Cattle producers have taken a hard look at their herd this year when it comes to production and management.
Anne Wasko is a market analyst with Cattle Trends and says slaughter numbers are up for a variety of reasons.
"After we came out of a very difficult winter and calving season, certainly the cow slaughter was up and that has continued to run at a higher rate all through 2018. So our year-to-date cow slaughter for Canada is up 15 per cent versus last year's."
Feedlot numbers are also up, with data showing that feedlots are running at fuller levels heading into this calf run than they were at this time last year.
She says part of the increase at the feedlots is import feeder cattle coming into Canada over the last year, more heifers going on feed and the earlier movement in some areas because of the drought.
Source : Steinbachonline