Opportunity

[grassfarmer]

This week has really brought home to me the
opportunity we have to use social media and the
internet to connect and interact with consumers. I
sent an email to my beef customers giving my
opinion on the XL Foods /ecoli 0157 issue and telling
them how the beef they buy from me is processed in
the small plants we work with.
What a fantastic response we got back - everyone
who responded started by saying they trusted our
product completely but were grateful to receive more
meaningful information than they were getting in the
mainstream media. Several requested that they be
allowed to post the email to their blogs or facebook
accounts.
Here was maybe the most telling comment
"With everything in the news about XL foods and the
recall, I have never been more happy and relieved that
I know my farmer. Not only did worry about the beef
in my freezer never cross my mind, but I have been
inundated with questions from family and friends on
the difference in what I have and the product in the
local stores."
If this is representative of even a percentage of the
general public's opinion what an opportunity it
represents for beef producers to build bridges
directly with consumers.

[InAHurry]

grassfarmer - can you share your email with us? (respectful of a "rather not", if that is your choice)

[grassfarmer]

Inahurry, I'd prefer not to - it was nothing earth-
shattering - some of the stuff we have discussed on
here, but a lot of stuff specific to our product and the
facilities that process it for me. That's rather my point
though - if we are to rebuild this bridge of trust
between producer and consumer it has to be a
personal relationship built one on one. It's why hollow
claims that "our beef is safe" from "industry"
supporters like CCA are largely falling on deaf ears
with consumers. The consumer is better educated
and more inquisitive about how their food is
produced than most of us give them credit for.

[ASRG]

Good deal grassfarmer! Maybe you should be expanding?

[loric]

Social media should have played a massive role in
this. I had an ABP twitter account that I conversed
with people daily. In this day and age - you don't
just talk to the media, you have to talk directly with
consumers. Twitter is one way you can do that.

@albertabeef for those of you interested.

I will say that ABP should have been tweeting
through this entire thing. There has been one or
two retweets of stuff and that is it. It doesn't take
long to answer and reply to a few people a day. It's
so important to reach out to consumers.
Unfortunately, that hasn't happened and ABP
missed out on really engaging people directly.

[smcgrath76]

I have stayed mostly quiet on this
issue.
Loric - I agree and disagree at the same
time. ABP could have/should have been
speaking out in all kinds of ways,
however...
The accountability (or lack thereof)
lies within XL itself. They are the
ones who should have been standing front
and center and if they had a culture of
accountability they would have done so.
They would also have pursued working
actively with CFIA, ABP and others to
ensure they were informed on an ongoing
basis so they could expand the public
reach of their message and how they were
proactively dealing with it.
I know why ABP had to/has to field press
calls and I understand that they do need
to defend beef, but it makes them and
those of us on the ground look very
unprofessional when all we can say is
"the beef is good". It also creates a
culture of blame in the public eye when
as a producer all I can say is, "it was
done right when it left here".
When politicos and industry
organizations are forced into photo ops
without the backing of the creator of
the problem, I think it is often more
damaging than helpful to the industry.
I have never been a big fan of "CYOA"
problem solving.

[InAHurry]

Well said smcgrath76.

[ASRG]

It would seem the industry and the government regulator never learned a thing from the Maple Leaf listeria wreck four years ago.
Not excusing XL, but why do we have a regulator? Aren't they there to make sure the rules are followed? Or are the rules just too slack?
When the USDA delists the plant on September 14 because the food wasn't fit to eat for Americans.....why didn't the CFIA close the doors the same day instead of allow another 13 days of product to go out the doors? Obviously the Americans have a better system for protecting their consumers.
The government needs to conduct an independent assessment to see where things broke down.....or this will happen again and again!
Ritz and the head of the CFIA need to both go down the road.....the buck has to stop at the top!
The ABP should be calling for someone's head...rather than act as a cheerleader for an incompetent system. How much credibility do they have when they come out saying the product is safe....and the next day a bunch more products are recalled and more people get sick?
Might be better to hide out with their pals at XL and not say anything?

[kato]

Maybe cattle producers need to be sending just such a message to ABP? Ask them why they're not demanding someone's head? If they stepped up to their responsibility to represent cattle producers, maybe they could pass it up the line?

I agree heads should roll. It seems the only integrity left belongs to us poor schmucks at the bottom.

[rkaiser]

Gloves are off at our stores GF. After reading the following BS that CCA is pumping out, we are taking every opportunity to inform our customers and spread the word. This horrendous situation was inevitable and will keep happening at the factory/ commodity beef level, and consumers are aware and getting more of it from yours truly as they march through the doors of our new store in growing numbers.



CCA is publicly stating that "We're also looking to address information gaps regarding E.coli O157:H7 that we've seen out there as part of our media monitoring over the last few weeks. For instance, E.coli has been incorrectly attributed to large scale farms and processing facilities, and diet. The risk of E.coli is the same for cattle raised on a large farm or a small farm, whether they are raised on a grass-fed or grain-finished diet, or whether the beef is sourced locally from a farmer's market, butcher or purchased from the local supermarket."

[grassfarmer]

I hope your gloves are only off rhetorically Randy - I
think that was part of the problem at Lakeside.

[RShields]

You probably have a window of opportunity to solidify your business gf.
One question that hasn't been asked is what if NB doesn't have deep enough pockets to get through this deal.
Are we better or worse off if they things go back to status quo?

[grassfarmer]

It's rock solid already RSHIELDS, I don't need to
capitalize on this sorry situation as I'm as busy as I
want to be. Just wish I could convince some others to
get into the same business as it really is a nice fit for
a family farm.
As for NB and depth of their pockets I don't know the
answer - time will tell. In my opinion if they were to
bail out it would be short term pain for long term
gain. I see them as nothing but parasites feasting off
the rotten carcass of the Canadian cattle industry.
They obviously have some fellow parasites circling
like coyotes - the cattle organizations that back them
and put out press releases like the one Randy posted.

[ASRG]

I think the CCA and ABP have probably got their marching orders to try to discredit the local butcher and locally sourced beef?
Just about every story you see on TV they have some customer saying "I'm not buying any beef at Walmart or Safeway. I'm buying my beef from the local small butchershop!I know it's safe"
A case in point: I participate on facebook mainly to keep up with my extended family (nieces/nephews etc.). I sent out a message "don't eat any beef unless you know where it comes from". Got a reply from a niece, who is a high end investment banker in Vancouver, saying they only buy organic grass fed beef from their local guy......she said since this wreck he can't keep up with the demand!
Now I realize a lot of people don't have the income she does, but if the message is out there that commodity beef isn't safe and people start considering alternatives......what happens to the "corporate model" of cheap mass produced meat?
Do the CCA and ABP represent the average cow/calf guy or do they represent big corporate "agri business"?
Who are they serving when they try to lump all beef together?

[kato]

What I can't understand is why cattle producers everywhere aren't so mad they're spitting bullets.

I know I am.

Is it because they've reached the tipping point, and have decided it's not worth the fight? Are they so worn down from the losses since 03 that this is the final straw? That it's just not worth caring about? It seems that just when things start to look up, somebody up the line screws up and we pay for it. How many times does that have to happen before producers say "F*^* it, I'm selling the cows. Life's too short for this bull^%$$."

We're at a point where, depending on how this all plays out, Canada could very well become an importer of beef, and not be able to supply the Canadian market, let alone have any to export. So all those fancy "new" export markets won't be filled anyway, at least with Canadian beef.

Which is what I have said time and time again, for almost ten years now, in letters to G Ritz and friends. Letters that were brushed off.