Cull cow slaughter and export updates

Dec 22, 2020

Since early April, western Canada cow slaughter has been below weekly levels of 2019 and the 5-year average.

‘Year-to-date, western Canada slaughter is 281,636 head, 25% below 2019 and 12.6% lower than the 5-year average,’ says Jason Wood, provincial livestock market analyst with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry.

‘Nationally, cow slaughter is 380,775 head to the week ending December 5, down 20% from 2019 and 5.4% below the 5-year average. Good pasture and forage conditions have been beneficial, allowing time to market cows and preventing additional downward price pressure.’

Image 1. Year-to-date Western Canada cow slaughter (January to December 5, 2020)

Wood notes total exports of Canadian live cattle to the U.S. are 611,535 head to the week ending November 28, 2020, down 9.2% from 2019 and 8.9% lower than the 5-year average.

Feeder cattle exports are 110,686 head this year, down 39% from 2019. Fed (slaughter) steers and heifers, including cow exports, are currently at 452,359 head, up 3.4% from 2019.

‘Higher exports of fed cattle and cows have provided market support this year,’ explains Wood.

Image 2. Canadian total live cattle exports to the U.S. (to week ending November 28, 2020)

Canadian total live cattle export to the US

Wood adds frozen cow meat exports are allowed under Phase 1 of the U.S.-China trade deal. Recent reports indicate that more U.S. frozen cow cuts are being exported to China. ‘This may provide additional support to the cow market as we move into 2021, both in the U.S. and here.

‘Finally,’ says Wood, ‘as we move into the first quarter of 2021 and closer to spring, increased demand for lean ground beef typically supports a seasonal increase in cow prices.’

Source : alberta.ca

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.