The Alberta Beef Industry

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The Alberta Beef Industry

• By Mike Caruso

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About the Industry

• Began in the late 1800s
• Ideal climate and farmland for cattle
• Alberta is Canadas number one cattle producing
  region
• Alberta Produces 60 of Canadas beef
• Beef is the number one agricultural commodity in
  the province

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About the Industry

• Alberta feeds over two million head each year
• 2.6 billion in farm cash receipts
• Second largest manufacturing industry in Alberta

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The Early Years

• First herd brought into Southern Alberta in 1873
  by John and David McDougall
• Consisted of eleven cows and one bull
• Northwest Mounted Police officers, Americans
  George Emerson, and Tom Lynch were among the
  first to establish themselves in the Alberta
  Cattle industry
• In 1881, regulations were amended to allow for
  the leasing of land for the purpose of ranching

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The Early Years

• Two periods prior to 1930 in which cattlemen
  enjoyed big profits
• Export markets became crucial
• In the first golden age of the cattle industry,
  Great Britain was the main export market
• On average, Canada sent over 130,000 cattle which
  were sold at 40-50/head

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Alberta Cattle Industry Today

• Nearly 60 of Alberta farms have beef cattle
• 6.9 million head total in Alberta
• The highest concentration of feedlots in all of
  Western Canada found south of Trans-Canada
  highway that runs through Calgary
• Accounts for 3 billion in cash sales
• Directly employs nearly 2,000 people
• Spin-off benefits exceed 10 billion and employ
  thousands in the supply/service sector
• Almost 200 feedlots with capacity of over 1,000
  head
• Three step process used by most feeders

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Cattle on the Run
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Sources

• http//albertabeef.org/industry/
• http//www.cattle.ca/factsheets/beefindustry.pdf
• http//www.abheritage.ca/pasttopresent/rural_life/
  abhistory_ranching.html
• http//www.agrivision.ca/pdf/events/beef_Nov-04/ma
  rtin-paper.pdf
• http//www.cattlefeeders.ca/main/content.php?wcont
  ent_id39