Material From Original Gov't Discussion Paper
[ Intro to beef outlook from original discussion papersource#1, "Outlook for Manitoba's Livestock Industry" section p. 2-3 ]Manitoba’s beef cowherd is now over 550,000 animals and may continue to grow slowly. The efficiency of production is also expected to increase with more pounds of beef produced per acre. Manitoba currently produces over 500,000 calves per year with most going to feedlots in Alberta. There has been no movement toward consolidation or integration as most of the production continues to come from small farms.
Because of the increasing productivity of the forage acreage, Manitoba is expected to see more backgrounding (the practice of feeding and managing cattle at the stage between weaning and finishing). If large feedlots do develop, they will likely be of the 25,000-head size, as economies of scale have already made this the standard unit size in Alberta.
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Material From "Common Ground" Government Report
Other Material and References