Canada's dwindling cattle herd could continue to shrink as the current economic downturn curbs a rebound in herd size.John Masswohl with the Canadian Cattlemen's Association says the recessionary environment has hurt beef demand in Canada just like in the U.S.He says there is no oversupply problem.
Cattle number started to shrink as cattle producers exited the business after the discovery of BSE in Canada in 2003 and export markets were shut.Masswohl says as long as prices remain soft the herd will continue to shrink.
High feed costs and the weakening U.S. dollar have also weighed on the Canadian cattle industry.
However, given the low supply numbers in Canada and the U.S., analysts see cattle industry pricing recovering as North America moves out of its recession, but nobody knows the timing of the recovery.
