Canadian Cattle Numbers Down on Drought, Export Demand

Aug 24, 2022

The number of cattle on Canadian farms has fallen precipitously in the wake of last year’s Prairie drought.

A Statistics Canada livestock inventory report released Tuesday showed Canadian farmers held 12.3 million cattle and calves on their farms as of July 1, 2022, down 2.8% on the year. That is the lowest level recorded since July 1, 1988, and represents the largest year-over-year decrease since July 1, 2015, when record high prices incentivized farmers to sell their animals.

This time around, the decline in cattle numbers is due more to the drought, which tightened feedgrain supplies and led to record-high production costs in some cases. Rising export demand for beef and the resulting increase in slaughter also helped to lead to the drawdown in the Canadian cattle herd, StatsCan said.

Cattle and calf slaughter for the period from January to June 2022 was up 2.5% from the same period in 2021, and reached the highest level recorded for the first half of the year since 2010. Strong export demand for Canadian beef — particularly from the US and Japan — helped support domestic slaughter, as total exports of beef and veal for the January-to-June period rose in 2022, compared with the same period in 2021.

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Video: Winter Canola Trial in Mississippi | Can It Work for Double Cropping? | Pioneer Agronomy

Can winter canola open new opportunities for growers in the Mid-South? In this agronomy update from Noxubee County, Mississippi, Pioneer agronomist Gus Eifling shares an early look at a first-year winter canola trial and what farmers are learning from the field.

Planted in late October on 30-inch rows, the crop is now entering the bloom stage and progressing quickly. In this video, we walk through current field conditions, fertility management, and how timing could make this crop a valuable option for double-cropping soybeans or cotton.

If harvest timing lines up with early May, growers may be able to transition directly into another crop during ideal planting windows. Ongoing field trials will help determine whether canola could become a viable rotational option for the region.

Watch for:

How winter canola is performing in its first season in this Mississippi field

Why growers chose 30-inch rows for this trial

What the crop looks like as it moves from bolting into bloom

Fertility strategy, including nitrogen and sulfur applications

How canola harvest timing could enable double-cropping with soybeans or cotton

Upcoming trials comparing soybeans after canola vs. traditional planting

As more growers look for ways to maximize acres and diversify rotations, experiments like this help determine what new crops might fit into existing systems.