Saskatchewan at 4.2 percent and Alberta at two percent also showed significant shrinkage of beef inventories.
Canadian heifers for beef replacement numbers were also down 7.4 percent to just 622,100 head. The report also noted that heifers for slaughter were down 4.7 percent to 836,200 head, while calves under one-year-old were down five percent to 3,861,300 head.
Stats Can said that concerns regarding drought in 2022—the second in a row—helped increase Prairie heifers into feedlots earlier in 2022.
Western cow slaughter was high in eastern Canada, while in western Canada was much lower.
Numbers suggest that our Canadian beef cow inventory is at its lowest since 2015.
July 1, 2022, beef cow numbers are at 3.71 million head, down 1.7 percent from the same date in 2021.
Canadian exports of beef cattle remained strong in 2022 even though shipments to China were stopped earlier this year.
Although the US continued its trend as Canada’s biggest importer, numbers went down—but Asian and Mexican markets helped pick up the slack. Exports are expected to be up by two percent by end of the year 2022.