MMM 387 September 1, 1999

 

U.S./CANADIAN JULY CATTLE INVENTORY REPORT
P.J. Rathwell, Extension Ag. Economist

For years US cattle producers have considered the Canadian cattle producer a strong competitor in the US beef market. Fed cattle produced in Canada were slaughtered in US plants and the meat was sold to US retailers. It has been suggested that Canadian beef took market share from US producers and helped to keep US fed cattle prices down.

The National Agricultural Statistics Service of the USDA has compiled with help of the Livestock and Annual Products Section, Statistics Canada an estimate of the number of cattle and calves on farms and ranches in Canada. This information was requested by the US cattle industry to provide producers additional information about potential beef supplies from Canada.

The joint agency release placed the combined July 1, 1999 country cattle and calf inventory at 121,306,000 head. Total inventory numbers have slowly decreased over the last few years (Table 1). The inventory estimate for July 1, 1999 is down 1 percent from 1998. Beef cow inventory is 38,606,000 head down 1 percent from 1998. The joint calf crop is also down 1 percent from 1998. The number of beef animals in both Canada and the US are shown in Table 2. Total Canadian cattle inventory has averaged about 13 percent of the US total Cattle inventory.

Table 1: Total Canadian and US Cattle Inventory, July 1999
Class 1997 1998 1999
Cattle and Calves 124,144 122,446 121,306
Beef Cows 39,498 39,017 38,606
Milk Cows 10,515 10,402 10,348
All Other Cattle 74,131 73,027 72,352
Calf Crop 44,340 43,872

What is the potential impact of Canadian production on US beef supplies. In 1998 Canada shipped about 1 million head of fed cattle for processing in the US. Some of these carcasses are returned to Canada but a large portion remaining in the US beef marketing. In contrast, the US processes about 33 million head of fed cattle annually. Canada's shipments represent about 3 percent of total US processed fed beef. Put in a different light 1 million head of fed cattle from Canada is equal to about one nd one-half weeks of U.S. processing volume.

Table 2: Cattle and Calves Number by Class and Calf Crop, US and Canada, July 1, 1997-99

United States

Canada
Class 1997 1998 1999 1997 1998 1999
(1000 head)
Cattle and Calves 109,200 107,700 106,800 14,944 14,746 14,506
Cows and Heifers 44,100 43,600 43,200 5,913 5,819 5,754
Beef Cows 34,800 34,400 34,050 4,698 4,617 4,556
Milk Cows 9,300 9,200 9,150 1,215 1,202 1,198
Heifers Replacement 17,100 16,700 16,600 2,374 2,285 2,231
Beef 5,300 5,000 4,800 880 764 750
Milk 3,600 3,600 3,700 539 532 523
Other 8,200 8,100 8,100 955 989 958
Steers >500 lbs 14,800 14,600 14,400 1,408 1,516 1,487
Bulls 2,300 2,200 2,100 272 259 258
Calves <500 lbs 30,900 30,600 30,500 4,977 4,867 4,776
Calf Crop 38,961 38,582 38,300 5,379 5,290 4,308

Where is Canadian cattle production located? Table 3 shows the distribution of beef and milk cows in Canadian provinces. Most of the beef cattle production is located in Canada's prairie provinces, Manitoba (12.1%), Saskatchewan (25.5%), and Alberta (41.7%). Dairy production is concentrated in the eastern provinces of Ontario (33.3%)and Quebec (38.1%).

Table 3. Geographic Distribution of Canadian Cattle
Province Total

Cattle and Calves

Beef

Cows

Milk

Cows

(percent of total in cattle class)

Quebec 9.3 4.3 38.1
Ontario 14.6 8.8 33.3
Manitoba 9.7 12.1 4.1
Saskatchewan 19.1 25.5 3.1
Alberta 39.7 41.7 8.6
British Columbia 5.5 5.0 6.9
Other 2.0 1.5 5.9

 


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