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US trade deficit sets another record

The government is supposed to tell companies what to do, not the other way around. We have let this bunch of spineless politicians off the hook way too long---in the U.S. and in Canada.
 
If I ask you to hand over your books Mrs. Greg are you going to do it? I know I won't if you ask me.

It was a federal gov't inquiry that asked for the books and they ajourned for an election.

The Alberta gov't audited the BSE suport payments cattle feeders received and found no impropriety.

There has been information obtained from the packers that indicates pre BSE profits were in the $40 per head range in Canada. That compares to the $26 (US) profit that came out during Pickett vs IBP. During that time the US greenback was worth $1.45 ($26 x 1.45 = $37.70)

By knowing how costs increased after BSE, loss of offal sales and new disposal fees, the best the packers did was about $65 US per head. However there were times they lost money as well. The actual average per head isn't known, but it sure isn't the $400 or even $280 that some want so desperately to believe.

If packer profits were really that high why wouldn't anyone with money to invest buy into packing plants?

For Conman the convict, the cow that started this mess was owned by a transplanted Mississippi catfish farmer. He tried to take her for slaughter 2 times before she was finally taken and condemned. Inspectors told him she was sick and would be condemned. Anyone that knows anything about the cattle industry knows this.
 
NO Jason to you I wouldn't hand over my books BUT yearly when government asks us to YES we do!Another question..Do you work for a packing plant? You are one of the VERY few Alberta cattlemen that truly supports what the packing plants stand for.
 
RoperAB said:
Jason said:
Roper, I read the entire article and it doesn't use valid numbers.

It grabs a statement from Mike Callicrate about the $400 packers are taking from producers. This is a lie. He has started his own packing venture and actually retails the beef, the biggest premium he has given is $50 a head and he is charging a premium to consumers, yet he is struggling.

Even if the BSE subsidy numbers are correct, they calculate to 13.8% of the cattle owned, hardly the majority of cattle.

The situation of IBP (now Tyson) setting the price for all packers, that's ludicris. That would mean the other packers wait and buy what is left over after Tyson gets full. If that was the case why does the market got up? Why doesn't Tyson just say 50 cent flat rate on fats?

Thanks for the article, but remember to check their credibility.

Reply
Okay a question for you.
When the border was closed, old swing bags were selling for two cents a pound live weight. But we were still paying $2 to $3 a pound retail for hamburg? Why?
I dont know anything about dirt farming but its seems to be the same way for them. In other words the price they get for their wheat has nothing to do with the price of retail flour.
Who is making the money?
Its not the cow/calf guy. Everyone I know is either bankrupt or their wife has a good job and in lots of cases the husband has to work out to make ends meet.
Its not the auction marts.
I dont think its the small idependent feeders either.
Remember when the Alberta government tried to force the big three packers to open their books? Remember how they refused and the government was fineing them for everyday that they didnt comply. What ever happened with that anyway?

I've recently been told that the AVERAGE number of 'owners' of the steak we get when we eat out is 13. I sure would like to know the top and the bottom numbers on that end. Guess the bottom would be one in the case of the farm gate to consumer plate rancher, but there probably are not very many of those guys. Every one of those 'owners' has to get a cut or they are out of business, and the industry cannot survive without quite a few in that group, or at least not without the jobs they perform in preparing a cut the consumer will buy and getting it to that consumer in good condition.

Mrs. Greg. don't you suppose that the same government agency you show your records to also has the same access to packers records? BTW, why do you believe it is "really supporting the packing plants" when a person acknowledges the important services they provide in getting cows turned into a product useable by consumers, or points out un-proven accusations and innuendo against them in the interest of accuracy and fairness? I doubt anyone has any particular worship or love of packers, but many do understand the value they add to our product, that they are a fact of life for people in the cattle industry, and that they just may not be ripping us off as much as some with their own agenda to serve, have told us.

MRJ

Econ, how did you miss the story that the first Canadian BSE cow was owned by that Mississippi Cat Fish farmer? It was pretty widely seen by cattle producers in the USA and Canada.
 
The packers turn over their income and expense sheets to the gov't each year as well. Why should they be held to a different standard than the rest of us?

It is funny how someone tells the facts and gets asked if he works for the packers.

