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UH OH Time for a subsidy

HAY MAKER

Well-known member
The last cattle auction of the year for the area had better results than many were expecting, but ranchers still call this fall's beef market collapse a staggering situation.

"The situation is worse than the BSE crisis," said local rancher Dan Willmann. "You can't make it with 90 cent (per pound) calves and 30 cents (per pound) for cull cows. A good cow should bring $1,400 to $1,500.

"These prices are back in the '70s. All our costs, though, have gone up and things like fuel and fertilizer have skyrocketed."

Willmann is one of many ranchers across Western Canada that have made a gamble. They are holding most of their herds hoping for better prices in spring. It means they have to feed the animals costly hay and grain through the winter and if prices don't rise, they are stuck with the losses.

Henry Dyck, manager of Vanderhoof Auction Mart, said his sale on the weekend went surprisingly well and was later in the autumn than his sales usually go. About 500 cattle were sold at the event, the last until spring.

"I would say prices were probably up a nickel, on average," Dyck said. "Cows were went for about 25 to 30 cents per pound. Heiferettes were up to 60 cents. Bred cows went for $4.85 to $7.50 but there weren't many of those, most guys were keeping them back. For the 500 to 600 weight steers the prices were 95 cents up to $1.05 and for the 400 to 500 weight steers they got up to $1.16. That's not bad. We had good buyer support this year."

Dyck admits though that the markets all over Western Canada are hurting ranchers and the prices have not kept pace with the cost of raising beef. He said the high Canadian dollar has likely been a factor, as is the new market for grains to make ethanol-blended fuels. That has driven the price of grains up sharply, he said.

Good old fashioned greed is also playing a role in cattle prices, said Willmann.

"Why is the price so low in Canada? Food prices in the store keep going up. But the guy at the farm got none of that," Willmann said. "The big packing plants based in Alberta -- Tyson and Cargill -- are gouging. Simple as that. They are making nothing but money. All during BSE, the prices in the stores for hamburger stayed the same but the price we got at the farm gate dropped.

The guy in the middle, the packers, made nothing but money at our expense. That's what's going on now. The major slaughterhouses in Alberta aren't playing fair. They are so big and powerful because there is nowhere else to go to. "

What is needed is a number of large, independent packing plants to be established, Willmann said, especially if they could be located in B.C.

Willmann said the large meat conglomerates also put downward pressure on local beef producers in another way. They insist grocery stores and butcher shops use only their large cuts of meat or else they would refuse to supply these stores with the specialty meats they need to satisfy their customers. It is a form of blackmail preventing local meat from being sold in stores in our area.

Dyck said the crash in prices is hitting ranchers hard, and most of them are older couples who were already in the final stages of their farming life. He is hearing from a lot of them that the farm is probably going to be sold off.

The squeeze on ranchers is going to force them to quit the business and close their land to that type of work, Willmann said.

"Who's going to produce your food? Where is it going to come from for your kids when they grow up?," said. "The government knows what's going on, they have to do something. Don't they have a plan? This is our food source."
 

Kato

Well-known member
This is being supported how??? You make it sound like we've jumped on the Cargill bandwagon with big smiles on our faces. :roll: I don't know anyone who's happy with this.

It's not just in Canada that the big packers are flexing their muscles. It's all over the world, including the U.S. Things are no different on your side of the border, so if it was not a North American herd problem it would be a Canadian problem and an American problem. Same problem. It's not going away unless we all do something about it.

Unless cattle producers can somehow find a way to stop sniping at each other, and working together it won't matter if we support or don't support the status quo.

The status quo is what we'll get.

These big corporations are not going away any time soon, and seem to be experts at crushing anyone who tries to compete, so what option do we have? Maybe we should get our heads together since we do supply the raw product, and as a united group we just may have some clout to make these faceless conglomerates listen to us for a change.

It's been done before. A long time ago when unions were established. They proved that a group of little people can become strong if they decide to get along and work for a common cause.
 

