Statistics Canada reports nearly 11.3 million cattle and calves were on-farm as of January 1, 2023, down 2.2 per cent from the same date the previous year.
There were 6,437,000 head on cow/calf operations, a decline of about 160,000 from the previous year.
Canadian beef cattle producers retained less breeding stock, particularly in the drier areas of Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia.
Alberta held the largest cattle inventories with nearly 43 per cent of the national total. Saskatchewan was next at 19.3 per cent and Ontario was third at 14 per cent.
Canadian hog producers reported 13.9 million hogs on their farms on January 1st, down 1.7 percent from the same date in 2022. Quebec is the largest hog producing province with one-third of the national inventory. Ontario and Manitoba round out the top three.
The national sheep and lamb population rose 3.3 percent to nearly 855,000 head. The biggest gains were in Ontario and Alberta, while Saskatchewan sheep numbers declined to 80,500 head.
