A request for information for a new producer.

[vickie]

In Argentina, the cost of production is very cheap. We need to know which is your cost of producing 1lb of beef and the details of them. We also need to know the difference in the cost between grain and grass feed. Is it possible in any regions of Canada an only grass cow feeding?
Which is the price of your beef production? Do you have any rent? Do you need any subsidies for have a good rent?
Can you tell me which is the meaning of a grazing lease?
I will appreciate having all the information you can send me to know further more about your production.

Thank you for your assistance.
Gerardo

[cowman]

I will try to answer your questions from the point of Alberta production. In other parts of Canada production costs might be a lot different.
In Alberta(and most of western Canada) beef production works like this- We graze cows during the summer(about 5-6 months) and we feed them baled hay, silage, greenfeed during the winter. The calves are weaned off the cow at about 6 months of age and sent to a large commercial feedlot. At this time the calf will weigh about 600 lbs. and bring around $800 Canadian or $525 American. This calf will be finished on a ration of barley silage and rolled barley and slaughtered at about 12-15 months old with a weight around 1200 lbs. At that time he will be worth approximately $1150 Canadian. This "baby" beef is very tender and has a white fat cover
Some of the smaller calves will be fed over the winter and put on grass for a few months the next summer and then into a feedlot. There is very little grass finished beef in Canada, mostly for a tiny organic market. There are places in the southern prairies where cows can be grazed year round but most cows are fed because of the heavy snow cover and the cold temperatures. In Central Alberta we usually have snow from Nov.1 to the end of April and temperatures down to -40C. Lately there has been a lot of "swath grazing" which consists of cereal grains being swathed in the fall and left for the cattle to eat. The cows will dig down through some snow to eat the swath.
Usually it would cost in the neighborhood of $200 Canadian to feed a cow over the winter but this year due to a longer feeding period and a drought-induced feed shortage it will cost close to $500.
Private pasture land in Central Alberta rents for about $25-35/AUM. Takes about 2-3 acres per cow calf for summer grazing. There are government grazing leases that have fairly cheap fees, but these are treated like real property and are passed down to heirs or sold. Some of these leases have been in the same families hands for 100 years or more.
Our cattle are basically a crossbred type based on the British breeds(Hereford and Angus) with a lot of European influence...mostly Charlais and Simmental.
Now if you would tell us your system and costs?