Feed

[TOM4CWB]

Charlie;

I am sad to see so many trucks on the road loaded with feed going to north central Alberta...

Feeding of cattle will be extended... and rain needs to come very soon... if we are to save pastures for June/July feeding.

It is very sad that we lost our rainfall insurance program on pasture land... I guess we will be looking for an adhoc payment instead?

[cowman]

Well actually TOM as I uderstood it the pasture insurance was an utter joke anyway, so no great loss?
I get ripped all the time in the beef forum for being a pessimist, but the fact is if you have to haul feed in until june/July then cattle aren't viable? Not at the prices for cattle today?
I have been trying to suggest over there that this cattle business really doesn't make any sense anymore and it might be time for a lot of people to bail...just unload them and get the hell out!
But it hasn't gone over well! They seem to be mostly optomists who will go down with the ship for their great love of the cows! Which is their right...but it shouldn't be at the expense of the Canadian taxpayer?
I sincerely hope the day comes when all farmers can get their just reward from the marketplace instead of things like cow welfare and crop insurance welfare?

[Incognito]

Cowman:

Thanks for dropping in on this side of the board. I've read all your posts pro and con re. testing 100% on the other side. For a free enterprise bunch, there certainly is much left-of-center thinking going on there.

Lobbying is not working and through all the media attention you might generate, it still won't open the border.

At what point does 100% testing make sense? When our ranchers are gone? The grain industry will be in for a jolt too, if this situation is not rectified soon.

There has to be some vision. The last time the west had a decent crop ('99) barley was moving into Lethbridge at 1.80 from Saskatchewan. Tough to make a living on 1.80 barley. Someone with some balls has to make some difficult decisions for ALL the farming industry so that everyone can live together. I get it from both sides. Cattle guys saying the grain guys don't care. Grain guys still smarting from drought and "giving my barley to those *astards" and they didn't care i was lossing my *ss.

Now that we are in the midst of an election in Canada, you can toss anything happening out the window until it is over and then you have to wait on the American election in Novemeber and by the sounds of Kerry, I wouldn't bank any money on his free trade sentiments either.

I had a banker tell me once, they loved agriculture loans. Why, I asked? Because farmers never give up and the default ratio is miniscule.

I sense the frustration in your post.

Here is some grain trading advice, I will take to my grave: When you are in a bad trade, cut your losses as soon as you can, and get the hell out.

The trouble with the cattle industry is that for the last year, they have been told the border will be open in a month, no two months, definitely in 6 months, by Christmas, for certain within the year and they don't realize they are in a bad trade.

What really irks me is that the city folk don't think that it will affect them and they are sheltered from any catastrophic farm crisis. In time it is going to affect us all. We are in a bad trade. 98% of the population doesnt realize it yet.

[pandiana]

cowman, what do you mean "...but it shouldn't be at the expense of the Canadian taxpayer?" This would imply that agriculture has been subsidized over the years by the taxpayer in order to become 'profitable'. I happen to think that agriculture has been subsidizing the taxpayer for many years with inexpensive food to the point where agriculture is no longer sustainable.

[ALLFARMER]

I heard from a couple guys from Lethbridge the other day that the feedlots were shutting down. Anyone who does not own their cows or those who have more cows than they can easily handle should be selling. In my opinion this BS is not going to be sorted out and cow/calf buisness will not be profitable for at least another 2 years.

Off to work on my new corral!

[ALLFARMER]

I heard from a couple guys from Lethbridge the other day that the feedlots were shutting down. Anyone who does not own their cows or those who have more cows than they can easily handle should be selling. In my opinion this BS is not going to be sorted out and cow/calf buisness will not be profitable for at least another 2 years.

Off to work on my new corral!

[cowman]

Icognito: I believe you have the right attitude...you can keep riding a dead horse but you ain't going anywhere! In 1988 I made the decision to quit growing grain. A lot of factors involved including lack of time,need to replace some equipment, and definitely lack of profit! And yet I had some very good land in a good moisture area.
My cousin was a young man just getting started and he has rented it on a crop share ever since. He has done a very good job and it works for both of us.
The end result is I do have some grain income although he markets everything and handles all the garbage.
In 2002 the drought was bad and yet we got a very decent barley crop. Now supply and demand dictated that this barley was on the way up from the $3.30/bu. in the fall. Unfortunately in came the subsidized corn! Did we here one word of protest from our wonderful governments? Well no...
If the shoe was on the other foot and Canada tried to dump highly subsidized barley into the States, do you think the Americans would have just sat there and meekly accepted it? I suggest they would have slapped a tariff on so fast it would have made our heads spin?
The point of all this is: The American government supports and protects their farmers...the Canadian government prefers to let everyone else walk all over us and then throws us a few dollars when the banks start to complain they aren't getting their money!
Pandianna: Supposedly the farmer has been subsidizing the Canadian consumer for many years? Now why is that? I would suggest to you that Canada, and probably North America, follows a cheap food policy? Now it isn't written down anywhere, but it is real none the less? It is not based on supply and demand but on a system of low subsidies and cheap imports. Example: Say cow beef rises to the point where the consumer starts to complain about the price of hamburger? In comes the garbage! All the rules go in the trash can! Thus we get the Jack-in-the-box scandal where the hamburger was actually kangaroo. Or how about back in the eighties when in came the Irish beef....the subsidy was worth more than the meat!
The people of Canada need to realize that the Canadian farmer is getting a raw deal compared to his American or European counterpart? Maybe that is why we are an industry of old men and women?

[TOM4CWB]

It is sooo good to hear the Rain!

Almost can hear the plants jumping up!

Thank God.

Many of Our cattle folks couldn't survive another drought this year.

[cropduster]

You`re right about the raindrops coming down Tom! Native pastures here in east Alberta are ugly!Some guys still going to the stackyard/silage pit.Still all and all great to be on the top side of the dirt!!

[carebear300]

The rain is sure welcome here north of Regina 60 miles as well. We are still feeding our cattle and haven't finished seeding yet. After the last few years of drought I always take the time to enjoy the rain. Hope it keeps up for all of us this summer and it doesn't get too hot.

[cowman]

7/10ths here at Red Deer. We needed it. It has been cold! A lot of grain up and doing well. Hope you all get timely rains this summer and the darned prices stay up!

[les]

90 miles east and a little north 1 tenth of rain is all over the weekend.

[jensend]

3.25" of rain since may 20 fifty miles n.e. of regina. crop is in but still feed and grass to seed.