CRAIK—The barn at Riskan Hope Farm is looking better these days.
A fresh coat of paint now covers the weather worn wood siding and new asphalt shingles have replaced the original cedar shakes.
“It was getting in pretty rough shape,” says its owner Dave Luther. “With cattle prices up a bit, I decided I had to do something. It’s a landmark.”
Cattle prices are at record highs. Luther said he sold a bunch of cows in the spring to local producers and put some of the profits back into the old barn.
He wants it looking good for its 100th birthday in 2019.
Years of hard work are finally paying off for Canadian cattle producers like the Luthers.
A shortage of cattle in the U.S. due to drought and harsh winters and declining herd sizes in Canada have pushed up beef prices.
According to Statistics Canada, Canadian beef and veal exports to the U.S. were up by 11 per cent in 2014 compared to 2013.
The published price of 700-800 pound feeder steers in Saskatchewan, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture, was $250.50 (per cwt) as of Jan. 23, compared to $163.10 a year ago.
Alberta Beef Producers predict beef supplies to tighten further this year due to strong North American and global demand.
It’s a welcome trend for an industry that has spent more than a decade recovering from the BSE crisis that began in May 2003.
Luther said back in 2003 a breeding cow was worth about $300 and “slaughter cows then were worth nothing. Farmers almost had to pay them to take them.”
As a result many farmers got out of raising livestock.
“I can count 10 guys without any problem around here who got out of them because of BSE and they’ll never get back into them,” Luther said.
With the demand high, butcher John Sperling said by summer he may have trouble sourcing beef to stock his local butcher shop JMR Meats in Davidson.
Much of the meat he sells is the product of local farms. He said the price of beef is up by a third over last year. In 2014 a side of beef cut and wrapped was selling for between $2.79 and $2,89 a pound. Now it’s retailing at $4/lb.
