Growing The Herd Back To Pre-BSE Numbers

The Province of Manitoba has an ambitious goal of growing the provincial cattle herd back to pre-BSE numbers.

In July, Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler announced that he would like to see that number reach 750,000 head of cattle.

The total stood at about 483,000 at the start of 2016.

While speaking with producers at the fall district meetings, Manitoba Beef Producers General Manager Brian Lemon said a number of things would need to happen for the number of cattle to reach that goal.

"What I'm hearing is we need to bring some profitability and some sustainable profitability to the industry so that producers can have the confidence that there will be profitability in this industry not one out of ten years, but nine out of ten years," he commented.

Lemon noted that they need to bring more young people into the industry. Other concerns are water management, and the loss of cattle acres to cropping and flooding. Finding labour is also a big issue for the industry.

He adds it's great to have the province on board, although Lemon's not sure if the goal of 750,000 is attainable.