PUBLISHED BY MANITOBA BEEF PRODUCERS
MARCH 2026
Congratulations to this year’s recipients of The Environmental Stewardship Award (TESA) Connor and Kyla English, pictured here with Stacey Stott of presenting sponsor MNP. (Photo courtesy Rob Lovatt/Keywest Photo Image by Design.)
North America’s ‘Protein Moment’ is Good for Beef Producers
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in many of those drought-ridden area encourage producers to retain some heifers and start rebuilding their herds, which should tighten beef supplies and support prices over the year ahead. In Canada, there are signs that beef producers are also beginning to retain heifers. “I would not be surprised if we see a fairly decent percentage increase on the bred heifer numbers [for January], and that’s positive, we want more cows and a larger herd here in Canada, and PUBLISHED IN STEINBACH, that’s not going MANITOBA, CANADA to negatively impact the North American price,” Grant said. page 8
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Beef producers should be prepared for continued volatility throughout 2026, but there are some positive fundamentals in terms of the market outlook, with continuing tight global beef supplies that should support strong prices. Global beef supply increased over the past five years as a result of significant drought that resulted in cow herd liquidation across North and South America and Australia. Even with increased beef supplies, global beef prices increased, indicating the strong demand for beef. In fact, North America is having a ‘protein moment’ according to Brenna Grant, Executive Director of Canfax, who provided a market outlook for 2026 at the Manitoba Beef producers AGM on February 12. “There is a lot of push out there to get your one to 1.2 grams of protein for every kilogram of ideal body
weight,” she said. That’s supported by the new USDA Food Guide released in January that now encourages consumption of proteins, dairy and healthy fats, along with fruits and vegetables, at the top of the healthy foods pyramid. Another factor supporting the demand for protein, added Grant, was the estimated 12 percent of the U.S. population using GLP-1 (Ozempic) – a treatment originally developed for blood sugar control with Type 2 diabetes - to reduce appetite and caloric intake. “Those consumers that being encouraged by their doctors to eat nutrient dense foods and to prioritize their protein intake to support muscle mass,” Grant said. “As adoption and use of GLP-1 continues to increase not only in the US but also in Canada that this is going to continue to support protein demand” Slightly tighter beef supplies as herd building begins Grant predicts a slight pull-back in beef production for 2026 as improved moisture conditions
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BY ANGELA LOVELL