ESTEVAN - The 2021 drought, alongside the lack of moisture experienced in the southeast corner of the province over the previous years, has seriously cut into the winter cattle feed supplies.
While some ranchers foresaw it, many hoped for a better season and are now caught between agrarian Scylla and Charybdis – the lack of feed on the one side and lower prices at the livestock at the end of 2021 and early 2022 on the other.
Chad Ross, the fourth-generation farmer of the L-7 Land & Cattle ranch that was started in 1905 and is located 15 minutes south of Estevan, dropped their herd to about 500 cows in December 2020 ahead of the drought season. They are currently down to about a third of the cattle they'd normally have, but that is helping them to get through this winter without being pressured to sell cheap.
"Our anticipation was we'd been through a couple of years where it was pretty dry. And we knew that if we had another year of drought that we'd be in big trouble. So we liquidated half of our herd," Ross said in the interview with the Mercury. "The 2021 growing season wasn't the greatest, but we did get sporadic rains in the Estevan area, which did give us a crop."
Beth and Ryan Vanderhurk of 20/20 Ranching Ltd., a family-ran calf/cow and feedlot operation currently looking after about 5,000 Angus head south of Midale, found themselves in a different situation this year.
"Some decisions that were made in the last year have yet to be determined whether they are good or bad. We bred a large number of replacement heifers in 2021 with intentions of selling them into a strong and optimistic market, however, with the widespread drought conditions, lack of water and feed shortages that market fell apart," the Vanderhurks said in an email to the Mercury.
“So we are getting set to start calving in March which is two months earlier than we would typically start. And only time will tell whether holding on was a good idea or not. As is the norm in agriculture, we again find ourselves at the mercy of the weather.”
The lack of moisture resulted in a reduction in feed. And while they should have enough to get through the winter, there are a lot of factors that affect the situation on a day-to-day basis.
"We are seeing feed prices climbing still. We have enough feed inventory now to get us through until summer, but finished cattle that were supposed to go to Alberta processors weeks ago have yet to be picked up, therefore having a tremendous impact on the feed supply," the Vanderhurks said.
"For the most part, other local producers are in a similar situation but should be good to get through till spring with the feed resources they have. This is still dependent on the weather. Extreme cold snaps are very hard on feed supplies and with calving starting or well underway for a lot of people, the mother cows' demands increase dramatically."
After downsizing, Ross said he also still has to monitor the feed situation very close, especially with changing weather.
"We're day by day. The weather was pretty good up till December, which we're thankful for. And then she got cold and then got pretty tough and boy, cows sure eat a lot of feed," Ross said.
Feed producers in the area were affected by the drought just as everyone else, so the supply is very tight.
Both Ross and the Venaderhurk family said that "creativity" becomes key to the survival of their business now.
"We've had to manage and adapt. It's been a challenge, to say the least," Ross said. "We have some options, but it's stressful. Producers have to be creative. We have neighbours that are feeding a lot of straw products combined with other feeds to get the animals through," Ross said.
"When resources become scarce or extremely costly we need to get creative. It's one of the main ways that cattle can really shine," the Vanderhurks said. "Opportunity feeds have always been something that we have tried to make use of. There is a lot of cereal and legume straw that was baled this year and is being used as a high percentage of the diets for a lot of cattle this year, along with products like oat hulls, screenings, pellets, canola and soybean meal in order to make low quality forages as straws work in cattle diets."
The situation is worsened by the fact that many regions were affected by the drought, which leaves ranchers with limited and pretty expensive options.
"Because the drought was very widespread across Western Canada, feed grains are very tight supplies for the feedlot industry," Ross said. "There's a lot of corn coming up from the eastern U.S. on trains and then put on trucks and then to the feedlots, and these feedlots use a grain combined with roughage in their rations. They just can't find it in Western Canada. Normally, we use barley in Western Canada, but we're having to bring in feed grains and it's been a logistical challenge."
The supply chain wasn't working smoothly for a long time now due to numerous factors, but now border blockades worsened the situation.
"There have been times I've heard where feedlots have one or two days of feed on hand for their animals, which is tragic," Ross said.
With many ranchers finding themselves in the same boat, the cattle prices have been at a low level for a while, and the situation at border crossings is just adding on to it with the local producers mainly paying the price so far.
"With the border closures, I'm hearing about backup of meats and meat products that are being sent and exported, and due to that our packers have backed off or used that as an excuse to lower the bid prices for cattlemen in Western Canada. So we're sitting at a negative basis as compared to the U.S. on our live cattle. So it's not only affecting us on the feed supply, it's affecting us on the price we're getting for our finished product," Ross said.
Despite all the challenges, the ranchers braced up and hope for the situation to start improving soon.
"We are optimistic that feeder prices will go up to help offset the substantial feed costs to get through the winter, however there is a definite concern with the political and economic turmoil we are in. We've had to truck in the feed from long distances because of the widespread drought. We have feed coming in from out of province and country. We were able to import a large amount of U.S. corn in the last month which is a definite advantage to being situated where we are," the Vanderhurks said.
"It is a challenging business and our farmers and ranchers, we can persevere and we've been through a lot of tough times. It's a business that is a labour of love. But it sure would be nice to start making some money again," Ross said.
He added that the government support in the form of AgriRecovery and other initiatives was helpful and appreciated. Ross applauded David Marit, Saskatchewan's minister of agriculture, and minister responsible for Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation SCIC.
While the prices on the producers' side remain low, Ross noted that the demand for beef remains high, which should eventually tilt the scale.
"It's a changing dynamic right now. The demand for beef is high. And I want to thank our consumers of beef for that. It's probably at the highest price point in history. I really appreciate both domestic and import demand for our product, it is huge. And so that's been excellent … It hasn't trickled down to the ranchers as it should, profits are being made in other places in the supply chain, which I think will change as our supply of cattle tightens up, which they're expecting that to do this year. And maybe some of those profits will trickle down to us again," Ross said.
He went on to explain that tendencies in place now should result in a change in that dynamics and allow for a better situation for cattlemen as the beef supplies get tighter. There are several factors affecting that. First, grain producers are making pretty good money, which is driving up land prices, making it harder for ranchers to compete. Besides, a lot of cattle producers are getting up in age, and not being replaced by a new generation, so cow numbers in Canada are constantly decreasing. On top of that, it's getting tougher and tougher for young producers to get into the business just because the margins are so tight.
"Hopefully, that'll change in the future because it is a great way to be in business and raise a family on the land and being close to nature," Ross said.
The Vanderhurks also said they hope for the best outcomes, and first of all for a better season in sense of weather conditions.
"Going forward eternal optimism is always present in the beef industry. We need some good wet snow and some warm rains coming into spring to help improve the damage that was done by the drought last year and to replenish pasture water supplies. Grasshoppers and gophers are real challenges coming forward into the next growing season and only time will tell how it will all turn out," the Vanderhurks said.
For more agriculture stories from southeast Saskatchewan, check out the On The Farm special publication.
