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Canuck Packing Plant Project Dead????

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Anonymous

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Province balks at further funding for Ranchers Choice 12.21.2006
By Dave Bedard

The troubled Ranchers Choice Beef Co-op project at Dauphin faces what some have warned could be its death-blow after the provincial government today officially declined to increase its financial exposure to the slaughter plant proposal.

Ag Minister Rosann Wowchuk told reporters on a conference call that
members of the co-op board had provided her with a term sheet from a
private investor willing to provide further financing to the project, contingent on the province's willingness to act as a guarantor and further investor.

"We looked at that term sheet and it was one we could not and can not endorse," Wowchuk said.

The Co-operator reported December 21 that the province had received a request to underwrite at least part of a $40 million financing arrangement between Ranchers Choice and an unnamed private investor.

The province has so far committed about $11 million to Ranchers Choice in the form of both direct investments and loans, on top of a commitment from the provincially-backed Manitoba Cattle Enhancement Council using special check-off funds from beef sales.

But Ranchers Choice's lender, Wowchuk said, is looking for security on $17 million in private sector investment, plus $18.5 million in total provincial equity including its contributions to date, plus other financial commitments.

Wowchuk said the province's existing funding commitments are still on the table, but this deal would make the province the sole funding partner and "we don't want to be the owner of this facility."

Sources within the co-op have previously told the Co-operator that without this private-sector financing, the planned slaughter facility is probably dead in the water.

A group of Manitoba ranchers has spearheaded the Ranchers Choice co-op proposal for three years now, looking to provide the province with some federally inspected beef slaughter capacity to handle cull cows and other cattle. The concept was developed after the BSE crisis shut the door to the U.S. market for such animals.

Wowchuk, however, said the province's refusal does not shut the plan down "if producers recognize the value of (the proposal) and say (they're) prepared to commit a lot more cattle."

To operate the Ranchers Choice plant at full capacity, she said, it would need commitments of 80,000 cattle per year from producers -- and actual commitments to date only total 19,000 animals over two years, she said.

But Wowchuk also did not rule out further help for the project if private backers were to offer different terms. She said the co-op board will now make a decision on how to proceed.

Representatives from Ranchers Choice and the Rural Municipality of Dauphin were not immediately available for comment. Watch for more details in the January 4 issue of the Manitoba Co-operator.

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RoperAB

Well-known member
Just my oppinion but my impression of Manatoba is that 95% of the population lives in Wpg. and they couldnt care less about what goes on outside of city limits.
 

Silver

Well-known member
I often think that the biggest mistake Canada made was to allow the export of live cattle after the US opened the border to younger cattle. It wasn't enough of an opening to make a substantial difference to producers up here, but it has sure affected any chances we had to improve the diversity and volume of our packing industry. Somehow I feel like I'm getting that old "damn, the Yanks have screwed us AGAIN" feeling in the pit of my stomach.
 

Sandhusker

Well-known member
Silver said:
I often think that the biggest mistake Canada made was to allow the export of live cattle after the US opened the border to younger cattle. It wasn't enough of an opening to make a substantial difference to producers up here, but it has sure affected any chances we had to improve the diversity and volume of our packing industry. Somehow I feel like I'm getting that old "damn, the Yanks have screwed us AGAIN" feeling in the pit of my stomach.

You are getting screwed again, but you're the ones bending over. You're going to continually get it until you holler "enough". This is what the North American Beef Industry gets you.
 

Mike

Well-known member
Silver said:
I often think that the biggest mistake Canada made was to allow the export of live cattle after the US opened the border to younger cattle. It wasn't enough of an opening to make a substantial difference to producers up here, but it has sure affected any chances we had to improve the diversity and volume of our packing industry. Somehow I feel like I'm getting that old "damn, the Yanks have screwed us AGAIN" feeling in the pit of my stomach.

That's exactly why the AMI, Cargill and Tyson pushed the live cattle opening so hard.................................

To diminish your chances of becoming a self-controlled packing entity.

Now they are pushing the OTM movement to assure that you are denied any success.
 

Econ101

Well-known member
Taxes on US controlled large slaughter houses who have preiviosly recieved government handouts to underwrite smaller packers like this one and increase the competitive market in Canada for rancher's cattle might be in order. Maybe Canada needs a competition title in their Farm Bill.

Increasing public spending without taking it from the industry is just another example of public money for corporate welfare.
 

cowzilla

Well-known member
The biggest problem was poor presentations by Ranchers Choice reps at some of there early meetings. Most producers, including myself left the meetings not very confident in there plans or projections. A good PR man would have helped the situation greatly at the beginning :( Our Provincial Ag Minister has done a few things lately that has not won a lot of support from livestock producers in this area. Even companys with there own money are having trouble getting government onside with there plans :!:
 

cowsense

Well-known member
Econ101 said:
Taxes on US controlled large slaughter houses who have preiviosly recieved government handouts to underwrite smaller packers like this one and increase the competitive market in Canada for rancher's cattle might be in order. Maybe Canada needs a competition title in their Farm Bill.

Increasing public spending without taking it from the industry is just another example of public money for corporate welfare.

