Ranchers in the Municipal District of Lesser Slave River are keeping their fingers crossed as they wait for officials in the United States to reopen their borders to Canadian cattle as the mad cow disease dilemma winds down.
The Alberta Cattlemen’s Association is keeping its finger on the pulse of the dispute. And at least one of its members wonders why the farmer in question would ever consider sending a sick cow to market.
“This guy brought cattle with him when he came from the United States” several years ago, alleges June Conrad. And the move could have been at a time when BSE was making its way through herds there.
“He’s been in Canada a while, but if your animal is sick you take it to the back 40 (acres) and put a bullet in its head, not take it to the butcher’s. What was he thinking?” That single case has put many Albertans and their businesses in jeopardy, even though Conrad says farmers in the Smith-Hondo area aren’t hurting just yet. But all that could change in a few weeks.
“I think they’ll be okay for a while, but in the fall when we have to start selling calves, it could be scary” if US officials haven’t opened their borders.
“We’re hoping” for the best, she says, “but it’s not just the producers who are hurting. We (the ACA) had a conference in the south last week, and heard a bunch of (livestock haulers) have already let their trucks go back (to lease firms).
“They can’t afford to pay the bills.”
The local representative for the Alberta Cattlemen’s Association receives bulletins from the Association regularly, but adds her fax machine hasn’t delivered much in terms of good news in recent weeks.
Retailers and grocers have done what they can to support the industry across the province, she says.
“They’re all trying to help keep the Canadian livestock guys alive,” but are having more difficulty as time passes.
“When we were down south we toured Feedlot Alley and guys were telling us they were only getting 45 cents (per pound) for steers and 23 cents for cows.
“We used to think that $1 or $1.25 was a fair price. But now this is what they’re getting, and with bulls, you can’t give them away.”
She said farmers in the Smith area “are surviving.” But that’s because they rarely sell their calves before fall.
“We’ve got the moisture and the green grass — a real plus compared to what we had last year” when the area suffered its third consecutive drought. Their problems were further compounded by some unscrupulous counterparts in the south of the province. And now they’re sitting with bales “that the cows won’t go near.
“They cut old sloughs and twigs, and we had to pay $95 a bale plus hauling on top of that,” for the feed.
Farmers bought the feed sight-unseen, she added, and now have no way to recoup their losses. “They say they’ll get back to us” when farmers call to complain, but Conrad says she’s not holding her breath waiting for the call.

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