Rumor or just a nightmare?

[shaney]

I haven't heard this rumour but if I hear anything I will
try to pass it along.

[coppertop]

cow prices were sad here at the local
auction yesterday. lots of good cows
selling for .28 cents, one good pen of what
appeared to be Blonde cross cows brought 32
cents, while bulls were going for around
38. Not much wonder someone is buying up
all the cows at that price.

[greybeard]

Can anyone on here list some of the auction market Nilsson bros own outright or have a share in?
I think they own Heartland, SLS,Assiniboia,Weyburn,Kelvington,and closed Blacklocks in Saskatoon.
What about Alberta and Manitoba?

[grassfarmer]

Here is the list of defininites - there are probably other arrangements where Nilsson interests are concealed.

Heartland Livestock Services Virden, HLS Lloydminster, HLS Moose Jaw, HLS North Battleford, HLS Prince Albert, HLS Regina, HLS Swift Current, HLS Yorkton, Saskatoon Livestock Sales, Assiniboia Livestock Auction, Weyburn Livestock Exchange, Burnt Lake Auction, Grande Prairie Livestock, Nilsson Brothers Clyde, Nilsson Brothers Vermillion, and Provost Livestock.

[InAHurry]

Don't quote me - but interests (sole or partial) in a large trucking outfit and also the computer program used at auction rings.

[grassfarmer]

Apparently they cannot be tied to Roberge Inahurry. That one was a surprise but certainly you are right on the computer tracking side plus the money lending etc. The NFU came up with a wonderful schematic that showed all the companies, the % ownerships, the holding companies. I think there were about 40 companies on there in total. It was a good visual of what corporate concentration looks like.

[grassfarmer]

Coppertop, I think you are mixing up cause and effect. It's not so much a wonder that one outfit is buying up all the cows because they are cheap as it is that by only having one outfit buying the majority of the cows the price is so low.
This is what happens when there is no competition. Nilssons should never have been permitted to buy the Lakeside plant as it reduced the cull cow buyers essentially from 2 to 1. Is it any surprise that cows are now 5-10 cents lower than they were last year?

In our local auction they are selling dispersal cows every week in with the regular cull cows - not even preg. checked, just sold by the pound and still in that 26-32 cent range. This is the price at which the national herd is being liquidated.

[kato]

We dropped in on a bred cow sale today, and could only stand to watch the first 30 or so cows sell, and we just had to leave. Big young age verified Hereford cows with what looked like some Simmental influence. Obviously came from a good home, all vaccinated, early, looking real sharp. This was a complete herd dispersal, and you could tell by looking at them that they had been very valued by their owner. They were actually the best set of Hereford's we'd seen in one spot in a very long time.

Out of the 30, we saw 2 go back to one farmer. The rest went for slaughter. There were 15 people in the stands, where there would have been a couple of hundred just a couple of years ago.

What is happening here is an absolute shame. A farm with 200 cows cannot make it any more. Is working 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year not enough? Is living well below the poverty level for your whole life not enough? Why are we doing this? So someone will be able to have money in their budgets for that trip to Mexico every winter? So the feed mill, the vet, the local co-op, the fuel dealer, and the equipment dealership can make a profit? No one seems to realize how many jobs and how much the local economies rely on income that depends on us being in business.

Why are we working so hard? No one else will.

The bottom line for us is that we like cattle, and that's all there is to it. But no matter how much we like our cows, they are looking more and more like a hobby all the time, and you shouldn't have to get a job to pay for a hobby that requires as much work and investment as a herd of cows.

We have two choices here. Either we get mad and fight back, or we pack up and quit. What way to go? I for one, think that if it came down to having to be a contract supplier (aka employee with no benefits) for one single packer, I would rather not even be in the business. Better to get a job, drop the cow herd back to what we can sell direct, and begin to enjoy the standard of living everyone else takes for granted in this country.

So now we just have to decide if we've got enough strength left to go one more round......

[rookie]

Well there is your problem.

You like the cows so much you'll keep'em...

Packers, or who ever will take advantage of whatever they can for as long as they can to make a buck. But the Rancher will raise beef year in, year out and ride it out.

Around my place , I doubt anyone makes money with cows . Yet, I seem to be the only one who is getting ready for the truck to haul the last of them cows out.

Absolutely no one else will do anything else except complain they aren't making enough.

Everytime I drive thru the neighbourhood, I do wonder why They can keep those cows and survive.

