Cattle inventories continue to climb, but Statistics Canada reports current numbers are still 19 per cent less than they were in 2005.
StatsCan says Canadian farmers had 12.1 million head of cattle on their farms to begin 2017, up just 0.2 per cent from a year earlier.
The agency notes cattle prices to start the new year were down, but are still ahead of the five-year average.
The number of Canadian dairy cows has gone the other way, down about half a per cent from the start of 2016.
Hog volumes were up 1.6 per cent on the year to 13.7 million.
StatsCan points out the fourth consecutive year-over-year increase has volumes 8.8 per cent bigger than in 2013.
The number of sheep across the country on January 1st was about 815,000, down 1.4 per cent.
The agency suggests farmers have been reducing herds as the ewe inventory declined by 2.1 per cent last year.
Replacement lambs were also 2.4 per cent lower.