Sandhusker

Well-known member
Kato said:
This is being supported how??? You make it sound like we've jumped on the Cargill bandwagon with big smiles on our faces. :roll: I don't know anyone who's happy with this.

It's not just in Canada that the big packers are flexing their muscles. It's all over the world, including the U.S. Things are no different on your side of the border, so if it was not a North American herd problem it would be a Canadian problem and an American problem. Same problem. It's not going away unless we all do something about it.

Unless cattle producers can somehow find a way to stop sniping at each other, and working together it won't matter if we support or don't support the status quo.

The status quo is what we'll get.

These big corporations are not going away any time soon, and seem to be experts at crushing anyone who tries to compete, so what option do we have? Maybe we should get our heads together since we do supply the raw product, and as a united group we just may have some clout to make these faceless conglomerates listen to us for a change.

It's been done before. A long time ago when unions were established. They proved that a group of little people can become strong if they decide to get along and work for a common cause.

I made that comment because there are still people here who support the idea of a North American herd.
 

Tex

Well-known member
Kato said:
This is being supported how??? You make it sound like we've jumped on the Cargill bandwagon with big smiles on our faces. :roll: I don't know anyone who's happy with this.

It's not just in Canada that the big packers are flexing their muscles. It's all over the world, including the U.S. Things are no different on your side of the border, so if it was not a North American herd problem it would be a Canadian problem and an American problem. Same problem. It's not going away unless we all do something about it.

Unless cattle producers can somehow find a way to stop sniping at each other, and working together it won't matter if we support or don't support the status quo.

The status quo is what we'll get.

These big corporations are not going away any time soon, and seem to be experts at crushing anyone who tries to compete, so what option do we have? Maybe we should get our heads together since we do supply the raw product, and as a united group we just may have some clout to make these faceless conglomerates listen to us for a change.

It's been done before. A long time ago when unions were established. They proved that a group of little people can become strong if they decide to get along and work for a common cause.

This ie exactly why the packers are working to undo the farm bill and title 10 in particular. They are sacred of not having all th power. They have made a lot of enemies on their way to industry dominance.
 

PORKER

Well-known member
THE HILLARY Clinton SOLUTIONS $$$$$$$$$$$This ie exactly why the packers are working to undo the farm bill and title 10 in particular.

Hillary will implement a broad import safety agenda to address these challenges, including:


* Creating a single food safety agency responsible for overseeing all federal food safety activities.
* Banning lead in children’s products.
* Requiring independent third-party testing for imported toys
* Holding foreign producers of drugs, toys, and food to American safety requirements, and holding importers liable for the products they bring into this country.
* Imposing stiffer civil penalties and pursuing criminal prosecutions against companies that put our children and citizens at risk.
* Increasing the number of inspectors at ports of entry and in foreign countries to verify that our safety rules are being followed.
* Mandating and fully funding Country of Origin Labeling.
* Appointing a Chair of the CPSC whose first priority is protecting the public – not industry.

Protecting our Food Supply

Require foreign food producers to meet American safety requirements, and require all importers to take full responsibility for the safety of imported food, including pet food and animal feed. Hillary will take four steps:
* First, mandate that U.S.-based importers demonstrate – with full legal accountability – that their foreign suppliers are executing an effective plan to meet American safety standards through preventive controls.
* Second, mandate that foreign producers of at-risk foods and food products receive special safety certifications before they can ship to the U.S.
* Third, direct the FDA to station more personnel overseas to conduct facility inspections, and make FDA access to foreign facilities and records a condition of entry to the United States. Hillary’s FDA would also develop binding agreements with foreign governments that seek to improve their food safety regulatory capacity and oversight.
* Fourth, direct the FDA to block future imports of particular food products from particular countries based on patterns of past violations. At the same time, create a “fast track” entry system for responsible importers with a proven track record of safety who also take additional steps to create a secure supply chain.

