Alberta cattle producers get more for their animals than Manitoba producers. But how much more?
MCEC along with the management team behind the proposed new Winnipeg-based beef plant crunched the numbers and discovered that Manitoba producers are losing out on more than $5 million a year compared to their Alberta counterparts. The reason is simple: Alberta is home to federally-inspected beef plants and Manitoba is not.
The analysis shows the price differential over the first 10 months of 2011 between Alberta and Manitoba on fed steers was $10.16/100lbs. On an average fed steer of 1,300 lbs, that works out to $130 per animal.
We also know that the minimum differential on other cattle for transportation alone is $50/head.
The proposed new Winnipeg plant is expected to take 62,500 head/year.
- 40 % to be fed cattle: 25,000 x $130 = $3.25 million
- 60 % to be non-fed: 37,500 x $50 = 1.88 million
- Total: $5.13 million