Anyone here for a few years knows who I am and that I make my income from purebred cattle. I have had Cargill buyers bid on some cattle but have ever sold directly to either them or Lakeside.

My cull bulls are in demand from Ontario buyers, and last years calves just sold to Better Beef so Cargill got them second hand from me.

I just happen to be one of the few Alberta cattlemen that stands up and tells the truth instead of just complaining about things. I decided a few years back that purebred breeders as a whole had their heads so far up their butts they didn't even understand the real cattle industry. I started learning and questioning why this and why that. I learned a lot more from buyers of feeder and fat cattle, and business men in other fields, than from any purebred guy.

I am always amazed that so many in Ag complain about so many things, all the while planning trips to Arizona or Mexico. "Those damn packers steal all our profits" as they drive away in a new $50,000 pick-up.

If you have numbers that show packers make such a huge profit I would be interested in seeing them.
 
I'm not saying the packers are not a nessary evil in the end I suppose that is where our calves from our cow-calf operation end up.Although of late we have been feeding some of them out selling to nieghbors to have butchered at local meat cutting shop. Greg and I have NEVER taken even an out of province holiday let alone a overseas trip and our best truck is a 92 ford 4by 4...Good try though Jason! My reason for asking you the question was it seemed awfully funny the packing plants sure didn't want to hand thier books over when asked.
 
ocm said:
agman said:
ocm said:
What makes you say Callicrate is struggling? Is your information possibly out of date?

With the $50 dollars per head premium he pays producer suppliers versus what he charges for meat he makes everyone else in the beef business look like saints.

With several of the major packers now entering the Natural Beef market those short term economic profits will narrow considerably as they begin to supply a growing but limited market.

Sounds like you are confirming that he is not "struggling."

When he sells the meat at his restaurant isn't that "value added" that you talk about.

Didn't the "struggling" comment come from Callicrate himself, BEFORE he opened the restaurant, when he was trying to simply operate the meat marketing business? I believe he made that statement in western SD while speaking to some group, possibly R-CALF members, don't recall the details other than the struggling and the $50.00 premium to producers he was offering.

MRJ
 
mj...Didn't the "struggling" comment come from Callicrate himself, BEFORE he opened the restaurant, when he was trying to simply operate the meat marketing business? I believe he made that statement in western SD while speaking to some group, possibly R-CALF members, don't recall the details other than the struggling and the $50.00 premium to producers he was offering.

MRJ


mj, I am not saying Callicrate did not struggle some getting his business going, most do I think, but if I had made a statement about someone from the NCBA like you just did about M. Callicrate, you would have demanded facts. You use words like, I believe, possibly, and I don't recall and we are to take it as a fact.
 
Tommy said:
mj...Didn't the "struggling" comment come from Callicrate himself, BEFORE he opened the restaurant, when he was trying to simply operate the meat marketing business? I believe he made that statement in western SD while speaking to some group, possibly R-CALF members, don't recall the details other than the struggling and the $50.00 premium to producers he was offering.

MRJ


mj, I am not saying Callicrate did not struggle some getting his business going, most do I think, but if I had made a statement about someone from the NCBA like you just did about M. Callicrate, you would have demanded facts. You use words like, I believe, possibly, and I don't recall and we are to take it as a fact.

Tommy, if such a story had appeared about someone from NCBA, chances are very high that I would have seen and remembered it. The story about Callicrate was on radio and in some ag media in SD, but since my life does not depend upon whether you believe me or not, I will not take the time (for which I have better uses) to search them out. Have you always given sources for all your comments you claim you heard or read? Are you honestly saying you have never heard that Callicrate made those comments, or seen them in print, or heard them on radio?

MRJ
 
Mrs.Greg said:
I'm not saying the packers are not a nessary evil in the end I suppose that is where our calves from our cow-calf operation end up.Although of late we have been feeding some of them out selling to nieghbors to have butchered at local meat cutting shop. Greg and I have NEVER taken even an out of province holiday let alone a overseas trip and our best truck is a 92 ford 4by 4...Good try though Jason! My reason for asking you the question was it seemed awfully funny the packing plants sure didn't want to hand thier books over when asked.

A necessary evil. Interesting phrase. Why evil? Do they control forces of darkness?