Econ is probably a more dedicated socialist than almost anybody we have up here!!
 

mwj

Well-known member
cowsense said:
Econ101 said:
Taxes on US controlled large slaughter houses who have preiviosly recieved government handouts to underwrite smaller packers like this one and increase the competitive market in Canada for rancher's cattle might be in order. Maybe Canada needs a competition title in their Farm Bill.

Increasing public spending without taking it from the industry is just another example of public money for corporate welfare.

Econ is probably a more dedicated socialist than almost anybody we have up here!!

:shock: :lol: :nod:
 

Manitoba_Rancher

Well-known member
cowzilla said:
The biggest problem was poor presentations by Ranchers Choice reps at some of there early meetings. Most producers, including myself left the meetings not very confident in there plans or projections. A good PR man would have helped the situation greatly at the beginning :( Our Provincial Ag Minister has done a few things lately that has not won a lot of support from livestock producers in this area. Even companys with there own money are having trouble getting government onside with there plans :!:


Your bang on the money!! Do you have the same feeling as me when it comes to the NDPers right now and agriculture... I think they are cutting back on funding because they are trying to please the people of Winnipeg as there is an election coming up and us hobos west of the big city dont seem to matter.
 

cowsense

Well-known member
M_R...............Do the words NDP and agriculture even belong in the same sentence. We've seen lots of weird things done by our "esteemed" govt. over here but the direction of Wowchuk and company in the last while has bordered on lunacy!! It looks like the days of our Sask. govt. are hopefully numbered..... :lol: :lol: :lol: .......what do you predict for Manitoba?
 

Manitoba_Rancher

Well-known member
cowsense said:
M_R...............Do the words NDP and agriculture even belong in the same sentence. We've seen lots of weird things done by our "esteemed" govt. over here but the direction of Wowchuk and company in the last while has bordered on lunacy!! It looks like the days of our Sask. govt. are hopefully numbered..... :lol: :lol: :lol: .......what do you predict for Manitoba?

I predict that the Progressive Conservatives might ha ve agood run at a spring election. I always wondered why Wowchuck was ag minister when she cant speak english, she speaks broken english mixed with Ukranian and maybe some cree Indian poked in there as well...... :roll:
 

cowzilla

Well-known member
The way things look now the only Farms the N.D.P. Government wants in the Province of Manitoba are WIND FARMS :!: A change of government couldn,t happen soon enought.
 

RoperAB

Well-known member
cowzilla said:
The way things look now the only Farms the N.D.P. Government wants in the Province of Manitoba are WIND FARMS :!: A change of government couldn,t happen soon enought.

A while back when we were thinking about moving to Saskatchewan I was researching which ridings went liberal in both the Federal and provicial elections because we didnt want to end up buying a place in a Liberal area.
Anyway long story short. On the SK provincial NDP website they basically said that the future in SK was in the urban centers and that this was where they were putting there efforts/money/etc.
I forget how they had things worded exactly but you sure got the impression that they saw SK future in the urban centers. This really struck me as an odd election mandate since most of the province is rural.

PS
I hate those windmills. They are nothing but an eyesore.
 

Kato

Well-known member
The day the border closed, Wowchuk wrote a speech about how the NDP government was standing behind the cattle people in this province, and she has repeated that same speech over and over again for three years. She has hardly changed a word of it. She didn't mean what she said then, and she still doesn't.

The nonsense with the hog barns should give all of us a pretty good indication of the direction this government wants to go. In order to stop the Olywest plant without actually having to back down on their promises, they put a moratorium on all new and expanded hog barns in the whole province. How dumb do they think we are? When I heard about the hog moratorium, Olywest was the first thing I thought of. Personally I'm glad they stopped the Olywest plant, because we have our own plant out here, and it would have hurt it bad, but that's a whole different subject. The point is that they say one thing and do another.

What I'm wondering now, is what is supposed to happen to all this new checkoff money that is supposed to be used for expanding packing capacity in this province? What is it going to be spent on, and what was the point of even coming up with it in the first place? To put the blame on us for the lack of capacity if we request a refund? I think so. I think it was thought up by the same great minds that came up with a way out of the Olywest project.

If they don't want to support agriculture in this province, then just say so. Then we can get on with the job of replacing them. :wink:
 

Northern Rancher

Well-known member
Geez I always thought Alberta was socialist comparted to Sask. -we never got any $400 Ralpie welfare cheques in the mail lol. Checking out liberal ridings is the oddest real estate search I've ever heard of-but whatever floats your boat.
 

elwapo

Well-known member
roper agriculture in Sask surprisingly makes up less than 20% of their GDP.

NR - Alberta .... more socialist than sask ???
too much eggnogg eh!
 

Northern Rancher

Well-known member
Just bugging you guys -I think you've all had a little gravy dripping off your chins from Ralphie's trough-that's the biggest gripe you hear from displaced Albertan's that move to Sask.-not near as much helpy from the gov. Heck your 3D cows are worth twice as much as ours even lol. Nothing more disappointed than a free enterprising Albertan whose cheque is late. When it comes right down to it-not alot of difference between the two provinces-you just have a little fuller bank account for now. What % of Alberta's GDP is from agriculture-I'm just curious. There's talk of drilling out the NW corner of Sask.-I just hope we don't become an eastern suburb of Ft. Mac.
 
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