd fell to 12.3 million animals — the lowest level recorded since July 1, 1988.
The 2.8 per cent year-over-year reduction was in large part due to the after-effects of an extremely harsh drought on the prairies in 2021. As crops withered and feed prices skyrocketed, many ranchers sold their cattle for slaughter rather than holding onto them for breeding.
That could happen again this year, and at an even larger scale, said Rob Somerville, who has a cattle farm in east-central Alberta, near the town of Innisfail.
“There is a train of thought that people who may have hung on last time, this time, will sell,” Somerville said.
He added that some producers might have hesitated to sell in 2021 because cattle prices at the time were low. But as cattle numbers in North America have continued to shrink, prices have increased, hitting all-time records this spring.
“Just about everybody I’ve spoken to has already prepared a list of the cows they’re going to sell. These people won’t be leaving the industry, but they’re certainly planning a herd reduction.”
South of the border, U.S. cattle inventory is also down four per cent year-over-year due to increased heifer slaughter. According to a report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, roughly 69 per cent of the U.S. cattle herd as of December 2022 was located in drought-stricken areas, leading to the largest contraction of the North American cattle herd in a decade.
Other catastrophes in the last two decades — including the BSE (mad cow) crisis and the 2009 financial crisis — also led ranchers to downsize their herds or exit the industry entirely.
As a result, according to Statistics Canada, there are 25 per cent fewer beef cows in Canada now than there were in 2005.
“After a while it’s not just an individual farm-by-farm thing, it’s an industry issue. And that has far wider implications,” Somerville said, adding that fewer cows could cause ripple effects all the way down the value chain — potentially leading to lost jobs at feedlots, at meat-packing plants and more.
“This is a big contributor to the economy that we’re talking about.”
Winnipeg-based cattle markets analyst Jerry Klassen said he believes one or two good rains could save the industry from wide-spread liquidation of herds this year.
“You can still get one good hay crop in Alberta if you get timely rains from now moving forward,” Klassen said.
“And you’ve got these high prices. If the farmer can maintain or increase his herd, he’s going to reap the rewards over the next two or three years.”
But Somerville said multiple years of dry conditions have left some ranchers feeling that they’re “running out of tricks they can pull out of the hat.”
“There’s a lot of producers who have been hanging on as long as they can and they may decide now is the time to get out of the industry,” he said.
“It’s just been too many struggles, for too long.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2023.
Amanda Stephenson, The Canadian Press
Alberta
Free Alberta Strategy petition demanding PM Trudeau fire Steven Guilbeault passes 13,000 signatures
News release from Free Alberta Strategy
Are you tired of watching elected officials flout the law and disregard public concerns with impunity?
Are you frustrated by a federal government that prioritizes arrogance over accountability?
If so, you’re not alone.
Over 13,000 people have signed our petition calling on Justin Trudeau to fire Steven Guilbeault.
Once one of Greenpeace’s most disruptive forces, Guilbeault has spent enough time in an orange jumpsuit to build up a reputation for deliberately ignoring both law enforcement and the courts.
Since then, his career has been marked by a troubling disregard for both legal boundaries and public sentiment.
In 2001, Guilbeault was found guilty of mischief for scaling the CN Tower in Toronto and displaying a banner.
He received a sentence of one year’s probation, was mandated to complete 100 hours of community service in Montreal, and was ordered to pay $1,000 in restitution.
The incident incurred approximately $50,000 in costs for the tower operators.
Shortly thereafter, Guilbeault orchestrated another audacious act, leading a Greenpeace team in a demonstration at the Calgary residence of then Alberta Premier Ralph Klein and his wife, Colleen.
They erected a banner, positioned ladders against the house, and ascended to the roof to install a solar panel.
The intrusion deeply unsettled Colleen Klein, who was alone at the time and feared a home invasion – she resorted to grabbing a broom for defense.
Despite his controversial background, Justin Trudeau’s decision to appoint Guilbeault as Minister of Environment and Climate Change raised eyebrows and elicited criticism.
Jason Kenney, then premier of Alberta, accurately predicted the consequences of Guilbeault assuming a significant role in Justin Trudeau’s cabinet.
“His own personal background and track record on these issues suggests someone who is more an absolutist than a pragmatist when it comes to finding solutions,” Kenney said.
It’s perhaps no surprise then that Guilbeault’s response to legal setbacks in his political career, such as the Supreme Court’s ruling on the unconstitutionality of his Impact Assessment Act, has been dismissive, indicating a stubborn adherence to his own agenda rather than a willingness to heed judicial guidance.
Instead of accepting that he was wrong and repealing the law, Guilbeault wants to pass minor amendments and pretend like the Supreme Court ruling never happened.
Worse, the amendments – buried 552 pages into a 686-page budget implementation bill – don’t fix the problem.
Guilbeault still has the power to control projects that fall under provincial jurisdiction.
Consequently, tensions between the federal and provincial governments have escalated, with Alberta poised to immediately challenge the amended legislation in court once again.
This charade is getting old.
This pattern of defiance and disregard for legal constraints has become wearisome, eroding public trust in the integrity of federal institutions.
The rotation of headlines proclaiming federal overreach and constitutional breaches underscores a troubling trend within the governing party, where arrogance appears to have supplanted prudent governance.
Guilbeault, with his checkered past and continued ignorance of the law since becoming Minister, are crippling public confidence.
A few months ago, we launched a petition calling on Justin Trudeau to see the light, and fire his most controversial Minister.
Since then, things have only gotten worse.
If you agree, and think Guilbeault should be fired, please sign our petition today:
Then, send this petition to your friends, family, and every Albertan so that they can sign too!
Regards,
The Free Alberta Strategy Team
Alberta
Fortis et Liber: Alberta’s Future in the Canadian Federation
From the C2C Journal
By Barry Cooper, professor of political science, University of Calgary
Canada’s western lands, wrote one prominent academic, became provinces “in the Roman sense” – acquired possessions that, once vanquished, were there to be exploited. Laurentian Canada regarded the hinterlands as existing primarily to serve the interests of the heartland. And the current holders of office in Ottawa often behave as if the Constitution’s federal-provincial distribution of powers is at best advisory, if it needs to be acknowledged at all. Reviewing this history, Barry Cooper places Alberta’s widely criticized Sovereignty Act in the context of the Prairie provinces’ long struggle for due constitutional recognition and the political equality of their citizens. Canada is a federation, notes Cooper. Provinces do have rights. Constitutions do mean something. And when they are no longer working, they can be changed.
-
Indigenous1 day ago
No accounts on $7.9 million dollar ‘Truth’ Fund
-
COVID-192 days ago
House COVID Committee Confirms What We Have Long Suspected — The Feds Really Hate Transparency
-
Fraser Institute1 day ago
Federal government should have taken own advice about debt accumulation
-
Great Reset2 days ago
Republican governors sign letter opposing WHO treaty
-
Health2 days ago
University of Toronto Study Finds Teen Marijuana Use Tied To Dramatic Increased Risk Of Psychosis
-
MacDonald Laurier Institute1 day ago
Toronto’s “Sankofa Square” – The terrible folly and historic injustice of erasing the legacy of abolitionist Henry Dundas
-
Media1 day ago
Trudeau’s Online News Act has crushed hundreds of local Canadian news outlets: study
-
Great Reset17 hours ago
Canadian MP warns new WHO pandemic treaty may enshrine COVID-era freedom restrictions