Here's a trade deal for you

**shtferbrains** · May 18, 2026, 20:24

Mercosur free trade agreement is what gets Brazilian and South American beef into Europe easier than the deal we have with Europe.
They have a quota that doesn't have to meet all the EU slaughter house policy that we will never attempt.
We don't want to take shit from Trump so Carney will sign anything laid in front of him.

**goalieguy847** · May 18, 2026, 22:37

So..
serious question as ill play devils advocate.

Are the cattlemen more concerned about this potential deal becoming a trade irritant with the USA.. or about the price of cattle coming down. ?

If beef at the supermarket came down... the vast majority of canadian consumers would be happy.
beef is stupid. And yes, i know the middle.men are making more % wise than they were 5 yrs ago...
but beef producers are doing just fine when they sell animals.

Its not an easy spot to be in and i dont envy cattle producers. On one hand you want consumers ( including yourself) to pay less for groceries...but you also want to sell your commodity for as much as possible.

But realistically.. is this price of beef sustainable?
i think not.

At some point it will come down. This may just accelerate it as herd growth is... slow.

**shtferbrains** · May 18, 2026, 23:49

I'm sure the packers would be all in.
They own plants there too.
If the industry here shrinks much more they won't need the plant here.
Just bring in boatloads of containers whenever people think a farm commodity is to high.
You can buy that shit anywhere.

**Old Cowzilla** · May 19, 2026, 05:27

I wonder what everybody in those $200,000.00 camper units ate this weekend? Can't help but notice the beef op has been paying quite a few of the grain op bills around here lately. When it turns the bleeding will be huge for anybody that just jumped in. 1c this morning not growing much grass or wheat yet this year.

**littledoggie** · May 19, 2026, 08:35

Hey GG - Did we forget the "Buy Canadian" slogan already?
- You do realize there is a cattle cycle and that we are price takers, good, bad or ugly.

I refuse to feel guilty about the CURRENT high prices. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for primary beef producers to get ahead. You know, all that stuff we COULD NOT do in the BSE decade.

**TSIPP** · May 19, 2026, 18:37

I’ve had cows for almost 30 years, 25 of those years were loose money years, all the ranchers need a few more good years just so we can do a little upgrading, last year I finally bought a new tractor, I never knew tractors are that nice now, it’s 17 years old, just struggling with well over 200 cows, I’m working myself to death and the young people aren’t getting lined up for taking over.

Here's a trade deal for you