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Producers see some risks in calf set aside
this document web posted: Wednesday, November 3, 2004 20041104p55
By Ian Bell
Brandon bureau
CARBERRY, Man. - Cattle producers in Manitoba worry that the short-term gains of a calf set-aside program could be followed by longer-term pain.
The idea of the program, cost-shared by Ottawa and the provinces, is to compensate producers for setting aside some of the beef calves born in 2004 so there is not a rush to get them all to market.
In Manitoba, participants in the feeder calf set-aside are eligible for $200 for each animal enrolled. However, the participants must hold the enrolled calves until at least Sept. 1, 2005, and those calves cannot be slaughtered before Jan. 1, 2006, even if sold off the farm.
At a district meeting of the Manitoba Cattle Producers Association Oct. 28, it was suggested that the strategy, while helping producers now, might cause hardship farther down the road.
Some producers at the meeting noted that if they did participate in the calf-aside, it was more likely that they would enrol heifers in the program rather than steers.
Those heifers might eventually become part of their breeding herds, which would mean that within a couple of years there could be more cows in Manitoba producing calves.
The result could be an increase in cattle production that would continue exceeding slaughter capacity, especially if exports of live Canadian cattle to the United States did not resume by the time the heifers enrolled in the set-aside were old enough to be mothering calves.
"We're going to have such a glut at the end we won't be able to get rid of it," said MacGregor, Man., producer Martin Unrau. "I'd like to jump in, but the price at the end is what scares me."
On top of that is a concern that many of the animals tied up in the set-aside might be rushed to market soon after the program ends.
In an interview, Unrau said he appreciated what government was trying to achieve with the programs but he questioned whether the BSE aid was thought through carefully.
Manitoba Cattle Producers Association president Betty Green said there are many reasons why producers might choose to enrol heifers instead of steers in the calf set-aside program. One is that steers often command higher prices, so producers want to move them to market soonest.
"Producers want the more valuable calves, the steers, to go and pay the bills."
Heifers are more flexible since they can go as feeders or be kept or sold for replacements. Heifers may not add size as quickly as steers, making it easier to keep them on the farm longer to suit the timelines of the set-aside program.
Unrau said longer-term planning is needed to address the needs of cattle producers dealing with the BSE situation.
"If we're not planning for three years, we're done. We've got to know where we're going here."
Green said cattle slaughter capacity in Canada is increasing to help address the surplus of cattle resulting from lost exports to countries like the United States.
Before BSE was confirmed in Canada in May 2003, 60,000 head were slaughtered a week. The slaughter is now more than 77,000 per week.
For slaughter to match cattle production in Canada, there needs to be a kill of 98,000 head a week, said Green. Based on current packer expansion, that number could be reached in the first quarter of 2006, she said.
this document web posted: Wednesday, November 3, 2004 20041104p55
By Ian Bell
Brandon bureau
CARBERRY, Man. - Cattle producers in Manitoba worry that the short-term gains of a calf set-aside program could be followed by longer-term pain.
The idea of the program, cost-shared by Ottawa and the provinces, is to compensate producers for setting aside some of the beef calves born in 2004 so there is not a rush to get them all to market.
In Manitoba, participants in the feeder calf set-aside are eligible for $200 for each animal enrolled. However, the participants must hold the enrolled calves until at least Sept. 1, 2005, and those calves cannot be slaughtered before Jan. 1, 2006, even if sold off the farm.
At a district meeting of the Manitoba Cattle Producers Association Oct. 28, it was suggested that the strategy, while helping producers now, might cause hardship farther down the road.
Some producers at the meeting noted that if they did participate in the calf-aside, it was more likely that they would enrol heifers in the program rather than steers.
Those heifers might eventually become part of their breeding herds, which would mean that within a couple of years there could be more cows in Manitoba producing calves.
The result could be an increase in cattle production that would continue exceeding slaughter capacity, especially if exports of live Canadian cattle to the United States did not resume by the time the heifers enrolled in the set-aside were old enough to be mothering calves.
"We're going to have such a glut at the end we won't be able to get rid of it," said MacGregor, Man., producer Martin Unrau. "I'd like to jump in, but the price at the end is what scares me."
On top of that is a concern that many of the animals tied up in the set-aside might be rushed to market soon after the program ends.
In an interview, Unrau said he appreciated what government was trying to achieve with the programs but he questioned whether the BSE aid was thought through carefully.
Manitoba Cattle Producers Association president Betty Green said there are many reasons why producers might choose to enrol heifers instead of steers in the calf set-aside program. One is that steers often command higher prices, so producers want to move them to market soonest.
"Producers want the more valuable calves, the steers, to go and pay the bills."
Heifers are more flexible since they can go as feeders or be kept or sold for replacements. Heifers may not add size as quickly as steers, making it easier to keep them on the farm longer to suit the timelines of the set-aside program.
Unrau said longer-term planning is needed to address the needs of cattle producers dealing with the BSE situation.
"If we're not planning for three years, we're done. We've got to know where we're going here."
Green said cattle slaughter capacity in Canada is increasing to help address the surplus of cattle resulting from lost exports to countries like the United States.
Before BSE was confirmed in Canada in May 2003, 60,000 head were slaughtered a week. The slaughter is now more than 77,000 per week.
For slaughter to match cattle production in Canada, there needs to be a kill of 98,000 head a week, said Green. Based on current packer expansion, that number could be reached in the first quarter of 2006, she said.
