Table of contents
- 2023 Harvest Sample Program
- Cow inventories – Are we still liquidating
- Feeder cattle prices are strong
- Lamb market trends
- Perseverance in the pork sector
- Pet ownership and pet food trends
- What to do when crop prices are volatile
- CropChoices updated for 2022
- Agri-News – Newsletter archive
- Elm pruning ban starts April 1
- Nominations open for Agriculture Hall of Fame 2022
- 2022 Crop considerations
- AgriProfit$ cow/calf benchmark report
- Register for Open Farm Days 2022
- Cropping Alternatives 2022 now available
- Preventing wildfires is always in season
- Canadian crop movement
- Certified seed costs
- 2021 Agricultural Society Innovation Award recipients
- Ocean shipping rates – what do they mean for Canadian exporters
- Participate in Halal Expo Canada
- Caution when winter burning
- Understanding canola basis
- Nitrogen prices and exports
- Take part in the SIAL Canada trade mission
- Consider the right time for manure or compost application
- High crop prices vs low 2021 crop yields
- The gift of an Alberta Christmas tree
- Great gifts for commercial producers
- Stocking stuffers for livestock producers
- Invitation to dairy farmers
- Apply for an Agricultural Society Innovation Award
- Growing gifts for gardening enthusiasts
- Canadian crop usage
- Cattle prices and above-average sales
- Alberta Open Farm Days a big success
- Better safe than sorry with winter burning
- Natural gas prices
- Consider the right source of manure or compost for field application
- Stored canola is well worth protecting
- Dealing with food loss and waste
- Live cattle imports and cattle slaughter both higher
- COVID-19 and demand for e-commerce
- Sugar beets are important to Alberta’s economy
- The canola market – sell, replace or hold
- Canadian Agricultural Partnership Farm Technology program
- Canadian Agricultural Partnership Water program
- Diagnosing pesky forest pests
- Field selection for fall manure or compost application
- Alberta lamb prices continue to be strong
- Harvest Sample Program
- 2021 Alberta nitrogen prices
- Prevent lead poisoning on pastures
- Be in the know this wildfire season
- A canola pricing option to consider
- Sign up now for the 2022 Dairy Cost Study
- Richardson’s Ground Squirrel control
- FireSmart your spring cleaning – Around your home
- COVID-19 and meat price trends
- Alberta rat control - taking care of business
- Forward pricing wheat
- FireSmart your spring cleaning – Around your property
- Crop Reporting Program
- Alberta approved farmers' markets now open
- Albertans can do their part to prevent wildfires
- Minimal canola carryover
- Hard work pays off for Sherwood Park-based company
- May gardening possibilities based on frost probabilities
- Cattle on feed inventories
- Using the Alberta Climate Information Service Fusarium Risk Tool
- The Canadian dollar and commodity prices
- Okotoks-based company wins gold at SIAL’s Innovation competition
- Dangers of blue-green algae
- Help protect Alberta’s beautiful elm trees
- Weather and weather data at your fingertips
- Fed cattle prices holding strong
- Fireworks and exploding targets can cause wildfires
- Put option basics
- Risk to bighorn sheep and mountain goat populations
- Lamb and sheep market update
- Interactive export catalogue launched
- Global appetite for pork
- COVID-19 and foodservice trends
- Video Ante-Mortem Inspection program
- Crop prices have fallen - back to marketing basics
- 2022 Alberta canola seed costs
- Register for Getting Into Food Service
- Sheep industry fares well despite challenges
- Canadian canola crop prospects
- Register for Vendor 101 training
- Learn about the legalities of the food co-packing industry
- Bunnies and biosecurity – What you can do
- Canola crop options – Sell, replace or store
- Optimism for fall calf prices
- Smaller cow herd seems likely
- Determine the right rate for manure or compost application
- Agricultural Society Innovation Award accepting applications
- Get an assessment of your grain’s quality
- AgriProfits supports the Canadian Cow-Calf Cost of Production Network
- Alberta and U.S. cattle price spreads
- Advance Payments Program
- Change in AOPA Livestock Type Calculator
- Consider short-term in-field manure storage
- Uncertainties in the lamb market
- Keep safe burning practices top of mind
- The Pacific Northwest – A priority export market for Alberta companies
- Learn about exporting to the U.S. Midwest
- Growing opportunities for health products in the Mexican market
- Canadian crop deliveries and exports
- AgriProfits – Dairy Cost Study program
- Accessing free market intelligence
- Alberta hay prices
- Improve returns from culled cows
- Understanding the basis for crops
