Anybody see this?

[cowman]

Just got back from a little trip to Montana. Caught a newscast where the ag minister from Manitoba was saying they need to kill 60,000 cows before winter. He actually came out and said it...dig the pits, shoot them and bury them! His actual words! Then they had a little bit about Shirley McClellan saying basically the same thing only she babbled on about we need to make sure we use the meat! Too bad they never asked her where we're going to get them killed?
Saw an ad for hamburger at $2.95/lb. American which works out to about $4 Canadian! I hope the Canadian consumer realizes what a good deal they're getting at 74 cents a pound!
Had a steak at a bar and grill and it was sure a good one so I guess those Americans are coping without Canadian beef!

[15444]

Yeah I heard it too. It was only a matter of time though. Everyone had this big sigh of relief when the border opened partially, didn't think they would have to do a massive cull. But 60,000 cull cows won't mean tiddly squats to the industry. They need to slaughter 150,000 confirmed bred cows in Manitoba and then start talking about a supply managed beef system and bringing the old Burns plant in Winnipeg back online.

[ValueChainFX]

Ground Beef Sale price $1.28lb
Top sirloin $3.99lb
Outside round roast $1.99lb
Eye of Round Steak $2.99lb
Inside Round Steak $2.98lb
Sirloin Tip Roast $2.98lb
T-Bone Steak $6.99lb
Anyone care to guess how much these sale prices have changed since last year at this time?????

Just so you have an insight the ground beef is down from $1.49 and the T bones are down from from $7.09.

Just a thought but something may be a little funny here and I am almost positive that it is not the producer that is havin the chuckle!

If there was ever a time for the producers to go more directly to the consumer I do believe it is now, what are your thoughts?

[rusty1]

15444 - supply managment is exactly what the packing industry wants. That's whay they keep winning about about needing to feed their own cattle. They would like to push us to the place where the pork industry is. We'll be told how many to buy at what weights so they can tell us on what days we need to ship.

[ValueChainFX]

In saying that, it's also not a good thing to have two systems, one that sets market prices and the other that undercuts them.

Before you look at supply management as a bad thing, maybe call it something else and ask yourself if this ... If you could get a premium price for a specific kind of product would I like the choice to go after that premium? I think most of us would if we knew what the product was.

So maybe supply management is not the word we are looking for, perhaps the word is “understanding the market place and controlling what we raise to meet those demands”!

[ValueChainFX]

Sorry I missed the first part of the last answer.

So put this in front of the last answer and maybe it makes more sense LOL ... sorry!

Supply management would not adversely effect a certain portion of the industry. But it's still good for you as the producer to keep some of your supply to put into markets of your choice and not let the system manage your business!

[15444]

I think supply managment would be best in our case. The folloing is how this crisis should be dealt with.

Canada destroys half of the cowherd. Every producer is mandated to do it, but the can elect which cows in the herd are to be destroyed, regardless of age, based more on quality then anything else.

The remaining cows have a quota placed on them, say $500 per cow for quota. This gives the cow/calf producer more assets when selling out. The only way a farmer can expand is by buying more quota. This idea in it self would limit the rate of growth a farm could have and, may even help keep the little guy around.

Being that there are fewer cattle, we become less reliant on export markets and build our own national niche market which bans medicated feeds and growth promotents. Having banned such products, we call on every country that exports to us to do the same or be denied import permits. We wouldn't even have to meet our WTO obligations of 74,000 imported tons of beef annually because we could say that we consider any beef with such products in them as being a risk to public health safety.

So take another look at this. We could become almost 0% reliant on export markets, boost herd health, provide more assets for the producer, and boost consumer demand by banning already controversial products used in cattle production. I think it works.

[15444]

Forgot to add that the $500 quota would be added onto the actual value of the cow. Just in case anybody is confused by that part.

[Muttley]

I do not like the thought of killing any of our Canadian cow herd!

Last spring farmers and ranchers were expanding because of the bright spot it had in agriculture (with the exception of drought area's). I still believe in the Canadian cattle industry and the fact that this BSE cow was contained before entering our food chain should be used as a promotion of our industry not as a wreck.

We all wish it had not happened but it did, do not let some yahoo's in government tell us to kill good cows. The world needs our beef and they had better get off their fat beef fed arses and get our borders opened and our industry back on track as it was a short time ago.

MY COWS ARE NOT GOING TO SLAUGHTER UNTIL I SAY SO !!!!!

[15444]

There is an article in last week's Western Producer which lays out the plans that the provinces are each going to create a provincial cow destruction program. The CCA doesn't know if producers would volunteer their cattle for slaughter, with compensation....so they are planning on letting the provinces and feds run the culling program so their is someway of making it mandatory and enforcing producers to give up cattle.

[ValueChainFX]

Just what we need the government making more of the producer choices for them! We just need to put the safest product into the world market and test every animal, are we concerned about the cost to do this or the price we are paying for not doing it!

Even to talk of a mandatory destruction sends shivers through me. If some of the producer want to go that way, let them make the choice.

[ValueChainFX]

Just what we need the government making more of the producer choices for them! We just need to put the safest product into the world market and test every animal, are we concerned about the cost to do this or the price we are paying for not doing it!

Even to talk of a mandatory destruction sends shivers through me. If some of the producer want to go that way, let them make the choice.

[ValueChainFX]

Just what we need the government making more of the producer choices for them! We just need to put the safest product into the world market and test every animal, are we concerned about the cost to do this or the price we are paying for not doing it!

Even to talk of a mandatory destruction sends shivers through me. If some of the producer want to go that way, let them make the choice.

[cowman]

Oh I doubt we'll ever see supply management! We missed out on that gravy train when old Eugene was pushing it. I mean take a look around and realize just how well the dairy and chicken guys have done. We could have been there!
Cargill and IBP are dependent on large supplies of cheap cattle that they can export and they call the tune...so it ain't going to happen!
The fact is we have this terrible by-product...the old cow! And the fact is she eats and costs money to keep! As an aside we can not actually operate without getting something out of her when her productive days are done...and I don't mean 8 cents/lb.!
Now we need to get rid of some cows! I'm sure some packers would just love to get them for 8 cents! Preferably for ever but for at least a couple of years! We all know that is unreasonable because we can't stay in business with 8 cent cows. The packers sure don't want to see all those 8 cent cows in a pit!
Will our governments do what is needed? Unlikely! They are more into dithering and wringing their hands until it's too late! I mean look at this whole thing? When the science was done and it became very obvious this was nothing but a phony tradewar, what did they do? Did they play hardball with the Japs and Yanks? No, they snivelled and whined and said what can we do? We need to cowtow to the Americans and show the whole world what a bunch of wimps we are???

[rusty1]

Let me remind you all the sustem was working relativly fine till 520. The production groups were all capable of making some money. Yeh maybe some cow calf producers are whining, but then why should the country subsidize c/c producers that live on land that erbinites want to pay other world prices. Producers that are managing their ranches properly are making a go of it too.
But to hav a Sask. Pool socialistic additude and managment direction into market control I'd fight tooth nail.
Take a look at the hog industry - it sure dosn't look like it's working all that well, and has not for quite a few years. As far as the dairy, their subsidized industry still has their producers with a big ring in their nose.
One major direction we need to make our situation fly is to get some salesman out into the rest of the world so we don't rely so much on one customer.