Managing herds in drought conditions

“Cattle operations are vulnerable to drought conditions,” says Ann Boyda, provincial livestock market analyst with the Alberta government. “Periods of drought often result in a downsizing of the cattle herd. High slaughter rates are the result of cattle (especially heifers) being pushed into feedlots and not being retained for rebuilding the herd. The practice of selling less-productive animals first generally targets cows that aren’t pregnant or are late-calving and bulls that are inferior.” Cattle slaughter in western Canada has been higher over the last few years as compared to the historic average (2000 to 2023). The 2023 total cattle slaughter for West Canada (2.56 million head) dropped by 4.3% from 2022, however remained 7.64% higher than the historic average. 2021 witnessed a 6.8% increase in cattle slaughter numbers over 2020 and an 11.7% increase over the historic average. Female slaughter rates (as a percent of total slaughter) increased from 47.9% in 2022 to 49.6% in 2023