Alberta cattle producers 'stretching supplies' amid feed shortage
Alberta cattle producers are dealing with a feed shortage due to 2021's summer drought and supply chain issues.
The drought left producers with less local feed like barley and wheat, forcing them to order corn from the U.S.
“Starting in September, we realized we’re not going to be getting the crop we need,” Leighton Kolk, the co-owner of Kolk Farms, explained. “We were hoping to see train cars in November and that’s when we started to run towards the end of our stockpiled supply.
“We are still waiting for December’s unit train and it’s the end of January now.”
According to the Alberta Cattle Feeders Association, 8,000 rail cars of corn had been shipped from the U.S. in 2021 as of mid-December. In 2020, just 600 rail cars of corn had been shipped from the U.S. by the same point.
Delays on the rail side and labour and truck driver shortages have resulted in the "perfect storm," the associations CEO says.
Canadian Pacific Railway, too, has confirmed demand for corn and dried distiller's grains for feedlots "increased significantly" in 2021.
"That increased demand has continued into 2022," it told CTV News Calgary.
'STRETCHING SUPPLIES'
Kolk said producers are sharing the shipments that do arrive in the province.
“We’ve been stretching supplies, we’ve been augmenting grain… we’ve changed our rations,” said Kolk.
“We’ve learned to work together more often with neighbours… If the neighbour has enough to get him by, is he willing to share his supply?”
Kolk added if they needed to, producers could augment the feed with more expensive options like alfalfa or hay, but it could impact production if the cattle react poorly to the change in feed.
“We have obligations on the other side of our supply chain to supply to other people. If we disrupt our growth… it’s causing more disruption, eventually causing problems for the consumer,” said Kolk.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.