THE BOY WHO CRIED WOLF

[Manitoba_Rancher]

NOW R-calf losers how can you denie that you arent keeping the border closed. LIARS!


today's lesson: the boys who cried beef
I draw your attention to an interesting and insightful editorial decrying the protectionist efforts of Montana cattle producers' organization R-CALF. It was published on Sunday, several days after a federal judge issued a temporary injunction keeping the U.S. border closed to imports of live young Canadan cattle, but obviously written before that ruling and with a view towards the possibility of R-CALF finagling a permanent closure of the border.



R-CALF has actually issued and called on its members to distribute - I'm not making this up - a "Safety Alert Fact Sheet" to consumers, grocery store managers, butchers, public health officials and elected officials across the U.S. They've already sent it to elected officials and health departments. Why? To make sure consumers believe that Canadian beef can give them BSE. R-CALF's belief is that if they can get consumers panicked about Canadian beef, they can generate pressure on USDA to rescind the Canadian Final Rule due to go into effect March 7. Then, when panicked consumers find out Canadian boxed beef has been entering the country for months, they can protect themselves by not eating any beef in the U.S. at all until mandatory COOL [country-of-origin labeling] is implemented, according to R-CALF's wishes.

Emphasis mine. Sounds like a scorched-earth policy, hm?


What it boils down to is this: R-CALF is engaged in a high stakes poker game. The stakes are not just R-CALF's $800,000 a year legal affairs budget. They are gambling your money - if you are at all involved anywhere in the beef chain - that they can scare consumers enough to help them achieve their political goals of cutting off beef imports. To them, risking consumer confidence in beef, indeed, risking the future of the whole industry, is a bet they are willing to make, Texas hold'em style, with all their money - and all yours.

They're not only betting everything, they are trying to fill an inside straight. Because they are gambling that if they destroy consumer confidence, if they create a "mad cow" scare and stop the beef market cold, that it will be temporary and they can re-start it later on whenever they want to do so. Such thinking is not only inconceivably, but unbelievably reckless. It is demonstrative of the naiveté of these people who apparently know so little of consumer habits, beef demand and the struggle of the last 30 years to turn this industry around at the consumer level. They evidently imagine that there are magical control valves somewhere to turn demand and consumer confidence in beef safety off and on.

"Magical control valves" ... ha.


The bottom line is that if R-CALF fails in its quest to block Canadian cattle imports, they have stated unequivocally that U.S. consumers should avoid eating beef purchased at U.S. grocery stores unless they wish to risk getting "mad cow" disease. If the USDA goes ahead with implementing the Final Rule on March 7 ... any consumer ignorant of the facts who reads R-CALF's Safety Alert sheet, with its inaccurate information and ridiculous scare tactics, would avoid beef totally.

If R-CALF's lawsuit is successful and the border reopening is delayed, another genie's bottle is uncorked. Any number of R-CALF's misleading, exaggerated and inaccurate conjectures in its legal filing could be quoted in the court's ruling, giving more credence and broad media coverage to such scare statements in the general media. And just as many people feel courts should not be making laws; legal briefs throwing everything attorneys can think of against the wall is not the proper and accurate way to establish scientific fact.

And if the curiosity of consumers is aroused and they read R-CALF's other ridiculous statements about beef's supposed continual "health risks to U.S. consumers," disaster could result.

Frankly, I cannot believe there are 12,000 R-CALF members out there who approve of such reckless brinkmanship with their livelihood. If they are concerned about this high stakes poker game with their life on the line, we suggest they get control of their leadership and its attorneys. This is not about turf. This is about survival of an industry.

No one I'm aware of in America is doing more to try to wreck the beef industry than R-CALF is right now.