Companies like Nilsons, thrived because my neighbours will supply them with beef no matter what the cost ( and they've been doing it for decades ).

Whats the mathematical probability it will ever change? Will it be when demographics say so.

At the recent abp meeting in my area , I saw 2 things. The place was filled with people who are too old too do any thing else, and any of the younger crowd was either away working to pour in oil money , or just sitting beside there dad.

I wonder , do the auto unions react this slowly to crisis ( or any sector except ag )?

Talk is cheap, I've had my 2 minutes here. I no longer want to be apart of this food chain where I am and always will be at the bottom.

[kato]

There are lots who don't want to be at the bottom of the food chain. We are sick of it too.

So what is the answer? Do we all just get out and let the corporations fill Canada's need for beef with cheaper (for now) imported beef? Do we just see the small picture, and not look farther down the road?

Yes, we do like cows. Anyone who didn't would never choose to own them. But that's only the first part of the equation. Yes, the meetings are full of older producers, and not many young ones. That's the way in most commodities these days, and not a surprise. The older ones have a whole lifetime invested in this, and they also do remember better times. These older producers have spent a lifetime working toward a cow herd that is basically their retirement plan. And now, due to circumstances beyond their control, those plans are being smashed left and right.

The younger ones on the other hand, especially those just starting out, do not remember when it wasn't bad. They have not yet invested themselves totally to the cattle business, and are still young enough to have other options. And they have grown up during times when people have high expectations of what to expect from life.

People like us have spent many years developing cow herds that are productive and of a very high quality. The cow business has always been one of long term commitment. Anyone who thinks they can get in and out is sadly mistaken. The decision to get out is probably even bigger than the decision to get in.

Those people you speak of who complain they aren't making money, yet don't sell out will have reasons for their actions. Many are still hoping better times come back. Many are in the middle of the process of making that BIG decision to get out or stay. It's no small matter to suddenly have to find a career when you're in your fifties, and once those cows are gone, there's no turning back. Many are also probably just waiting until they can sell out for a decent amount of money. You don't work 40 years on your cow herd, and then just toss it all out the window in one panicked trip to the auction mart.

[per]

2 more years to pay for this place. Lots of native grass and areas not suited for grain farming. Those areas need to be maintained and the cows do a good job of that. They have become a tool for my land speculation business. Still cheaper than running a mower to take care of the fire hazard. Grain farming isn't rosie every year either. When the farm is paid for, more off farm investments will become possible.

[perfecho]

Just returned from showing at Farm Fair. Even the people who are always "positive" showed signs of wear and tear. One resounding theme...."we can't go on!"
And yet, there were no petitions, no vocal groups demanding a voice with our leaders. We moan to each other, but we do not make a stand. The consumer's perception is that "we are given money", even though the ag $ that are touted end up salaries to help us "fill in forms", sponsorships of some leading edge technology project that is led by a "freind" of the Ab gov, bonuses for heads of Alberta Ag Corps because "thats what it takes."
We do not lobby on behalf of ourselves, when Cargill is filling feedlots with cheap cows and being fed with tax payers money, (the old Bonnet lot)...when we import more cattle than ever for slaughter that do not have to have the same expensive protocols that we are submitted to in our own country, age verification etc. We sit and complain.
One fellow was in tears when he described his calf cheque. Had spent alot of money on a plant that our own AB gov needed for "file storage" and now did not know which way to turn. I hate to say it , but we are not doing much about this.
If every producer took three cull cows, cut out their ear tags and met on highway 2.....from the north end of the province to the south and threatened to release them unless something was done.....would that make an impact?
If we even did one petition about our plight, would it make a difference?

[perfecho]

And yes, I just sent my e-mail to the Mr. Stelmac.....had been in previous to MLA, but........

[coppertop]

When farmers learn to lobby like
Teachers and Health Care workers they
may get some attention. EG: A group of
high profile companies hired a firm to
lobby for amendments to Bill 50, they
had meetings with the Premier and Energy
Minister, they had a group of well
connected individuals lobbying at the PC
Convention and Voila there are changes
coming to Bill 50 ! Farm groups need to
do that as well vs battling each other.

[grassfarmer]

A first step might be joining the NFU - at least that organisation does and will lobby on producers behalfs and if public protests/demonstrations of any kind happen in agriculture they are usually involved somewhere. Too many of the other organisations are working for interests opposed to those of producers.