Plant closures force cattle producers to juggle inventory

Dec 26, 2019

The suspension of three beef processing plants in Ontario will force more cattle to be processed outside the province, costing producers in both higher transportation costs and lower returns for their animals.

The CFIA cancelled the three licenses earlier this month after initially suspending them in September.

Inadequate processing capacity

The Beef Farmers of Ontario says the province already had too few processors, so the closure of the three plants increases the backlog.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association notes the lack of capacity has hurt both the beef and dairy industries, and estimates the economic impact is approximately $174 million for eastern Canada.

Ontario Federation of Agriculture says as a result of the plant closures, farmers are feeding cattle longer and at increased costs.

Longer hauls

Western Canadian plants will likely absorb much of Ontario’s packer capacity shortage, says Ryan Copithorne, president of Cows in Control, a financial and risk management consulting company.

Some Ontario cattle will also head to the United States, but either way, transportation costs will be higher.

Cattle hauled to the U.S. also face additional export and inspection costs, Copithorne notes.

Shrink

Longer transportation distances also mean greater cattle weight loss. The traditional three to four per cent lost in transit will now reach seven to eight per cent or more, Copithorne estimates.

“Overfat cattle will shrink more on the trucks, and you can’t get as many on the trucks,” he says.

Source : FCC

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.