OCFA considers bringing in cattle from Virginia

Sep 07, 2017

The group noted easier transportation as one reason why Virginia could be an option

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

A group of representatives from the Ontario Cattle Feeders’ Association (OCFA) toured Virginia farms during a visit on Aug. 23 that could lead the OCFA to import American cattle.

OCFA brings in between 215,000 and 300,000 cattle from Western Canada, but Ontario is short about 300,000 feeder cattle at any given time, according to Jim Clark, OCAF president.

And Virginia had 643,000 beef cattle as of Jan. 1, 2017, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Not only does the state have the supply to help Ontario meet its needs, but logistically it makes sense. Virginia is 1,025 km from London, Ont., where OCAF’s office is located.

Whereas Winnipeg, Man., is 2,048 km away from OCAF’s head office.

“North and south trade makes a lot of sense, especially when you consider much of our beef and beef products travel into the U.S. and vice versa, so we were looking at all of the options,” Clark told Farms.com today.

The cattle from Virginia would not replace any livestock from Western Canada, Clark says, but would help Ontario meet its demand.

“Our opportunities to buy cattle from the west won’t change a lot and we’re still going to be in those markets,” he said. “The cattle from Virginia would be a small part of what we’re doing, but (this trade relationship) also opens up another avenue for trade.”

Clark credits the Virginian representatives for their interest in doing business with Ontario.

Members from the Virginia Department of Agriculture’s staffed an exhibit on the state’s livestock sector during OCFA’s annual meeting in January. The Virginian presence at the meeting sparked conversations between the two parties.

“The State of Virginia really made a push to increase its awareness in terms of feeder cattle,” Clark said.

Farms.com has reached out to the Virginia Department of Agriculture for comment on the potential trade opportunity.

Top photo: Jim Clark/OCFA

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.