The year 2009 was not a happy and prosperous year for Canadian beef farmers. Beef producers are worse off now than during the BSE crisis of 2003 and 2004.

No federal or provincial money was handed out to beef farmers in 2009. It seems that both levels of government want to eliminate the small beef producers – keep them poor and make them quit in frustration.

Last week I was looking at some newspaper articles I had written in the 1980s and put one aside for interest sake. It wasn’t the article I had written in November of 1984 that interested me, it was what was beside my article that caught my eye.

The Valley Livestock Sales Report of Cobden raised my eyebrows. In November of 1984, cows D1-5: good sold for 60-69 cents per pound, common 45- 60 cents.

Let’s compare that to current prices, and for interest sake, cattle prices in November 2008.

The Ontario Cattlemen’s Association (OCA) cattle market report for the week ending January 15, 2010 reads as follows: "The slaughter cow market saw another strong week of trade. Slaughter cows traded from $31.70 cwt - $46.29 cwt, averaging $38.96 cwt, up $1.67 from last week."

Now we’ll take a look what the market was like on November 21, 2008. It read: "The slaughter cow market saw a tougher week of trade. The average price for slaughter cows was $2.59 cwt lower at an average of $42.65 cwt with a trading range of $33.37 - $52.02 cwt. A year earlier the average price was $29.73 cwt."

I’m taking the average price per pound of November, 1984, at 53 cents. I’m sure there were more cows selling at the lower end of 45 cents than at 69 cents. It tells you that 26 years ago cull cows sold for 14 cents a pound more than they do today and 24 cents a pound more than in Nov. 2008.

When you see those comparisons, you have to consider that inflation rose at the rate of two and one half per cent annually. Let’s look at some more comparative figures.

Feeder and stocker heifers in November, 1984 were as follows:
300-500 lbs. good: $1.10 lb.- $1.23 lb.; 300-500 lbs. common: $0.85 lb. - $1.10 lb.;
500 –700 lbs. good: $0.90 lb.- $1.00 lb.; 500 –700 lbs. common: $0.80- $0.90 lb.;
700-900 lbs. good: $0.70 - $0.80 lb.;

700-900 lbs. common: $0.65 - $0.70 lb.;

500-600 lb. heifers sold at $79.75-$96.93 cwt with average price of $88.62 cwt;

600-700 lb sold on average: $82.88 cwt;

700-800 lb sold on average for $80.02 cwt.

Fat steers in November, 1984 are listed as follows:

good : $75.00 cwt - $82.50 cwt;

common: $70.00 cwt - $75.00 cwt;

Fat heifers, good: $70.00 cwt - $75.25 cwt;

common: $65.00 cwt - $70.00 cwt.

Holstein steers:

good: $55 - $60.50, cwt;

common: $50 - $55 cwt.

The mid-December 2009 beef market report from OCA said steers traded at $0.21 per lb. lower than a year ago.

Heifers traded at 20 cents per lb. lower than a year ago.

For the week of January 7-13, 2010, Olex reports:

Fat steers, large frame over 1,250 lbs selling at: $85.09 cwt;

Fat steers 1,000-1,250 lb.: selling at $83.54 cwt;

Fat steers, medium frame over 1,250 lb.: selling at $86.09 - $1,000 cwt;

Fed steers, dairy and dairy cross over 1,250 lbs selling at $68.07 cwt.

Though fat cattle have held their own according to the prices, you have to remember that the 1984 prices don’t count inflation. The prices today add up to a lot of misery.

You can’t blame cattlemen in Ontario for being disheartened and frustrated. There’s been no government help, an absence of government leadership as there has been for other industries.

In recent years, 25 to 30 people show up at the annual meeting of the Renfrew County Cattlemen’s Association. Weather was perfect for the January 21 meeting. But organizers had no guest speaker lined up to draw more people out. And it was a dull, boring meeting.

"It was a joke," said one frustrated beef farmer.

(Maynard van der Galien is an agricultural writer and a Renfrew County beef farmer.)