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Beef quota

burnt

Well-known member
Kato, I posted this over where you asked the question about it on the other site.

OTTAWA, ONTARIO — Canada’s government launched a World Trade Organization (W.T.O.) dispute settlement process Oct. 7 over U.S. mandatory country-of-origin labeling (C.O.O.L.). Stockwell Day, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, and Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board, announced the move.

"The U.S. C.O.O.L. requirements are so onerous that they affect the ability of our cattle and hog exporters to compete fairly in the U.S. market," Mr. Day said. "That is why our government has no choice but to request a W.T.O. panel."

Canadian farmers and ranchers produce top-quality food, and they are facing unfair discrimination because of C.O.O.L. legislation, said Mr. Ritz. "This government is standing up for Canadian farmers and ranchers by exercising Canada’s rights under the W.T.O., and we are confident our challenge will be successful," he added.

A mandatory labeling measure in the U.S., C.O.O.L. requires firms to track and notify customers of the country of origin of meat and other agricultural products at each major stage of production, including at the retail level. The Canadian government charges these provisions impose unfair and unnecessary costs on integrated North American supply chains, reducing competitiveness in both Canada and the U.S. C.O.O.L. has created confusion and uncertainty for livestock industries on both sides of the border, the government added.

After two rounds of W.T.O. consultations with the U.S. failed to resolve the issue, Canada decided to request a panel earlier today, which is the next step in the W.T.O.’s dispute-settlement process.

In December 2008, Canada initially requested W.T.O. consultations with the U.S. on C.O.O.L., because it believed the measures were creating undue trade restrictions to the detriment of Canadian exporters. U.S. provisions at that time were being implemented based on the interim final rule. On Jan. 15, 2009, the Final Rule was published in the Federal Register, and it was implemented several months later on March 16. Canada held a further round of C.O.O.L. consultations with the U.S. on June 5.

Canada and the U.S. are each other’s largest agricultural trading partners. In 2008, bilateral agricultural trade totaled approximately C$37 billion ($35 billion). Reducing obstacles to trade has contributed to mutually beneficial supply chains, making both countries more competitive domestically and internationally, the Canadian government relayed.

Despite this latest move, Canada and the U.S. continue to have "a close and ongoing dialogue on C.O.O.L. and other issues," the government of Canada concluded.
 

Kato

Well-known member
:D I just read that on the Manitoba Cooperator page, and was coming back to post this link.

http://www.manitobacooperator.ca/issues/ISArticle.asp?aid=1000343225&PC=FBC&issue=10072009

It's a little longer article. The best part is not in the article you posted, so here it is.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture , Canada's request for a panel will come up for consideration at the WTO Dispute Settlement Body's next meeting Oct. 23.

Well, it's about time. Maybe Mr. Ritz read my letter. :wink:
 

PATB

Well-known member
quote from advangatecattle.com

"We have a company here in NY called Northeast Livestock Processing Services Company, LLC. This just got started a couple years ago to help alleviate the issues you've addressed Jim.

This company does a few things:

1) It operates like a co-op. You pay your 50.00 a year to be a member and that gets a scheduling agent to help you get your stock scheduled at a cooperating processors.
2) The scheduling agent also will do packing oversight to make sure your beef, pork, lamb, chicken is what you get back and according to your cut sheet. They watch the kill too so they know your animal is the one getting processed later down the line.
3) They offer a seek and sell classified ad email announcement that goes out every couple weeks.
4) They actually buy meats and sell to large scale institutions like colleges, hospitals, etc. They pay a premium to the farmers involved and pair production paradigm to customer. Some private colleges want only grass-fed, only organic, only local within 50 miles, etc. NELPSC helps them get what they want and the small-scale producers have an outlet almost directly to the large institutions they wouldn't otherwise have.
5) To help meet demand they are building their own slaughter facility and there is a lot of support among producers. Still won't take all the bottleneck out, but it will help some.

The person running this operation used to be a meat inspector, has raised hogs and sheep for 4O odd years and had gotten burned so bad by processors that she started up this business with a grant from the Hudson/Mohawk Rural Conservation and Development Council, a part of USDA NRCS. The business is now autonomous and run as a for profit business. ALL of the board members are farmers/livestock producers as well as having backgrounds in farm credit/banking, academia (meat science), and processing plant oversight/inspection.

Does this business solve all the woes of cattle producers here? No, but it is a step in the right direction. Also, this business is completely equal opportunity when it comes to feeding and management paradigms/programs. They work with any and all producers regardless of breed, species, production model.

Sua Sponte
RLTW"

We all need to find ways to cut out the middleman. The more fingers that are in the pie the smaller the piece everyone gets.
 

RobertMac

Well-known member
PATB said:
quote from advangatecattle.com

"We have a company here in NY called Northeast Livestock Processing Services Company, LLC. This just got started a couple years ago to help alleviate the issues you've addressed Jim.

