Sask. cattle producers facing feed shortages
Saskatchewan cattle producers are now facing feed issues for their livestock due to the drought the province experienced last summer.
Harold Martens has over 1,000 livestock on his ranch northeast of Swift Current, and is now faced with feed issue brought on by the drought.
"We did sell about eight per cent of our cows," said Martens. "We were just happy that's all we had to reduce our herd by."
In August, he had calculated they would need to sell one-third of their cows due to their feed shortage. Normally he cuts 2,000 acres of upland seeded grass, this summer they only managed to get around 400.
"We knew we weren't gong to have enough feed," said Martens.
In a usual year he irrigates for about 3,000 bales of barley for silage, and this was cut by one third.
September's rain helped them grow some of what they needed, but he was still in short supply. He started to look around the province, and all over.
"Over the years we have been selling stuff privately to people in Saskatchewan and Alberta, so we kind of have an understanding about what it takes to get this done," Martens said. "We started phoning those people, and they led us from one place to the next until we got the feed."
According to the Saskatchewan Cattlemen's Association, the feed issue is what many of Saskatchewan's 12,000 cow-calf producers are faced with.
"It's a huge concern to all sectors of the cattle beef production cycle," said Arnold Balicki, chair of the Saskatchewan Cattlemen's Association. "Anytime they run out of feed or can't get feed in a timely manner, those feed lots are going to cut back on buying."
Exacerbating the issue for ranchers is the cold, which Balicki said forces cows to consume more feed.
"The demand for calves are going to back off,” said Balicki. “That will be the second really, really bad year that we have."
The feed shortage issue is worse in Alberta due to its reliance on feed being transported in by railway.
"Talking to CP officials, trains have been delayed by a week from crew shortages from COVID-19 and cold weather,” Chad MacPherson, general manager of the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association, said. “They are putting extra resources to the issue and hope to have the backlog resolved within a week."
Balicki said introducing the vaccine mandate for truckers at this time will only add to the troubles producers are facing.
"I don't know where this is coming from but it just doesn't make sense," he added.
With calving season nearing, Balicki hopes the feed issues don’t persist.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Another suspect arrested in Toronto Pearson airport gold heist: police
Another suspect is in custody in connection with the gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport last year, police say.
Poilievre-led government 'would never' use notwithstanding clause on abortion, his office says
A Conservative government led by Pierre Poilievre would not legislate on, nor use the notwithstanding clause, on abortion, his office says, as anti-abortion protesters gather on Parliament Hill.
Why these immigrants to Canada say they're thinking about leaving, or have already moved on
For some immigrants, their dreams of permanently settling in Canada have taken an unexpected twist.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Here are the ultraprocessed foods you most need to avoid, according to a 30-year study
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
Miss Teen USA steps down just days after Miss USA's resignation
Miss Teen USA resigned Wednesday, sending further shock waves through the pageant community just days after Miss USA said she would relinquish her crown.
Cyclist strikes child crossing the street to catch school bus in Montreal
A video circulating on social media of a young girl being hit by a bike has some calling for better safety and more caution when designing bike lanes in the city. The video shows a four-year-old girl crossing Jeanne-Mance Street in Montreal's Plateau neighbourhood to get on a school bus stopped on the opposite side of the street
Trump hush money trial: Play-by-play on Day 2 of Stormy Daniels testimony
Adult film star Stormy Daniels took the stand for a second time Thursday as former U.S. president Donald Trump's hush money case continues in Manhattan.
B.C. wildfires likely to spread with weekend temperatures expected to soar, province says
Wildfire and emergency management officials in British Columbia are urging residents to be prepared for increased fire activity as temperatures are expected to soar above 30 C in parts of the province this weekend.