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 Ranchers who raise calves typically sell them in autumn to feedlots,
where they are fattened to slaughter weight.
But some ranchers are absorbing the cost of feeding calves longer
due to quarantines by the Canadian government on 34 farms in
southeast Alberta and two farms in southwest Saskatchewan. The
federal Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has confirmed six
cases of Alberta cattle with bovine TB, dating back to the September
discovery of an infected cow at a U.S. slaughter plant.
"The feed costs are going to destroy us," said rancher Ross White,
speaking by video to Canada's agriculture committee meeting in
Ottawa. "...I'll be broke by spring."
Rancher Brad Osadczuk told legislators that the quarantine is
costing him C$92,000 ($68,000) per month to feed 400 head of cattle,
one-third of his herd.
Canada's C$10.5 billion ($7.8 billion) cattle industry is centered
in Alberta, the biggest cattle-raising province, and home of
slaughter plants owned by JBS USA Holdings Inc and Cargill Ltd [CARGIL.UL]
[CARG.UL].
Canadian Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay said the government
pays compensation for animals that are destroyed, but there
currently is no program to help farmers whose herds are under
quarantine.
"I’ve asked my department to look into that and try to rectify the
situation," he told reporters. "Having been a farmer, I fully
understand the cost that's involved."
An estimated 18,000 head of cattle are held in quarantine for
testing, Rich Smith, executive director of Alberta Beef Producers,
said in an interview. While the quarantines are causing "great
hardship" for ranchers directly affected, it is unlikely to have a
major impact on overall cattle supplies, he said.
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Exports of young cattle from Canada, the sixth-largest beef and veal
exporter, to U.S. feed lots have dropped by more than one-third year
to date, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
CFIA has said its testing, aimed at tracing the spread of TB, could
take months.
Bovine tuberculosis is a contagious disease caused by bacteria that
are closely related to the bacteria that cause tuberculosis in
humans and birds, resulting in illness, coughing and death,
according to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
($1 = 1.3464 Canadian dollars)
(Additional reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Editing by Dan
Grebler)
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