Heat, drought and fires were all contributing factors in feed supply concerns that ranchers experienced last year and the industry has yet to fully realize if those issues will continue into 2022.
In an interview in the summer of 2021, President of the BC Cattlemen’s Association Kevin Boon said some ranchers were forced to make the tough decision to send cattle to market early over fear their would not be enough food to keep them alive and healthy through the winter.
During a recent interview on the NL Morning News, Boon says the main objective coming out of last summer was to keep as much of the breeding herd and base herd as possible.
“Any cows that were not bred last year were sent to market to become part of our food chain… but, we were able to keep the majority here in British Columbia and that part was working really well and still is. However, what we’re seeing here is well I am looking out my window and seeing snowfall. We’re seeing a late spring and a cool spring so that forage isn’t coming up so guys are running short. They were on tight ends before. We are seeing some shortages right now.”
“Big thing is is we don’t know what we’re going to see for crops this year. We don’t know what we’re going to see for heat and drought. We do know that to the east of us in the prairie provinces they’re preparing for drought. They’re quite dry. They’re trying to fill dugouts. There is concern. But we’re very early. We could see lots of moisture and be really good.”
Boon says it is a long six months until the next winter and the hope is to catch up on feed supply this year as reserves have been all but used up.