Alberta Feeder Cattle Price up 40% since April 2013

Jun 06, 2014

By Farms.com

Statistics Canada released today its farm product prices for April, and the stats confirm what the industry has been experiencing for the past little while. According to statistics Canada, the prices for April Alberta feeder cattle was $159.31 per hundredweight, which is up 2.3% from March, and up more than 40% since the same time last year when the price was $112.37.

Soybean prices are also on the rise. In Ontario, statistics Canada reported that the price for soybean in April was $558.41 per tonne, up 1.7% from March, and increase of more than 5.0% since April 2013 when the price was $531.32.

There has also been a dramatic increase in pork prices, which is largely attributed to the widespread outbreak of PED virus (Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea) in the United States and Canada, which has killed around nine million pigs in the last year and decreased pork supplies against a rising demand.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.