Cattle producers keep shrinking the national herd

Mar 17, 2023

Canada's cattle herd continues a gradual long-term decline, says the annual Livestock Inventory by Statistics Canada.

The national cattle herd of 11.7 million dropped 2.1 per cent ending 2022. Five years ago the herd numbered 11.67 million.

Within the national herd beef numbers declined 2.8 per cent to 9.39 million, cow calf herds fell to 6.27 million from 6.46 million.

The dairy herd declined 1.1 per cent to 1.89 million.

Saskatchewan herds followed the national trend except for the dairy herds, which increased six per cent from 51,200 to 54,400 animals.

The cattle herd in this province lost 20,000 head to 2.17 million while the number of beef cattle was 19,000 less at 2.12 million. These declines might be accounted for by drought in the southwest that forced sale of livestock n 2022.

Cow calf animals declined 4,000 to 1.84 million.

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Video: Food Inflation and Pork Demand - Dr. Sylvain Charlebois

In this episode of The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, Professor and Director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, discusses how food inflation is reshaping Canadian protein demand. He explains why pork remains competitively priced, consumer behavior, and why transparency, AI-assisted shopping, and protein demand will matter in the years ahead. Listen now on all major platforms!

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Meet the guest: Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Professor in Dalhousie University's Faculty of Management and Director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab. His research focuses on food distribution, food policy, food safety, food security, and traceability. Dr. Charlebois has written four books and more than 500 peer-reviewed and scientific articles. He holds a BComm from the Royal Military College, an MBA from UQAM, and a DBA from the University of Sherbrooke. Learn more from Dr. Sylvain Charlebois on The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, available on all major platforms.