[southdevon]

Manitoba Rancher:

The person that founded R-CALF is a very close friend of mine, I was sitting in his office when he wrote up the plan on a piece of paper, and showed it to my dad, several other people and I. The basic priciples of r-calf are detailed in their website, and the scewed views that all of the press releases, most notably NCBA reports say, are results of politicans pushing their agendas, and flowing through loopholes, the main goal of R-CALF is not to kill the Canadian cattle producer, but give the american cattle producer a voice loud enough to shout over the packers, the same packer that have been railing you for the past 15 years. R-CALF is setting an example for other beef industries, and the screaming is coming from special interest groups, lobbiest's, and packers because they are the ant under the magnifiying glass now, not the producers. Teddy Roosevelt said "Walk softly and carry a big stick." We have had enough of walking softly, and now we are using our stick, and it makes the rich, money-driven packers, lobbiest's, and special interest groups cry like the corrupt, inept, invalids they are.

[Manitoba_Rancher]

the main goal of R-CALF is not to kill the Canadian cattle producer, but give the american cattle producer a voice loud enough to shout over the packers, the same packer that have been railing you for the past 15 years. R-CALF is setting an example for other beef industries, and the screaming is coming from special interest groups, lobbiest's, and packers because they are the ant under the magnifiying glass now, not the producers.




Sure seems to me that they are out to get the Canadian beef ranchers while they have all of this low grade beef coming in from foreign countries to fill the gap. Makes a lot of sense doesnt it!

[Bull Burger]

[~SH~]

South Devon,

Not knowing any better, I used to believe the same packer blaming rhetoric espoused by R-CALF that you are now believing until I did some research.

Let's examine Pickett vs. IBP shall we?

JUST THE FACTS!

FACT #1 - The judges instructions to the jurors was that they (the jurors) had to agree that IBP lacked a legitimate business reason for using "captive supplies".

FACT #2 - 75% of "captive supplies" are forward contract cattle.

FACT #3 - The plaintiffs in Pickett vs. IBP admitted under oath that they had entered into forward contract arrangements with IBP.

FACT #4 - These same plaintiffs testified that IBP had a legitimate business reason for using forward contracts (75% of captive supplies).

FACT #5 - Mike Callicrate lied under oath and the judge gave instructions to the jurors to ignore his testimony because the judge found it to be untrue.

FACT #6 - IBP's profits for the "alleged" period of market manipulation during the Pickett vs. IBP era was $26 per head.

FACT #7 - The damages assessed to IBP were more than their profits for that time period.

FACT #8 - The judge overruled the verdict after reluctantly hearing the plaintiff's weak case to begin with.


Bet R-CULT didn't tell you that did they????


Now you tell me how the hell you can testify to using forward contracts, agree that they are a legitimate business venture, then expect a guilty verdict from a jury that had to agree that IBP "LACKED" a legitimate business reason for using captive supplies?????

NO COMPRENDE'!!!

The PER HEAD PACKER PROFITS, reported by GIPSA, for the 5 major packers through the "90"s was $3.88 per head AND THAT'S WHAT YOU R-CALFERS ARE BITCHING ABOUT!!!!

BSE could bring this industry to it's knees and your worried about the packers getting $3.88 per head to process the cattle you sold them???

If you want to continue to be misled, continue to support R-CULT!


~SH~

[Big Muddy rancher]

[southdevon]

The person that founded R-CALF is Leo McDonell of Columbus MT, he ownes Midland Bull Test.

[Murgen]

[southdevon]

well, if the border was closed at the time that damn downer (CANADIAN) cow was found in washington, we would still be trading with japan, and global demand would still be high. Anyway, the border is closed, we can control the spread of disease in OUR country, and there are still countries that want our beef. Result : American prices are high, Canadian prices are low. I think you hae it backwards.

[Murgen]

[southdevon]

I dont want your beef, my neighbor doesn't want your beef, joe at the grecery store doesn't want your beef, the packers do, because they can buy it cheaper than they can buy ours for. As soon as there is a manditory COOL you foot will be planted firmly in your mouth. When that happens you see that consumers want high quality, great tasting, DISEASE FREE american beef.

[Murgen]