| | Agri-Food Statistics Update - Issue No: LS15-2
Collected from a variety of sources, the Statistics and Data Development Branch monitors statistical indicators of agri-food activity for Alberta. The Agri-Food Statistics Update is designed to provide users with commentary on current issues, trends and new developments related to agriculture and the food and beverage processing industries. Up-to-date statistics are supplemented with informative charts and diagrams. To gauge Alberta’s performance, comparative data and information are often available for Canada and the provinces.
The estimates present potential marketings (i.e. supply which could become available), based on the size of the breeding herd and imports. Such information is useful to producers and others when making decisions relating to marketings, pricing, future production, as well as in estimating farm income and farm expenses.
The process involves verifying commodity supply and disposition variables to arrive at ending stocks. The supply variables are opening stocks, births and imports (interprovincial/international), while the disposition variables include deaths and condemnations, marketings, and exports (interprovincial/international). Administrative data are used where available, supplemented with some estimates where data are not timely or available. Hence, the inventory estimates are subject to revision. Given this limitation, users are advised to exercise some caution when using the estimates.
On August 20, Statistics Canada released the July 1, 2015 inventory estimates for cattle, pigs, and sheep on farms in Alberta and other Canadian provinces.
Key Messages
Cattle and Calves Inventories
- As of July 1, 2015, cattle and calves on Alberta’s farms totalled 5.3 million head, down 2.8 per cent from July 1, 2014.
- Very little of the decline in the July 1, 2015 estimate is attributed to the dry conditions in Alberta but rather is a continuation of a down trend in inventories.
- Among the factors impacting inventories were the strong cattle prices in recent years, strong consumer demand for beef and increased marketings.
Pig Inventories
- Alberta’s total pig herd on farms estimated at 1.5 million head, was up 1.4 per cent from July 1, 2014.
- Some of the factors encouraging the growth in pig inventories were the relatively strong slaughter prices and strong consumer demand for pork.
Sheep and Lamb Inventories
- The size of the provincial flock on farms in Alberta was 195,000 head, down 2.5 per cent from a year earlier.
- Record slaughter lamb prices in late 2014 and the first half of 2015 have encouraged lamb marketings.
Other Comparisons
- Nationally, cattle and calf, and sheep and lamb inventories fell, while pig inventories increased.
- Alberta continues to rank first in the nation in cattle and calf inventories; third in sheep and lamb inventories; and fourth in pig inventories.
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