NOVEMBER 2016 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC Beef outlets narrow


as feedlots close Western’s demise could be opportunity for proposed Prince George facility


by PETER MITHAM


CALGARY – Times are getting tougher for ranchers trying to move cattle to market with the loss of yet another feedlot in Western Canada.


Western Feedlots of Alberta announced in September that it plans to lock the gate on 59 years of business in early 2017. The closure eliminates one of Canada’s largest feedlots, which in turn supplied two of the country’s largest beef packers – Cargill Ltd. and JBS USA Holdings Inc. (formerly Swift Foods).


Combined with a shrinking herd in Western Canada, the closure will mean less work for packers and potentially less meat from Canada’s ranches hitting the country’s tables. “Our peak capacity in Western Canada was 1.75 million head,” Brian Perillat, manager and senior analyst with Canfax, the market analysis division of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association in Calgary, said. “With the Western closure we’re down to about 1.35 million.”


With limited slaughter capacity of its own, BC sends the majority of its beef cattle to Alberta for processing. Many also went east for finishing, thanks to the integration of the processing sector.


However, Western’s closure follows on the demise of Southern Plus Feedlots in Oliver this fall, meaning ranchers face fewer options when it comes to shipping their beef.


Those with a capacity of WIN A TRIP


TO VEGAS! Fall | Winter


Booking Program


Proof of Qualifying Purchase Required; Some Restrictions Apply.


Langley 1.888.675.7999 Williams Lake 1.855.398.7757 Contact Your WaterTec


Sales Rep To Enter Today! www.watertecna.com Diesel & PTO Pumps | PVC & Aluminum Pipe | Hard Hose Irrigation Reels | CentER Pivots WEDNESDAY


NOVEMBER 9 HUGE WILLIAMS LAKE BRED COW SALE


Cheryl Newman KAMLOOPS STOCKYARDS


250.320.0870 SATURDAY T TURDAY


NOVEMBER 12 VANDERHOOF


COW HERD DISPERSAL Wilf Smith


WILLIAMS LAKE STOCKYARDS 250.398.0813


www.bclivestock.bc.ca MONDAY


MONDA


NOVEMBER 14 OKANAGAN FALLS


BRED COW SALE FRIDAY


NOVEMBER 18 VANDERHOOF


BRED COW & REGULAR SALE


DeCody Corbiere


VANDERHOOF STOCKYARDS 250.524.0681


MONDAY


NOVEMBER 21 KAMLOOPS


BRED SALE 3 DISPERSALS


Al Smith


BC WIDE MARKETING 250.570.2143


WEDNESDAY


NOVEMBER 30 WILLIAMS LAKE BRED SALE


Shawn Carter OK FALLS STOCKYARDS


250.490.5809


1,000 head or more have declined from 200 five years ago to 150 today. There are also 20 to 50 smaller


operations, but they handle a fraction of Western Canada’s herd.


The result is a more


consolidated industry that will put greater pressure on prices. This, in turn, will squeeze ranch incomes, which benefitted from high prices last fall.


Shrinking herd


Western Canada’s herd has shrunk over the past year but prices haven’t increased because demand for beef remains low. Meanwhile, the big grocers have put the lean on suppliers to provide them with more for less.


“Packing plants have been paying less for the cattle, for sure,” Perillat said. “[Retailers] are managing their margins; of course, they’re going to want to buy it as cheap as possible.” The lack of a domestic supply can easily become a liability, however, especially as grocers and restaurants seek to capture an increasingly picky consumer. The lack of a single


domestic supplier for Certified Humane beef put Vancouver- based Earls Restaurants Ltd. in the cross-hairs of ranchers and consumers earlier this year, for example. The firm had looked to Kansas for its beef rather than rounding up stock from smaller suppliers in Canada. “Chefs headed out to see the ranches and the butchering facilities for themselves. They filled their water bottles up from the


21


WISE INVESTMENT: Devan Jansen, left, of Grindrod, was presented with one of two 4-H dairy scholarships sponsored by RBC Wealth Management, Vernon, this year. The $1500 scholarship was split between Devan, who is taking agricultural and mechanical courses, and Erin Drydyk, from Armstrong, who is studying agriculture management at Olds College. Making the presentation at the North Okanagan Holstein Club Fall Sale in Armstrong, September 28, was RBC investment advisor Eric Wikjord and IPE president Ted Fitchett. (Gary Booy photo)


cows’ water sources and tasted the feed, a mix of naturally ranch-grown grains and grasses and the spent grains from the local brewery,” Earls said in announcing its program.


But, like Dorothy, Earls isn’t in Kansas anymore.


The backlash prompted it to work with the growing number of small feedlots – primarily in Alberta – who finish their cattle in ways that meet emerging market demands.


“We are seeing more niche supply chains,” Perillat said.


While exact numbers are hard to come by, Alberta Cattle Feeders Association CEO Bryan Walton believes the majority of consumers are sticking with conventional beef.


“There are always niches for grass-fed, and what Earls is looking for,” Walton said. “[But] I would argue that most Canadians are happy with the conventional product.” Meanwhile, export demand is growing. A new plant is set to open in Balzac, Alberta by the end of the year, and plans are also taking shape for a new


facility in Prince George. Both are export-oriented but stand to benefit from the closure of Western Feedlots.


“It will probably, in some aspects, give an opportunity,” says Kevin Boon, general manager of the BC Cattlemen’s Association regarding Western Feedlots’ closure. “One of the reasons we’re looking at a facility in BC is the closer we can keep the cattle to the grain and to the packing plant, the more economical it is. … [Western’s closure] gives opportunity for us to build.”


NOVEMBER 2000 COWS & BRED HEIFERS


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48