I like a good Canadian steak. I must say I get pretty grumpy when I find out its from New Zealand, Australia, the US or some other foreign land. I like a good spread of pork products too. I often visit a local pork producer to load up on sausage, pork roast and bacon. There is nothing like good fresh locally grown pork and beef. Now that those industries are standing on the side of their own abyss, its time for governments to step to the plate to ensure they get through this current price swoon.

In short the Canadian livestock industry is in big trouble. Grain producers currently enjoying record high futures need to pay attention. Our Canadian livestock producers cannot sustain themselves at current price levels, brought on partly by the super charged Canadian dollar. Yes, the dollar has hurt everybody, but our beef and pork guys have really taken it on the chin.

The ethanol gold rush I’ve often referred to doesn’t have the same ring to livestock producers. One thing we forget is how biofuel is affecting livestock production. Sure you can make the argument grain producers pre-ethanol were simply subsidizing the Canadian livestock industry with cheap grain. I’m sure I even made that argument. The point was always made that the Americans had it right. They subsidized their grain industry so heavily, low grain prices effectively kept their livestock sector vibrant. The big losers in that scenario were Canadian grain growers.

Putting ethanol and to some extent biodeisel in the mix changed that paradigm. The big winners have been American grain growers followed by their Canadian counterparts. American livestock interests don’t have cheap grain anymore but it is mitigated to some extent by the preponderance of dry distillers grain. Net losers in this equation were Canadian livestock producers who were forced to pay more for grain. When the loonie went skyward first starting in the fall of 2006, followed by its meteoric rise in the last couple months, pork producers who in June could garner $150/100kg, now get less than half that.

For beef producers it’s a long story. Four years ago when I started chronicling the BSE story, we all thought, we’d just crack that American border open and things would be the same again. However, that long road started in May of 2003 when one stumbling cow in Peace River country tested positive. Since then we had American beef groups blocking cattle any, which way they could. Beef producers cost rose as more stringent regulatory measures were put in place. When I was in Calgary earlier this year I asked one Alberta producer when he thought cattle over 30 months would once again break through the border. He sighed and told me he didn’t have a clue.

When the end came last Monday there was little fan fare. With the Canadian loonie over par and the biofuel revolution in full force our whole beef landscape had changed. Now the spectre of US beef coming north was more real than ever. It’s like you have to be careful what you hope for. The reality was when that border was thrown wide open, peering across it was truly unrecognizable.

Another situation, which is common among many agricultural sectors, are the too few buyers of Canadian beef. For instance in Ontario anybody can buy beef but the big player is Guelph’s “Better Beef” owned by Cargill. They aren’t buying as much beef as in the past. Essentially they are the beef price setter for the rest of the province. Is that healthy having only one big price setter? Do we need increased slaughtering capacity even after four years out since BSE? Are the beef issues similar in Western Canada? I think, yes, yes, and yes.

On my own farm as a grain and oilseed producer I realize the importance of a strong Canadian livestock sector. Even though most of my soybeans are for human consumption and most of my corn goes to ethanol, there is nothing like a vibrant livestock industry to make grain profitable. Help now must come in the short term from government.

Canadian agriculture minister Gerry Ritz says help is on the way in the form of $600 million dollars to help these producers cope with higher feed prices and the Canadian loonie gone mad. However, that’s the money earmarked for the Conservative’s new AgriStability program which is essentially the old CAIS program, a margin based agricultural stabilization program doomed to fail.

There is much, much more to the current Canadian livestock story. Slaughtering capacity, specified risk materials, age verification certificates, high fixed costs, and you name it. There is a huge need now to get this industry through this current slump. I’ve order the 75-cent loonie for Christmas, so I’ve done my part. Now it’s time for our governments to act. At the end of the day when the livestock industry comes through this, all of us will be solidly paid back.