.jpg)
Going into 2024 the fundamentals all indicate we should have a strong cattle market for cattle producers in Manitoba, especially cow-calf producers, says Rick Wright, Executive Director for the Manitoba Livestock Marketing Association.
"You know, they're paying a lot of money out for these calves for the feeders," he explains. "Their margins, they're going to have to use an awfully sharp pencil to make sure that there's something left in it for them, but the fear of a collapse like it we saw in 2016 doesn't look immediately on the horizon. It looks like this thing has got legs on it for 2-3 years if we don't have a border closure or a black swan."
"So, I think for those producers who have weathered it through and hung on, they're going to be well-compensated for their calves coming forward, and certainly they need it."
Wright notes cattle producers are all seeing the cost of raising calves has gone through the roof, and so strong markets doesn't mean they're putting it all in their pockets.
"Funds are certainly going out to handle their day-to-day costs of keeping a cow," he adds, "And if you look at the price of tractors, balers and everything else right now, they need that increase to be sustainable in the future."
For 2024, Wright says management is the big thing for cattle producers, and to utilize their resources for the maximum return. With these kinds of dynamics, Wright doesn't believe we'll be returning back to the number of cattle producers we had just 3-4 years ago. Buying into the cattle industry is just too expensive, but expanding the herd to maximize current resources is a good strategy.
In response to Canada's Online News Act and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) removing access to local news from their platforms, PembinaValleyOnline encourages you to get your news directly from your trusted source by bookmarking this page and downloading the PembinaValleyOnline app.