It is not easy for a cattle producer to walk past the beef section of their local grocery store.
Prices for steaks, roasts and even hamburger have been on the rise—while bids for their cattle have been declining through the fall calf run.
Alberta Beef Producers Chair Melanie Wowk says it is difficult for the average urban consumer to comprehend.
“It’s all I get from my family in the city is about the exorbitant amount of money it costs to buy a steak or a roast,” Wowk said. “I can tell you that (those prices) have not trickled down to the producer.”
She doesn’t want to speak for feedlots, but looking at current fat cattle prices, they appear to be sitting in the same boat. Many producers feel packers are making healthy margins due to a concentration in the sector with only two major processing facilities in Western Canada—JBS in Brooks, AB and Cargill in High River, AB.
Wowk is also concerned about a looming December 6th strike deadline recently announced by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) on behalf of employees at the Cargill plant. A shutdown would create cattle backlogs—hurting feedlots and cow/calf producers.
You can hear the full interview with Melanie Wowk, who is a veterinarian with about 250 head of cattle on a farm located about an hour-and-a-half east of Edmonton.