Granted they are not in business to make sure you and I make money, but does that make them evil? Do you lose money so I can make it or vice versa? No way! Your business is exactly that, as is mine.

I congratulate you on selling some beef direct. It is a good learning experience.

Something to consider though, is the price you receive from the consumer all profit? Of course not. What expenses do you have to account for? The butcher has to be paid, killing fees, disposal fees. The initial cost, or value of the animal, what you could have sold it for last fall. Then it ate feed all winter. If you deliver the beef after processing, that is another cost. Phone calls and time spent should be factored in, but as with many of us we don't pay ourselves.

How do you arrive at the price of the beef? Most just ask the butcher what the going rate is. His price is based off the markets and what the packers are paying.

You might not have a nice truck or fancy vacations, but I hope you have some nice things. If not what's the point? Building a land base? That's one reason. Love the rural life, that's another. Whatever it is it is your choice, no one owes you a living from cattle, no one can keep you from enjoying what you have chosen to do. The packers aren't out to get you. Understanding how they work helps you decide how to maximize your bottom line.
 
Jason said:
Mrs.Greg said:
I'm not saying the packers are not a nessary evil in the end I suppose that is where our calves from our cow-calf operation end up.Although of late we have been feeding some of them out selling to nieghbors to have butchered at local meat cutting shop. Greg and I have NEVER taken even an out of province holiday let alone a overseas trip and our best truck is a 92 ford 4by 4...Good try though Jason! My reason for asking you the question was it seemed awfully funny the packing plants sure didn't want to hand thier books over when asked.

A necessary evil. Interesting phrase. Why evil? Do they control forces of darkness?

Granted they are not in business to make sure you and I make money, but does that make them evil? Do you lose money so I can make it or vice versa? No way! Your business is exactly that, as is mine.

I congratulate you on selling some beef direct. It is a good learning experience.

Something to consider though, is the price you receive from the consumer all profit? Of course not. What expenses do you have to account for? The butcher has to be paid, killing fees, disposal fees. The initial cost, or value of the animal, what you could have sold it for last fall. Then it ate feed all winter. If you deliver the beef after processing, that is another cost. Phone calls and time spent should be factored in, but as with many of us we don't pay ourselves.

How do you arrive at the price of the beef? Most just ask the butcher what the going rate is. His price is based off the markets and what the packers are paying.

You might not have a nice truck or fancy vacations, but I hope you have some nice things. If not what's the point? Building a land base? That's one reason. Love the rural life, that's another. Whatever it is it is your choice, no one owes you a living from cattle, no one can keep you from enjoying what you have chosen to do. The packers aren't out to get you. Understanding how they work helps you decide how to maximize your bottom line.

Jason, Pickett proved Tyson manipulated the markets to 12 jurors. The money from the manipulation came out of cattlemen's pockets. They then made a killing in their poultry business. If they are going to play the concentration game, they don't need to be assured of profits in this manner. It allows them to get more and more market power. Go do a little reading that I suggested for you. Your claims of how good the packers are remind me of Der Anschluss. Google it and learn something.
 
Pickett was dismissed get over it.

Find some proof that will hold up to scrutiny. 12 jurors were fooled. I suppose you think OJ was innocent too. 12 jurors said he was.

You have posted how Tyson is struggling with chicken you can't go back and say that is where they are getting the money to run others out of beef.

Prove something for once in your life. You still don't even know what a cwt is.

If Tyson is buying out the competition provide the proof. They bought IBP to ENTER the beef business. If they wanted to control the beef end of processing, they would be buying Smithfield, Cargill etc. etc. They haven't even expressed interest in the further processing arm con-agre is selling.

If you had any knowledge of the beef industry you wouldn't make such an ash out of yourself with every post.

Your pathetic conspiracy theories can temporarily side track producers who are starting to realize they need to be more informed in their own industry.

Accurate information is power. Conspiracy and blame are wasted effort that might take a person with some real vision away from making a difference.

Mrs. Greg has a right to wonder what is going on in Canada. The BSE fiasco has been very difficult on all producers. I have survived the same markets and a drought in 2003. I know what it takes. If I had resigned myself to the despair that packers control the industry I might not have survived the crisis. Seeing the facts helps a person to focus and head for the goals that will help them most.
 
Jason said:
Pickett was dismissed get over it.

