Alberta produces 69 per cent of Canada's annual fed cattle output — about 1.8 million head — from about 150 feedlots, according to the Alberta Cattle Feeders Association. While none of the company's feedlot operations are in Lethbridge County, Paskal said that announcement served as a wake-up call nonetheless for the cattle feeding industry. Lorne Hickey, the reeve for Lethbridge County, defended the decision to bring in the tax on cattle and other intensive agricultural operations. A $3 per head tax will cut deeply into profit margins, Grier said. Paskal and other feedlot operators are calling on the Alberta government to overturn the Lethbridge County tax.

Source: CBC News September 27, 2016 20:15 UTC