This company does a few things:

1) It operates like a co-op. You pay your 50.00 a year to be a member and that gets a scheduling agent to help you get your stock scheduled at a cooperating processors.
2) The scheduling agent also will do packing oversight to make sure your beef, pork, lamb, chicken is what you get back and according to your cut sheet. They watch the kill too so they know your animal is the one getting processed later down the line.
3) They offer a seek and sell classified ad email announcement that goes out every couple weeks.
4) They actually buy meats and sell to large scale institutions like colleges, hospitals, etc. They pay a premium to the farmers involved and pair production paradigm to customer. Some private colleges want only grass-fed, only organic, only local within 50 miles, etc. NELPSC helps them get what they want and the small-scale producers have an outlet almost directly to the large institutions they wouldn't otherwise have.
5) To help meet demand they are building their own slaughter facility and there is a lot of support among producers. Still won't take all the bottleneck out, but it will help some.

The person running this operation used to be a meat inspector, has raised hogs and sheep for 4O odd years and had gotten burned so bad by processors that she started up this business with a grant from the Hudson/Mohawk Rural Conservation and Development Council, a part of USDA NRCS. The business is now autonomous and run as a for profit business. ALL of the board members are farmers/livestock producers as well as having backgrounds in farm credit/banking, academia (meat science), and processing plant oversight/inspection.

Does this business solve all the woes of cattle producers here? No, but it is a step in the right direction. Also, this business is completely equal opportunity when it comes to feeding and management paradigms/programs. They work with any and all producers regardless of breed, species, production model.

Sua Sponte
RLTW"

We all need to find ways to cut out the middleman. The more fingers that are in the pie the smaller the piece everyone gets.
This type of program will help all producers in the long run, but the key to success is to NOT compete with the large packers...offer a product they won't or, better, can't!
 

Broke Cowboy

Well-known member
RobertMac said:
PATB said:
quote from advangatecattle.com

"We have a company here in NY called Northeast Livestock Processing Services Company, LLC. This just got started a couple years ago to help alleviate the issues you've addressed Jim.

This company does a few things:

1) It operates like a co-op. You pay your 50.00 a year to be a member and that gets a scheduling agent to help you get your stock scheduled at a cooperating processors.
2) The scheduling agent also will do packing oversight to make sure your beef, pork, lamb, chicken is what you get back and according to your cut sheet. They watch the kill too so they know your animal is the one getting processed later down the line.
3) They offer a seek and sell classified ad email announcement that goes out every couple weeks.
4) They actually buy meats and sell to large scale institutions like colleges, hospitals, etc. They pay a premium to the farmers involved and pair production paradigm to customer. Some private colleges want only grass-fed, only organic, only local within 50 miles, etc. NELPSC helps them get what they want and the small-scale producers have an outlet almost directly to the large institutions they wouldn't otherwise have.
5) To help meet demand they are building their own slaughter facility and there is a lot of support among producers. Still won't take all the bottleneck out, but it will help some.

The person running this operation used to be a meat inspector, has raised hogs and sheep for 4O odd years and had gotten burned so bad by processors that she started up this business with a grant from the Hudson/Mohawk Rural Conservation and Development Council, a part of USDA NRCS. The business is now autonomous and run as a for profit business. ALL of the board members are farmers/livestock producers as well as having backgrounds in farm credit/banking, academia (meat science), and processing plant oversight/inspection.

Does this business solve all the woes of cattle producers here? No, but it is a step in the right direction. Also, this business is completely equal opportunity when it comes to feeding and management paradigms/programs. They work with any and all producers regardless of breed, species, production model.

Sua Sponte
RLTW"

We all need to find ways to cut out the middleman. The more fingers that are in the pie the smaller the piece everyone gets.
This type of program will help all producers in the long run, but the key to success is to NOT compete with the large packers...offer a product they won't or, better, can't!

Exactly.

Compete and you are in trouble from the start.

Canadian know this very well.

To my knowledge - EVERY initiative - that was opened in Canada by producers - and there were a dammed lot of them - have failed or been squashed by the big guys.

BC
 

Kato

Well-known member
Remember that other so far unfulfilled promise of a bunch of money to expand packing capacity in this country? So far as I know, none has been spent. I think a good place to start with this is to find a way to get the government to use it to help the many hundreds of small local abbatoirs to upgrade to federal standards.

These people are already in the business. They know what they are doing, and they are established. What they need is the tools to be able to expand on what they've got. Federal status would do that. It would allow interprovincial trade, and sales to grocery stores. It would allow these guys who have the skills, and are already operating under the radar to expand their operations.

