Source: Rita Jane Gabbett, MEATINGPLACE, 3/6/14


All cattle and calves in the United States and Canada combined totaled 99.9 million head on January 1, 2014, down 2 percent from the 101.6 million on January 1, 2013, according to a joint report by USDA and Statistics Canada.

All cows and heifers that have calved, at 43.1 million head, were down 1 percent from a year ago.

“While there has been some talk of herd rebuilding in Canada for the past two years, high feed costs, the implementation of Country of Origin Labeling in the U.S. and natural growth constraints have so far limited expansion,” livestock analyst Steve Meyer and analysts at Len Steiner Inc. wrote in the Daily Livestock Report

Hogs
United States and Canadian inventory of all hogs and pigs for December 2013 was 78.7 million head, down slightly from both last year and two years ago.

The breeding inventory, at 6.97 million head, was down 1 percent from a year ago and down 1 percent from 2011. Market hog inventory, at 71.7 million head, was down slightly from last year and down slightly from 2011.

The semi-annual pig crop, at 73.1 million head, was down slightly from 2012 but up slightly from 2011. Sows farrowing during this period totaled 7.08 million head, down 1 percent from last year and down 2 percent from 2011.

The DLR noted that while Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus losses have been small in Canada, the fact remains that North American hog breeding stock is today much smaller than it was in 2008. The reasons for the decline are varied and include recession, feed costs and exchange rate shifts.

For more stories, go to http://www.meatingplace.com.