- 2022 Cattle market review
- Getting more Alberta products on the shelf
- Communication - A key to any successful business
- Register for the Farm to Market to Table Conference
- Check those bins
- Winter manure management considerations
- Recognizing innovative agricultural societies
- Cattle by the numbers
- Canola price seasonality
- Jack Lewis inducted into the Agriculture Hall of Fame
- Tracking environmentally sustainable agriculture in Alberta
- Bruce Beattie inducted into Agriculture Hall of Fame
- COVID-19 and healthy food trends
- Simone Demers-Collins inducted into Agriculture Hall of Fame
- 2022 Alberta lamb and sheep market update
- Assess manure storage and wintering site locations
- Register for Open Farm Days 2023
- Cropping Alternatives 2023 now available
- La Nina boosts Australian crop production
- Hog market update
- COVID-19 and vitamins and supplements
- Guidelines add clarity when investigating sites for manure facilities
- Strong Canadian crop movement to date
- Keep your Premises Identification account up to date
- CropChoice$ updated for 2023
- U.S. Choice-Select boxed beef price spread
- Trends that will shape the grocery industry in 2023
- How to use CropChoice$
- Retail and foodservice sales slowly returning to pre-pandemic normal
- Why bighorn sheep and domestic sheep or goats should not mix
- 2023 Crop Reporting program
- Canadian canola market
- 2023 Alberta approved farmers' markets now open
- Dangers of blue-green algae when temperatures rise
- Can Canada see beef herd expansion in 2023?
- Canola usage remains strong
- Lamb and sheep market remains resilient
- Benefits of installing shallow buried pasture water pipelines
- Oat price outlook improves
See event listings and more articles in this edition of Agri-News: February 6, 2023 issue
“Alberta beef producers retained fewer breeding heifers for replacement in 2022, suggesting expansion is not in the immediate future,” says Ann Boyda, livestock economist with the Alberta government. “The Canfax Cattle on Feed reports show a 9.4% increase in heifer placement in feedlots in 2022 compared to 2021. Heifer placements were higher in the first half of 2022 and declined by 3% in the second half. The rate of heifer to steer placement increased to 37.5% in 2022 as compared to 33.1% in 2021. Steer placement declined by 10.2% in 2022 as compared to 2021.”
Alberta auction feeder steer and heifer volume for 2022 was 638,769 head, down 9% from 2021 and down 26.1% from the 5-year average. The first 3 weeks of 2023 report volumes down 13.4% over the same period last year.
According to the Canadian Beef Grading Agency, slaughter volume for 2022 in federally regulated plants was 2,641,249 head in Western Canada, comparable to 2021 levels (down 0.04%). The 2022 slaughter level is 8.5 % higher than the 5-year average (2017 to 2021).
Heifer slaughter volume in 2022 rose by 6.9% over 2021 and nearly 15% over the 5-year average, whereas steer slaughter volume dropped by 5.8% when compared to 2021. Cow slaughter also increased in 2022 by 4.8% over 2021, however this level was comparable to the 5-year average (up 0.9%).
Chart 1. West Slaughter in Federally Inspected Plants

Agriculture Canada estimates beef output in Western Canada for 2022 at 1,028,580 tonnes, up 2% from 2021. The strong performance stems from good packer margins and strong beef demand.
Livestock Identification Services reports 485,544 cattle leaving Alberta in 2022. The majority, 328,911 were destined to the U.S., 294,078 head of which went direct to slaughter. Slaughter cattle sales to the U.S. were up by 21.2% over 2021 levels.
Chart 2. Alberta Interprovincial and U.S. Exports of Cattle in 2022

“With one month left for recorded data, 2022 will fall short of the volume in 2021,” points out Boyda. “Agri-Food Trade On-Line database indicates that live cattle imports were highest in 2021 at over 234,919 head (excluding purebred cattle), 61.7% greater than the 5-year average of 145,294 head.”
Total cattle imports to Alberta from the U.S., British Columbia and Saskatchewan reached 1,240,768 head in 2021. Preliminary estimates for 2022 suggest that total cattle imports will be down from 2021 by as much as 8%. Alberta’s feedlot capacity draws feeder steers and heifers from Saskatchewan.
“2022 year started with a backlog on cattle stemming from the heights of COVID. The industry is still feeling its repercussions. January and February are typically seasonally lower demand for beef and most signs point to a smaller calf crop in 2023,” says Boyda.
For more information, see:
Contact
Connect with Ann Boyda for more information.
Phone: 780-422-4088
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