Find some proof that will hold up to scrutiny. 12 jurors were fooled. I suppose you think OJ was innocent too. 12 jurors said he was.

You have posted how Tyson is struggling with chicken you can't go back and say that is where they are getting the money to run others out of beef.

Econ: Where did I say that, Jason?

Prove something for once in your life. You still don't even know what a cwt is.

Econ: Jason, you don't have the capacity to know what I know or don't know.

If Tyson is buying out the competition provide the proof. They bought IBP to ENTER the beef business. If they wanted to control the beef end of processing, they would be buying Smithfield, Cargill etc. etc. They haven't even expressed interest in the further processing arm con-agre is selling.

Econ: Do your own research, Jason. Just because they are not doing what you or SH prescribe doesn't prove your point.

If you had any knowledge of the beef industry you wouldn't make such an ash out of yourself with every post.

Econ: Just because people don't agree with you, you have to call them names?

Your pathetic conspiracy theories can temporarily side track producers who are starting to realize they need to be more informed in their own industry.

Econ: They need to be more informed, I agree. To have to give in to the packer mentality that you espouse is not any better than knowing a lie.

Accurate information is power. Conspiracy and blame are wasted effort that might take a person with some real vision away from making a difference.

Econ: What vision, Jason? rkaiser has you beat hands down on that one.

Mrs. Greg has a right to wonder what is going on in Canada. The BSE fiasco has been very difficult on all producers. I have survived the same markets and a drought in 2003. I know what it takes. If I had resigned myself to the despair that packers control the industry I might not have survived the crisis. Seeing the facts helps a person to focus and head for the goals that will help them most.

Econ: No one is questioning Mrs. Greg's right to wonder on what is going on in Canada. It would be nice if you brought some facts rather than the propaganda campaign of packer bias you bring. Why don't you ask your packer bosses to open their books?
 
Remember this headline conman the convict?

Tyson forecast a second-quarter loss and projected fiscal 2006 income of 50 cents to 80 cents per share.

Analysts had been expecting 2006 earnings of $1.07 per share.

That is from an article you posted how Tyson is struggling.

Change your mind again if you like. The facts are there.

You haven't got a clue what RKaiser is doing, nor do you know how much influence bloodlines from my herd have had on the North American cowherd. To say one is more of a visionary than the other betrays your lack of research or knowledge about the industry as a whole.

I say Tyson isn't buying their competition, you can't prove they are, no one brings an article to show they are, yet my statement is questioned. However the same cannot be said of you. You make a statement it is refuted and you assert it is true just because you say so.

You avoid the cwt like the plague and get very defensive when I bring it up.

Everyone who wants to, knows who I am, I have had people contact me from posts I have made on this site. I have even sold cattle to Texas from this site. I don't need your approval to know I am sucessful. In fact if I were to have your approval, I would likely be in serious trouble of bankruptcy.
 
Jason, "I say Tyson isn't buying their competition, you can't prove they are, no one brings an article to show they are, yet my statement is questioned. However the same cannot be said of you. You make a statement it is refuted and you assert it is true just because you say so."

I guess you missed this from last week, Jason.

"Tyson Foods officials recently offered insight into its acquisition philosophy.

"Our future use of cash will first be to reinvest in our business," interim chief financial officer Dennis Leatherby said in a statement the company provided after its Friday shareholder meeting. "The next use of cash will be to evaluate acquisitions, with an emphasis on international expansion."

Leatherby said fiscal 2006 capital expenditures are budgeted between $600 million and $650 million."

Consider yourself refuted. :wink:
 
"Our future use of cash will first be to reinvest in our business,"

Sounds like upgrading plants they already own.

They are not buying their competition.

"The next use of cash will be to evaluate acquisitions, with an emphasis on international expansion."

Evaluating acquisitions with emphisis on international expansion is not buying their competition.

Consider yourself refuted. :wink:
 
Jason said:
"Our future use of cash will first be to reinvest in our business,"

Sounds like upgrading plants they already own.

They are not buying their competition.

"The next use of cash will be to evaluate acquisitions, with an emphasis on international expansion."

Evaluating acquisitions with emphisis on international expansion is not buying their competition.