Improve our nation’s import inspection system, with more inspectors, fewer ports of entry, and upgraded testing laboratories. Hillary will:
* More than double the number of FDA food inspectors to 4,500, and direct the additional personnel to increase the number and improve the effectiveness of import inspections at U.S. ports of entry. Add personnel and upgrade equipment at existing test labs.
* Direct the FDA to designate ports of entry for certain types of at-risk food products and post inspectors at all of them. Right now, there are more than 300 ports of entry but the FDA posts inspectors at less than 100.
* Require that products subject to import alerts be tested in certified labs. Prohibit unaudited labs from giving food products a clean bill of health.

Fine, prosecute, and punish importers who bring unsafe food into the country. Hillary will establish and enforce tough new civil penalties and strengthen criminal penalties for companies that import unsafe, adulterated or misbranded foods, or that falsely certify that their foreign processors have met our safety standards. Hillary will also make it illegal for companies to violate recall requirements, and impose severe civil and criminal penalties for violations.

Mandate and fund Country-of-Origin Labeling. Hillary believes we’ve waited too long for COOL and she will call on USDA to swiftly adopt and implement a truly workable, common-sense COOL rule. The rule will protect consumers by putting information in their hands about where their produce and food is coming from. And it will help local farmers stand out from the crowd and promote their home-grown products.

Give our safety agencies mandatory recall authority and direct them to create a national tracing system so we can determine the origin of tainted food. Hillary will authorize the FDA and USDA to mandate recalls of tainted products. Right now, the FDA and USDA lack mandatory recall authority. She will also direct the FDA, USDA, and CDC to establish an integrated national traceback system to help regulators trace food products and ingredients from their point of sale back to their origin. At present, there are gaps in our ability to determine the source of unsafe food and animal feed, which hinders efforts to control outbreaks and curb them before they spread. We must ensure that we have adequate tracking and monitoring mechanisms in place to ensure the health of our livestock, our farmers and our consumers nationwide.
 

cure

Well-known member
I still wouldn't vote for her. She has one good idea but what about the other 100 bad ones.
All I have to say is if anyone of you guys have ever read 1984 by George Orwell you will know that BIG BROTHER is watching you and going to try and put the death grip on us all untill we have had enough and will stand up for our selves. But until this happens I guess all we can do is sit here in front of our computers and bitch to each other.
 

PORKER

Well-known member
What I see is IF this political strategey works to get her elected ,then the rest of the politicians will all move this way .
 

Kato

Well-known member
She will also direct the FDA, USDA, and CDC to establish an integrated national traceback system to help regulators trace food products and ingredients from their point of sale back to their origin

Sounds like mandatory ID to me.
 

rkaiser

Well-known member
Kato
Sounds like mandatory ID to me.

Good - maybe then the Americans could start catching up to Canada and we could begin to work together.

We (BIG C) have been invited to the Rcalf convention by Mighty Mike to try to find some common producer ground. Still thinking about how we could do it and come back without being lynched............. by Hugh Lynch and the Gang.
 

Sandhusker

Well-known member
rkaiser said:
Kato
Sounds like mandatory ID to me.

Good - maybe then the Americans could start catching up to Canada and we could begin to work together.

We (BIG C) have been invited to the Rcalf convention by Mighty Mike to try to find some common producer ground. Still thinking about how we could do it and come back without being lynched............. by Hugh Lynch and the Gang.

To hell with those guys. When you're right, you're right - if you can justify your actions with reason and logic, you go forward. If they want to rail against you, you can always point out where their leadership has gotten everybody.
 

rkaiser

Well-known member
Should have put some of those winky guy icons at the end of my post sandhusker. That would be the day that we were ever afraid of what CCA might think of us. Once we get the word out even more than were we are right now - I think they will be the ones running from a lynching. Or kissing our ass even more than they are now. :wink:
 

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