Slaughterhouse set to expand

[perfecho]

by Allison Finnamore
The largest culled-cattle slaughter plant in Eastern Canada has been conditionally approved for a loan to construct a new processing facility next to its existing slaughter house in St-Cyrille-de-Wendover, Que.

The producer-owned Quebec beef packer Levinoff-Colbex is set to receive $9.6 million through the federal government under Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Slaughter Improvement Program, part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan.

“It’s imperative that Quebec farmers and, indeed, farmers throughout Eastern Canada have access to slaughter facilities,” says Jean-Pierre Blackburn, minister of national revenue and minister of state (agriculture).

With 375 employees, Levinoff-Colbex is a key service to the bovine livestock sector in Eastern Canada, serving as the only significant cull-cow slaughter facility for producers in Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces. Levinoff-Colbex slaughters and processes 150,000 cull cattle per year.

[perfecho]

Have to give the French credit.....they are doing something about their situation. Producer owned, so at least profits are a dividend. Really would have been forward thinking if the AB gov had turned over the Atchison plant to producers when they foreclosed on it......but I forgot,they needed the $ for age veification ;-( (and the plant for "file storage.')

[smcgrath76]

or if they had spent only 1/3 of the BSE
money and bought the plant at Brooks...
or helped cash flow the Balzac plant...
or...

[wd40]

Not sure why you'd tie yourself to govmt. with a loan when there packing commodity packing plants run a 33% ROI. Whay not do it just for return on your own money?

[Sawbones]

If we could find producers willing to sign up 100,000 head per year in total by putting up their auction market commission and ABP check-off, we could buy a 500 head per day packing plant. Anyone interested contact us through www.canadianlegacypartners.com

[Sawbones]

Kato..have you heard that the Keystone plant in Manitoba has received 10 million in federal funding and that will be matched by another 7.5 million in provincial funding. You will soon be leading the West in producing a truly producer branded product. Wishing you all the best

[perfecho]

WD...most cattle people are strapped, been running in the red since BSE. Also, with the system we now have, most are scared to invest as a major packer can strong arm you into going broke...that is why Sawbones, I truly believe getting the consumer to buy a part of the plant is imparitive. If the consumer is on board, strong arm tatics will be much harder to pull off.

[smcgrath76]

that seems like a tough one to pull off,
but a pretty good idea. Perhaps a
straightforward share offering...

[perfecho]

....and really work the "food security, local food and supporting your rural neighbors", which are all becoming very much into focus these days.

[Sawbones]

If we were to get producers prepared to sign delivery contracts, we could get either a local retailer or foreign investor to purchase the plant. We don't need to sign up our entire production but there has to be 100,000 head committed to make it work

[vagabonddreamer]

sawbones...you have piqued my interest...do you see the primary market as domestic...like perfecho i believe that Canadians deserve to benefit from age verification and tougher SRM rules....but its back to that same old thing...will the domestic market support this type of operation...i think if i am not mistaken a couple other attempts have failed...what might be the strategy in fighting the possibility of tyson flooding the canadian market with cheap argentinian beef??? do you think there is a possibility in getting the politicos involved in creating our own version of Mcool?? thx...vs

[Sawbones]

vs..thanks for the interest
The consumer who is most interested and prepared to pay for premium Canadian product is local consumers. However as a result of the closure of the border to OTM cattle for the two years from 2003-2005, the Canadian marketplace is almost exclusively the domain of Nilsson There have been discussions with Canadian retailers but until they are convinced that they can be supplied all their beef needs they are not going to upset the applecart. If we can get a committed production guarantee with an exclusive supply contract, some are very prepared to participate.
We do however need international markets for those products that we do not normally consume in Canada. There is also some very premium niche markets in foreign markets that should be developed. 100,000 head is the number required to make a successful 500 per head per day plant.

[grassfarmer]

A thought occurred to me today Sawbones - why should the cow/calf man have to sign up the 100,000 head and own the plant? Wouldn't it be a lot simpler if a big feedlot did? They have the numbers of cattle, and the incentive to do it if a contract were available from retailers on the 100k headage. That way there wouldn't be 101 different producers to try and get singing off the same sheet and investing. The feedlot would be well set up to supply identical product week in and week out. I think that would give a feedlot a bit of security as well knowing they didn't have to depend on the no-competition "open market" when selling. They would be free to source and buy calves where ever they liked and to whatever protocols they set.
If this isn't an attractive deal to a large feedlot why should it be to cow/calf guys?

[Sawbones]

You're on the right track gf. We've approached two major feedlots that could finish our cattle and that's all we need but for this to really work we need the source and that's the cow/calf guy and the only way he gets to play is to commit his calves and be prepared to stick it out. We aren't going to save the industry but hopefully we can do something for ourselves

[grassfarmer]

Why do you need the source though - the cow calf operator? If the feedlots have the supply contract and the packing plant the country is full of calves - they can go out and buy them on the open market or establish contracts with producers to rear calves to a certain standard. This would be a free market solution and it would be up to the feedlot to pay enough money to get the cattle - if they didn't they wouldn't have enough to supply their contract. I don't see why the cow/calf operator necessarily needs to own the plant.