Cattle shipped

The Canadian Beef Breeds Council (CBBC) and the Canadian Livestock Genetics Association (CLGA) week shipped close to 2,000 Canadian purebred cattle to Russia in May. The cattle, 975 Holstein dairy cattle and 1,000 Black Angus beef cattle were loaded onto the ship May 4 at Port du Bècancour, Quèbec.

Success

“This was not the first time we have shipped cattle overseas but it was a huge success for the organization,” said Camrose’s Bob Prestage, of Wicklow Angus Exporting. The cattle, with an estimated value of $7.5 million (CDN), were bought by two private Russian entrepreneurs, and will be used for embryo and semen production, as well as livestock management and beef and dairy. Following the 14-day journey, the cattle arrived in Novorossiyak, a southern Russian city, and the main Russian port on the Black Sea. The shipment was another portion of a Russian strategy to renew their beef and dairy industries.

Progress made

“It was a huge operation to get all of the cattle gathered, tested and quarantined 50 days before being shipped. It was supposed to have taken 90 days,” said Prestage. Alta Exports International Ltd. (AEI) sourced the Black Angus cattle from more than 100 producers in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario; the Holsteins were obtained from 150 producers in Ontario and Quebec.

Source: Camrose Canadian