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Outlook for livestock feed input suppliers mixed

FCC Economics helps you make sense of the top economic trends and issues likely to affect your agribusiness in 2023.

The Canadian commercial feed market (for example, pelleted rations for cattle, dairy, hog and poultry) grew over 20% in 2022, reaching a record $11.5 billion in sales. Most of this growth was driven by increases in feed grain prices stemming from Russia’s war against Ukraine. The livestock sector has faced numerous years of tight feed supplies and expensive feed grains. High feed costs have pressured profitability throughout the Canadian livestock industry, including feed mill operators, as volatile commodity prices negatively impacted their margins.

We are projecting the Canadian commercial feed market to grow 6.6% in 2023 to $12.3 billion, driven by strong livestock receipts and feed grain prices that remain historically high. The Eastern Canadian commercial feed market is expected to have the largest growth at over 9% in 2023 to $6.1 billion. Eastern Canadian growth is driven by its large dairy sector and an expanding poultry sector. In Western Canada, we are projecting a 4.0% increase in feed sales to $5.7 billion, largely due to drought conditions and the need to purchase feed. In Atlantic Canada, we are projecting a 7.6% increase in feed sales but recent flooding in Nova Scotia could change that projection.

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Developing disease resistance in new wheat varieties

Video: Developing disease resistance in new wheat varieties


Dr. Colin Hiebert, research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada – Morden, is focused on developing new tools that wheat breeders can use to improve, diversify and strengthen disease resistance in new wheat varieties. This includes new genomic tools that address resistance to five diseases including: Fusarium head blight, leaf rust, stripe rust, stem rust and common bunt.

Learn more about how research conducted at AAFC-Morden will impact wheat variety development, production and profitability for the future. This research is part of the Canadian National Wheat Cluster and funding is provided through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Alberta Grains, Sask Wheat, Manitoba Crop Alliance, Western Grains Research Foundation and Canadian Field Crop Research Alliance.