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COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • SEPTEMBER 2017


Fall promises volatility in cattle markets


August saw cattle markets


face significant negative pressure in the United States, and to a slightly lesser extent


Markets by AARON CANART


in Canada. The volume of market-ready fat cattle is starting to become overbearing on the market, as many analysts anticipated. Slaughter volume in


JOAN TRASK FILE PHOTO


Canada is 9% higher than a year ago, and up 6% in the US. The increased slaughter rate coupled with larger


Attention:AllBCCattleProducers IMPORTANT NOTICE





BeefCattleCheckOfftobe $5perheadeffectiveSeptember1,2017


ThecattleindustryinBritishColumbiaissupportingtheincrease incheckoffto$5.00perhead. IMPLEMENTATIONOFTHEINCREASEISDELAYED2018.


This $5 represents both provincial and national checkoff amounts. The Canadian Beef Cattle Checkoff is increasing to $2.50perheadandatthesametime,theprovincialcheckoffis increasing to $2.50. These increases have been made at the request of, and supported by the members of the B.C. cattle


associations. 


CANADIANBEEFCATTLECHECKOFF$2.50(National) The fiveyear Canada’s National Beef Strategyrecommended the increase to the national checkoff, noting that the $1 approvedin1999justdidn’tgofarenoughintoday’seconomy. The $2.50 nationalcheckoff(nonrefundable) is allocatedby eachprovinceandmustmeettheregulationsthatallowthecheckofftobeusedto promotethemarketingandproductionofbeefcattle,beefandbeefproductsand toconductandpromoteresearchactivitiesrelatedtothoseproducts. https://canadabeef.ca/nationalcheckoff/; 


CIDCCHECKOFF$2.50(Provincial) Theprovincialcheckoffisincreasingby50¢perheadfor $2.50 provincial (refundable) checkoff. This increase willbeputtousebytheprovincialcattleassociationsfor projectsthatbenefittheBCbeefindustry.Thecattleherdnumbershavecontinued todeclineresultingindecreasedcheckoffreceipts.Inconsultationwiththecattle industry inBC,CIDC felt itwouldbenefitthebeefindustry inBCto increasethe provincialcheckoff.http://www.cattlefund.net 


Every$1paidincheckoffinBCismatchedbytheBeefCattleIndustryDevelopment Fundforinvestmentintothecattleindustry.


 


The$5CheckOffhasbeensupportedbythefollowingcattleindustryassociations: 


  


InBCwecanbeproudtohaveCanada’s longestrunningcheckoffsystemforthe beef industry. Since its beginnings in 1939 as a government administered funddistributedatthediscretionofthe Minister of Agriculture, to the current checkoffadministrationbytheCouncil of elected cattle producer volunteers. The Cattle Industry Development Council members work together to managethefundforthegoodoftheBC beefindustry. 


Thecomprehensiveprocesstoascertain industry support and the subsequent approval process is completed. The increasednationalcheckoffwillbeused to meet the objectives set out in the fiveyear Canadian National Beef Strategy. The increased provincial checkoffstaysintheprovincetowork onbehalfofBCcattleproducers.


   


Development Council www.cattlefund.net


Cattle Industry


Message from the Chair LindaAllison


CattleIndustryDevelopmentCouncil,Chair


volumes of feeder cattle entering feedlots each month, compared to a year ago, are the two factors dominating the market today.


The increased supply


available from every sector of the beef chain in North America trumps any supply disruption the


wildfires will create in BC. We must put things in


perspective when there are significant supply disruptions regionally. BC represents just 5.1% of the Canadian herd as of January 1, 2017. Therefore, while not downplaying the devastating effects to producers and all involved in the cattle business in BC, the wildfires will have zero impact on the price producers receive for their calves. Going forward, feeder and calf markets are likely to be volatile. There are predictions of the fat cattle market turning higher in 2018, which could be reflected in calf prices this fall. On the other hand, the fat cattle market could continue to fade lower through the fall when most calves are sold. These two opposing forces will make it difficult to determine when to sell calves and to know what to expect. As of today, the $2.00 a pound mark looks to be at the upper end of what could be expected for a 525-575 weight steer calf. However, this changes so rapidly it could be well off the mark by the time you’re reading this. The bottom line is that the





BCAssociationofCattleFeeders www.bcacf.ca





BCBreeders&FeedersAssociation www.bcbfa.ca


BCCattlemen’sAssociation www.cattlemen.bc.ca





BCDairyAssociation www.bcdairy.ca


market faces pressure from the volume of market-ready cattle being offered to the packer and this is likely to pressure feeder and calf prices lower than what was expected throughout most of the summer. US producers are rebuilding their herds and this is now filtering through to feedlots and into the beef market. Thus far, it has been met with great demand, especially from the export market. However, the doldrums of summer are where beef demand wanes and we are trying to identify just when the summer low will hit and we will start to grind higher. The volume of available cattle throughout North America is the determining factor of what the market will do going forward. Key variables to watch are slaughter volumes, placement data in both Canada and the US, as well as deferred futures pricing for fat cattle. To receive a newsletter or


make inquiries, contact aaron@wlms.ca or www.livestockmarketing.ca


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