A good time for Atlantic beef farmers to buy western stock
/by Amy Higgins
It’s hard to believe it’s September already. If there was ever a time to be grateful for rain in our region, this summer would be it. Western farmers are in dire need of precipitation.
You may be familiar with the “Hay West” initiative that’s been undertaken in previous years of drought and has been launched again this year by the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. The program has a specific purpose of getting hay from farmers in the East who’ve had a bumper crop to farmers in the West who don’t have enough hay to feed their animals due to drought. However, the initiative has some fairly significant gaps that have been identified since it was last undertaken. For instance, there have been concerns about the quality of the forage being shipped, fumigation requirements, and increased transportation costs.
Those who transport forage are not keen to put anything other than large square hay bales on their trailers. However, it’s been such a wet summer here that dry hay is a bit of an anomaly. In order to beat the rain this year, much forage has been put up as silage and haylage. Transporting silage is more costly because of the increased risk of spoilage and the fact that you’re transporting a lot of water weight, which is not ideal.
The average pregnant cow requires 4.5 tonnes of hay, along with some supplements, to get through the winter. A 30-tonne trailer load of hay might be stretched to feed seven cows.
It would be more efficient to transport cattle east to the source of the hay and board the animals on Maritime farms until farmers in other provinces have enough hay to feed their cattle again. Cedric MacLeod, opportunities coordinator with the New Brunswick Cattle Producers Association, suggested such a “Cow East” initiative in August. However, there would also be logistical issues with that undertaking. For instance, at the time of writing this column, it wasn’t determined whether such an initiative would be covered under provincial support programs.
What should not be overlooked in our region is the potential to take advantage of genetics and quality that comes with western producers in a position to make some hard cuts. Seedstock producers would rather see their replacement heifers go into breeding herds than to the feeder market, so there are potentially plenty of producers interested in getting you something to fit your needs.
Such purchases may be covered under current genetic enhancement programs in each province, so speak with your local provincial extension agent about specific programs. If you need help connecting with a seedstock/purebred producer in Western Canada, reach out to your provincial cattle producer organization. They can attempt to connect buyers and sellers.
The Maritime Beef Sector Development and Expansion Strategy has outlined the potential for increasing our region’s cow herd. Our access to grass and forage is strong and we have a regional beef plant and a local abattoir system that could handle additional local capacity.
As much as we wish our friends in the West had received timely rain, this may be the opportunity to buy while the supply and demand charts are a bit wonky. I’m not a professional market analyst, but it seems like a good opportunity for those who are able to take advantage.
(Amy Higgins is the Maritime Beef Council’s industry coordinator. She raises purebred Angus cattle on the family farm in Quispamsis, N.B., and also operates a veggie box program. She’s president of both the New Brunswick and Maritime Angus associations.)
