THE COW-CALF INDUSTRY IN CANADA AND THE UNITED-STATES - A COMPARISON

The cow-calf sector is unique as it exists in virtually every state an d province in North America. Feeder calf prices track closely suggesti ng the feeder calf sub-sector is continental in scope. The feed lot in dustry is moving west, due in part to a constant supply of feeder calv es, in turn due in part to a cheap forage base. The number of farms wi th over 100 beef cows is increasing but much Of the production remains in small herds. These larger herds account for only 35% of beef cows in Canada and 48% of beef cows in the US. Operators with 20+ beef cows averaged 49 years of age in Canada and 56 years of age in the US. Acc ess to publicly-owned grazing land is a factor in the west, representi ng 74% of land operated by western US cow-calf operators and 40% of we stern Canada cow-calf operators. The apparent lag in the expansion of the US cattle cycle may be due, in part, to competition for public lan ds and expected cost increases related to pressures from the environme ntal lobby.