Drought forces some Alberta cattle ranchers to sell stock

George Baxter says this was one of the driest springs on record in the 45 years he's been farming and ranching near Hussar, about 100 kilometres east of Calgary.

He says a lack of snow and rain early on coupled with continued frost and wind meant little of his peas and flax took hold and germinated.

• Alberta is in drought, at least partly, minister says

"A week ago was the first rain. We got 3/4 inch. That won't cut it," he said.

A walk through Baxter'sback pasture reveals sprigs ofbright green grass, evidence of a recent drop of rain. But it's sparse and barely covers the dry, cracked dirt.

"Normally we run 25 to 30 cows here in the summer. This year, we have ninecows and there's barely enough," said the 70-year-old.

"There's actually nothing here. It'd keep the gophers alive," he said.

That means Baxter will be culling more than the usual number of cows from his herd of 250, including purebred Red Angus.

"If there's no grass next year, we'll be dead in the water,"said Baxter.

Off to the market

"Not enough grass" is a common reason being given by producers ata weekly online auction sale based out of Calgary, according to Bill Wilson.

The livestock agent says sales are up because producers are running out of feed or can't afford to buy the limited supply.

But at leastcattle prices are high right now, he says.

"It isn't worth keeping them in.They're bringing in $1,700 to $2,000 for a culled cow. And they never got that in their life, hardly,"said Wilson. "So there's nothing wrong with selling them at that price, just so they can stay in business."

Farmers urged not to sell

But the Alberta Beef Producers is urging farmers to hang on to their cattle. Spokesperson Greg Bowie says there are different ways to feed livestock. And people have to get creative and look at alternate sources of feed, he says.

"If we get back to normal moisture conditions next year and your cow herd is gone or a good portion of your cow herd is gone, going forward,also a good portion of your income is gone," said Bowie.

Alberta's herd has shrunk considerably over the past 10 years, for a number of reasons, including the BSE crisis and low cattle prices, which forced producers to get out of the industry, says Bowie.

As prices climbed, everyonethought the industry washeading into a rebuilding phase, until the drought hit, he says.

But at this point, Bowie says he's not hearing about widespread sell-offs.

Key to survival

Baxter says he's lucky he has an irrigated field as well as hispasture. But it still won't be enough to maintain his herd.

Disappointing, Baxter says, but that'sthe reality of relying on moisture to make a living.

When asked how he's managing to survive, Baxter said, "if you own what you have you can ride it for a while. It's how many payments you got."

"Two years of this and a person will have to take another look at what you're doing and how you're doing it," Baxter said. "It'll force you into making a decision of what you're going to do."