The Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association (SSGA) is calling on the provincial and federal governments to investigate the “significant imbalance in cattle and beef pricing markets.”.“Though each industry sector has its own frustrations, we agree that price transparency and discovery, packer capacity, and pricing spread are our biggest joint concerns,” said Garner Deobald, SSGA president..The Prairies are in the midst a severe drought which affected the beef industry as ranchers rely more on feed grain instead of grass..The price for feed grain has doubled in the past two years..Ranchers are operating at a loss and forcing many SSGA members to reduce their herd or even leave the business..This uncertainty is causing supply chain issues with domestic and exported beef prices..“The reduction in herd numbers could result in more grassland being converted to farmland. Removing the grass cover also eliminates the habitat that species at risk call home and releases carbon sequestered in the soil into the atmosphere as carbon emissions,” said Deobald..Deobald pointed out that the feed grain price is not the only cost going up because high inflation increased the cost of fuel, for example..“Many producers and feedlots are feeling challenged by increased costs due to inflation, fuel, and record-high feed costs,” said Deobald..When people purchase meat products in a store, the price is significantly higher than even a few months ago, but the ranchers are not seeing any of the price increase shared with them, according to Deobald..“There is a disconnect between what producers are receiving for their animals and the high prices consumers are paying for beef products. Producers are feeling exploited,” said Deobald..“Though packer margins have tightened, both packers and retailers are reporting strong profits as consumer demand and willingness to pay higher prices for beef products remains strong. Producers are tired of working so hard for little or no return on investment.”.The SSGA wants an investigation into the meat packers as they eliminated the backlog within months of the lockdown and now limit the amount of product available to retailers..What this does to the ranchers is keep cattle prices low because of the increased supply while simultaneously increasing the retail beef prices..“Limiting supply to drive up prices is changing the face of Canadian agriculture. The packers and retailers know there’s no one else to take their place or profits, so they have control right now,” explained Deobald..The SSGA wants the investigation as it is in everyone’s best interest to keep Canadians eating Canadian beef as it is a protein-rich food staple, which is cheaper than having to import beef products..“Our goal is to produce safe and nutritious beef for Canadians while maintaining our ranching livelihoods. If producers continue to operate at a loss, many will go out of business, which could drive Canada to rely on imported meat,” said Deobald..“We believe a pricing investigation is the best way to ensure all livestock value chain members remain profitable and all Canadian consumers have economic access to our products. We look forward to working with all stakeholders to make this happen.”.US President Joe Biden’s administration said it will implement policies to increase competition in the meat packing sector, however, Canada has done nothing so far..According to Statistics Canada, the retail price of beef is up 11.2% year-over-year.