If these small plants were given the opportunity, I'm positive that at least a fair number would be able to grow into being bigger players. They'd be harder for the big boys to knock out, especially if they were working with a network of established contacts among cattle producers. This would fit into the Local Food movement perfectly. I think that's the way of the future. 8)
 

burnt

Well-known member
Kato said:
Remember that other so far unfulfilled promise of a bunch of money to expand packing capacity in this country? So far as I know, none has been spent. I think a good place to start with this is to find a way to get the government to use it to help the many hundreds of small local abbatoirs to upgrade to federal standards.

These people are already in the business. They know what they are doing, and they are established. What they need is the tools to be able to expand on what they've got. Federal status would do that. It would allow interprovincial trade, and sales to grocery stores. It would allow these guys who have the skills, and are already operating under the radar to expand their operations.

If these small plants were given the opportunity, I'm positive that at least a fair number would be able to grow into being bigger players. They'd be harder for the big boys to knock out, especially if they were working with a network of established contacts among cattle producers. This would fit into the Local Food movement perfectly. I think that's the way of the future. 8)

This is the ticket. It would be pretty hard for the big boys to squelch it, although I'm sure they would try to find a way.

It would fit hand in glove with the "green" mentality that is the rage and thus be very hard for the government to ignore.
 

PORKER

Well-known member
If these small plants were given the opportunity, I'm positive that at least a fair number would be able to grow into being bigger players. They'd be harder for the big boys to knock out, especially if they were working with a network of established contacts among cattle producers. This would fit into the Local Food movement perfectly. I think that's the way of the future.

You got that right, and if Canada got their own COOL law it would move even faster because that beef coming into Canada does not carry any Source Verification.
 

RobertMac

Well-known member
Kato said:
Remember that other so far unfulfilled promise of a bunch of money to expand packing capacity in this country? So far as I know, none has been spent. I think a good place to start with this is to find a way to get the government to use it to help the many hundreds of small local abbatoirs to upgrade to federal standards.

These people are already in the business. They know what they are doing, and they are established. What they need is the tools to be able to expand on what they've got. Federal status would do that. It would allow interprovincial trade, and sales to grocery stores. It would allow these guys who have the skills, and are already operating under the radar to expand their operations.

If these small plants were given the opportunity, I'm positive that at least a fair number would be able to grow into being bigger players. They'd be harder for the big boys to knock out, especially if they were working with a network of established contacts among cattle producers. This would fit into the Local Food movement perfectly. I think that's the way of the future. 8)
It's the "federal standards" that the large packers have used to force the small plants out of business...first you have to break the bond of corrupt government and corrupt corporations.

You're on the right track...Cargill can never be the housewife's neighbor that raises the beef she feeds her family.
 

Big Muddy rancher

Well-known member
Broke Cowboy said:
RobertMac said:
PATB said:
quote from advangatecattle.com

"We have a company here in NY called Northeast Livestock Processing Services Company, LLC. This just got started a couple years ago to help alleviate the issues you've addressed Jim.

This company does a few things:

1) It operates like a co-op. You pay your 50.00 a year to be a member and that gets a scheduling agent to help you get your stock scheduled at a cooperating processors.
2) The scheduling agent also will do packing oversight to make sure your beef, pork, lamb, chicken is what you get back and according to your cut sheet. They watch the kill too so they know your animal is the one getting processed later down the line.
3) They offer a seek and sell classified ad email announcement that goes out every couple weeks.
4) They actually buy meats and sell to large scale institutions like colleges, hospitals, etc. They pay a premium to the farmers involved and pair production paradigm to customer. Some private colleges want only grass-fed, only organic, only local within 50 miles, etc. NELPSC helps them get what they want and the small-scale producers have an outlet almost directly to the large institutions they wouldn't otherwise have.
5) To help meet demand they are building their own slaughter facility and there is a lot of support among producers. Still won't take all the bottleneck out, but it will help some.

The person running this operation used to be a meat inspector, has raised hogs and sheep for 4O odd years and had gotten burned so bad by processors that she started up this business with a grant from the Hudson/Mohawk Rural Conservation and Development Council, a part of USDA NRCS. The business is now autonomous and run as a for profit business. ALL of the board members are farmers/livestock producers as well as having backgrounds in farm credit/banking, academia (meat science), and processing plant oversight/inspection.

Does this business solve all the woes of cattle producers here? No, but it is a step in the right direction. Also, this business is completely equal opportunity when it comes to feeding and management paradigms/programs. They work with any and all producers regardless of breed, species, production model.

Sua Sponte
RLTW"

We all need to find ways to cut out the middleman. The more fingers that are in the pie the smaller the piece everyone gets.
This type of program will help all producers in the long run, but the key to success is to NOT compete with the large packers...offer a product they won't or, better, can't!

Exactly.

Compete and you are in trouble from the start.

Canadian know this very well.

To my knowledge - EVERY initiative - that was opened in Canada by producers - and there were a dammed lot of them - have failed or been squashed by the big guys.

BC


Western Prime in Weyburn is the only one i know still operating. Natural Valley's assets go up for auction soon.
 

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