Alberta Cattle Industry Statistics


General

The Alberta cattle industry began in the late 1800s with English and American settlers discovering the many advantages that make Alberta an ideal location to raise cattle. These frontier producers found ways to prosper in the Canadian climate by using progressive management practices and by being early adopters of technology.

That same spirit persists today. Alberta cattle producers are committed to ensuring that their industry makes a positive contribution to the economy in a way that is compatible with the sustained and safe use of the land, water and other resources they employ.

Production Statistics

In 2010, 37% (26,385) of Alberta farms had beef cattle.

Alberta leads the nation in cattle and calf inventories with 5.15 million head 39% of the national total (13 million head). Alberta has 1.93 million breeding beef cows and heifers (39% of Canadian total). Alberta feeds over 2.18 million cattle each year with total annual beef production of over 773 thousand tonnes.

Alberta averages 189 beef cattle per farm. Alberta has 52,127,857 acres of farmland 31% of all Alberta farmland is natural land for pasture. 11.8% of all Alberta farmland is tame or seeded pasture land. Alberta federal and provincial inspected plants processed 2.39 million head of cattle or roughly 72% of Canadian total in 2009.

Contribution to the Economy

Beef cattle production is Alberta’s largest agricultural sector providing $3.1 billion in farm cash receipts annually or 35% of Alberta farm production income.

Alberta’s cattle industry has an economic multiplier effect of 4:1, meaning an overall benefit of over $12.4 billion to the economy.

Trade Statistics

Of Alberta’s estimated 2008 beef production, 16% is sold within the province, 46% to other provinces, 31% to the United States and 6.6% to other countries. Annual exports of Alberta beef and cattle (interprovincial and international) are valued at approximately $1.39 billion.

Alberta beef shipments to the U.S during 2009 totaled 236,000 tonnes up 29% from 2003. The total value of Alberta beef shipments to the U.S. during 2009 was $932 million. Alberta exported 48,822 feeder cattle and 346,210 slaughter cattle to the U.S. in 2009. Total live cattle exports were valued at $465 million.