Consider yourself refuted. :wink:

There are other ways to reinvest in your business than upgrading plants. Wouldn't you buying more cows be a reinvestment in your business? If they were going to upgrade their plants, don't you think they would of said so? Wouldn't they of used the words "upgrade" or "refurbish", "modernize", or something similar?

You expand by building new plants or buying your competition. They used the word "acquisitions". Does that sound like they are building/fixing up or does that sound like they are buying? Hint: Look up the word "acquisition". They're not living in SH's world where they make up their own definitions for words.

Consider your re-refution revoked. :lol:
 
Jason lets all try to be civil on here. If someone personally attacked you then I missed it?
About the retail cost of beef. Yes sure they put on charity concerts and guys like Ian Tyson donated their time and they sold beef on a bun for a buck at these charity events. Big deal. When cows were selling for two cents a pound live weight. Thats crap about what to do with the different cuts of meat. I mean if you have 13 year old swing bag cows gring the whole thing up for hamburger! The retail cost of hamburger stayed the same on a whole during the border closure even though old cows were selling for 2 cents a pound!
Sure there were some guys who were big enough to butcher there own cows, hire reefer trucks and sell hamburger on the side of the road but these were few ansd far between! Consumers on a whole paid the same price for hamburger at the retail level.
Anyway thats all I have time to type tonight.
 
Jason said:
Remember this headline conman the convict?

Tyson forecast a second-quarter loss and projected fiscal 2006 income of 50 cents to 80 cents per share.

Analysts had been expecting 2006 earnings of $1.07 per share.

That is from an article you posted how Tyson is struggling.

Change your mind again if you like. The facts are there.

You haven't got a clue what RKaiser is doing, nor do you know how much influence bloodlines from my herd have had on the North American cowherd. To say one is more of a visionary than the other betrays your lack of research or knowledge about the industry as a whole.

I say Tyson isn't buying their competition, you can't prove they are, no one brings an article to show they are, yet my statement is questioned. However the same cannot be said of you. You make a statement it is refuted and you assert it is true just because you say so.

You avoid the cwt like the plague and get very defensive when I bring it up.

Everyone who wants to, knows who I am, I have had people contact me from posts I have made on this site. I have even sold cattle to Texas from this site. I don't need your approval to know I am sucessful. In fact if I were to have your approval, I would likely be in serious trouble of bankruptcy.

Jason: "
PostPosted: Mon Feb 13, 2006 4:58 pm Post subject:
Jason said:
Pickett was dismissed get over it.

Find some proof that will hold up to scrutiny. 12 jurors were fooled. I suppose you think OJ was innocent too. 12 jurors said he was.

You have posted how Tyson is struggling with chicken you can't go back and say that is where they are getting the money to run others out of beef.

Econ: Where did I say that, Jason? "

Jason, I said the chicken market is soft right now. It is still higher than their 4 year ago numbers. Soft is a relative term. I have already posted that the 4 year ago number in cents per lb. whole bird was 52 (yes I could have said it a different way). It never ceases to amaze me how you go a step further than what one says to jump to some conclusion you have made up in your own head and then attribute that thought as something the person said. Your sense of reality is problematic. When I post articles from other people it means that I did not write them nor do I certify everything they say. Their per share earnings do not show exactly where those earnings come from all the time. To draw the conclusions you have drawn, you have to be on something. These articles have information in them, sometimes refutable information, and sometimes not. I expect you to be able to tell the difference, but then again, I may be expecting too much out of you.

If you say Tyson is not buying their competition, you don't know very much about the history of Tyson. Their history in beef is relatively short. It is not in poultry. I have already posted articles on how they bought Hudson Foods and you already know they bought IBP and hence acquired Lakeside. All of these are recent competitors. If you don't understand that Tyson got as big as they are by buying other companies with just these few little facts, let alone their history in the poultry business, you just don't have a clue about what you are talking about, let alone what Sandhusker brings up about the recent article.

I don't doubt that you are a visionary. It is a vision of packers controlling the industry to a greater extent. That is not a good vision for producers.

As far as answering your little question, keep trying little boy. As I have told you before, I don't dance to your little tune and your amaturish tries at getting me to play your games are amusing. You do try the same tactic repeatedly, however. Do you think I can be worn down by the likes of you?

I am glad everyone wants to know you and that you have sold cattle all around. As I have said before:

I hope you get your operation reversed.
 

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