Beef producers across the Maritimes are being told they have to work to help change their industry or stand back and watch it die.

"The industry in the Maritimes has faded dramatically," said Dave Oulton, head of the Nova Scotia Cattle Producers.

Oulton spoke to a group of farmers Wednesday in Bridgewater.

The story of low prices, high cost of production and worries about the future of beef cattle in the region is nothing new to any of the farmers in the room.

"In simple terms, really, it means if I go to the bank to borrow money and try and use my cows for collateral, they won't take them. They're not worth anything anymore," Oulton said.

Beef producers on the East Coast have lost most of their markets to cattle raised in Western Canada, which grows faster because it's grain-fed.

Oulton said 30 years of trying to grow western-style cattle in the Maritimes is part of the reason the industry is in trouble. Nova Scotia, he said, just can't compete with the Prairies on the cost of grain.

Oulton said that by feeding cattle grass, letting the animals take longer to grow and killing lighter animals, producers in the Maritimes can fill a local market demand that's not being well served.

Different taste

"You've got the opportunity of a mature animal with a different taste and different fat levels, absolutely. With being fed grass, the fat level is not nearly as high as it is being fed with grain," he said.

Oulton points to markets in Europe and the eastern United States, which are looking for beef that's not raised in feedlots or given artificial hormones to promote growth.

He said all beef producers in the region need to work together to create a regional brand that's recognized as a healthy, clean product with a different taste than western beef.

Oulton told farmers that unless they work together and convince the government to help pay to transform beef herds in the Maritimes, the industry can't go on.

"Our production capacity has diminished to the point that if we can't come up with some strategy that has profitability and allows us to start to rebuild our provincial cow herd, we're going to go the way of the pork industry quite rapidly," he said.

The number of hog farms in Nova Scotia has plummeted in recent years.

Last month, Gerald Vermeulen, one of the province's leading pork producers, announced he was getting out of the business because he can't afford it any longer.