The Manitoba Advantage in Beef Protein
Located in the heart of Canada, Manitoba has the ideal environment to build the beef protein industry. The province has efficient trucking routes making it an ideal hub for industry growth and has markets to the east, west and south. Beef operations are located throughout Manitoba, and there are abundant pasture, crown lands and forage acres to supply feed for cost effective, sustainable beef production.
Manitoba’s Beef Industry
Manitoba's beef industry covers the full range of production, including cow-calf, feeder and stocker operations, feeding operations, and processing facilities.
- Manitoba is the third largest beef-producing province in Canada with 419,000 beef cows on farms at July 1, 2019.
- As of 2019, the province has about 6,400 farms with one million head of cattle.
- Eighty-one per cent of beef cattle are on cow-calf operations, eleven per cent are on backgrounding operations, and eight per cent are on feedlots.
- Ninety-three per cent of beef animals are on beef farms and seven per cent are on dairy operations.
Beef farm gate receipts for 2019 were $588 million, 25 per cent of the province’s livestock farm cash receipts.
Beef producers market their animals though auction markets and licensed brokers, or by selling directly to other producers, feedlots and processors. While prices were up 1.8 per cent in 2019, the number of head marketed were down by 0.5 per cent.
Processors:
- True North Foods (federally licenced)
- Provincially licenced abattoirs
Industry Associations:
- Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP)
- Manitoba Livestock Marketing Association
- Manitoba Angus Association
- Manitoba Charolais Association
- Manitoba Hereford Association
- Manitoba Simmental Association
- Manitoba Shorthorn Association
- Canada Beef Producers
- Canadian Cattlemen’s Association
Market and Consumer Trends
Retailers, restaurants and consumers are looking for sustainable sources of beef.
Many Manitoba beef producers use national programs like Verified Beef Production-Plus (VBP+) and the Certified Sustainable Beef Framework. These programs certify industry standards for safety, quality, consistency and sustainability.
There are more Manitoba producers participating in VBP+ than in any other province.
Industry Associations
The University of Manitoba has developed a multidisciplinary research program that focuses on productivity and environmental sustainability.
The Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives (MBFI) centre is an excellent location for innovation in agriculture and research. The goal of the centre is to use science-based research to benefit valuable ecosystems, improve profitability for beef and forage producers, and build public awareness and understanding of the beef industry.
Manitoba Agriculture & Food Knowledge Exchange (MAKE) Podcast Series:
