Restricted bids

[Sawbones]

I certainly haven't heard much press on these latest tactics.Here's a post from
"Mary MacArthur, Camrose bureau
Western Producer

January 27, 2010

One of Canada's largest packing plants says it will no longer bid on fat cattle from a small marketing group with growing market strength.
In a letter to members of Northwest Consolidated Beef Producers, marketing manager Vern Lonsberry said XL Lakeside of Brooks, Alta., recently informed the group that it would no longer bid competitively on Northwest Consolidated's show list if it continues to sell slaughter cows on behalf of its members.
"It was further stated that they would pursue individual members with attractive bids, thus attempting to break up the organization," Lonsberry wrote.
Thirteen feeders formed Northwest Consolidated in 2006 to fight packer control and improve the cash bid price of fat cattle.
Headquartered in Airdrie, Alta., the group now has 140 members and is the biggest seller of fat cattle in the province on a cash basis. It sells 150,000 fat cattle a year, and members have a feedlot capacity of 250,000 head.
Terry Schetzsle, managing director of Northwest Consolidated, said company officials couldn't yet comment on the situation.
"We have to have a little bit more time. We want to get through this week and see how the dust settles."
Members are worried that public comments against XL Lakeside will create serious problems for their small but growing company.
"It's a volatile situation," said one member, who didn't want his name used for fear of reprisal.
"They can crush us. We're scared and we don't know what to do."
In his letter, Lonsberry said Northwest Consolidated members must stand together in dealing with Lakeside, which along with Cargill controls most of the packing plant space in Canada.
"Northwest cannot and will not bow to these tactics," he said.
"In our three years since inception, Northwest has become the largest marketer of fed cattle in Canada due to the commitment and resolve of our members. This resolve is now being tested.
"Due to the changes and consolidation within our industry in the last three years, this resolve and commitment is more important now than ever, and we must stand our ground on this matter."
XL Lakeside is owned by Nilsson Brothers, which also owns packing plants in the United States as well as feedlots, auction markets and cattle on feed.
Northwest Consolidated said it would issue an official news release in the near future.

What do you think??

[jensend]

i think this is 100% representative of how nilssons operate. bryan can sit at producer meetings and tell everyone we're all in this together but what he means is we're all in it for him.

[grassfarmer]

I too was wondering why this story wasn't getting more airtime sawbones. It's a disgrace if it's true - which I suspect it is. These guys want run out of the country Canadians or not.

[perfecho]

Everyone should paste onto letter to MLA, MP and opposition.....ask if this is the future they are helping create for Canadian people.

[perfecho]

Everyone should paste onto letter to MLA, MP and opposition.....ask if this is the future they are helping create for Canadian people.

[RShields]

Nielson's is a black ball outfit. It's how they do business. They have been doing it that way for so long they don't even know it's wrong.
This is a big chance to send a message. Every one should phone North west producers and see how to sell cattle through them. Request no NB sales.
Can anyone post a contact and phone#?

[ALLFARMER]

Stop giving them your money!

1)Stop selling cattle through their auctionmarkets.

2)Use TEAM not DLMS for internet sales.

3)Finance cattle through FCC directly not with Cattlefinance. (and forget about all the rules & fee's)

This is what we get when we support vertical intigration.

[ALLFARMER]

I correct myself Horizontal Intigration, Vertical may be on its way. Remember things could always get worse!

[wd40]

WOW Maybe this is the opportunity to really make public what most of us have seen coming for a lot of years.

Sometime after the “Competition Review Board” approved of the purchase an acquaintance told me her partner and feedlot owner was on the panel that made the decision.

I argued and said that was imposable.

So I phoned my MP and asked if they could tell me about the process and who was involved in the process. So they provided me with a phone number, which I phoned, and left a message with a receptionist.

Well to my shock, one afternoon when I happened to be at home my phone rings and displays “Comp Rev Brd” or something like that.

It caller was someone who actually sits on the board.

So I asked him some hard questions and he says to me “you seem to understand things better than most, so what’s your opinion of the approval”?

My answer was, "well it really doesn’t matter what my opinion is, BSE broke me and I’m out of the industry. But I can tell you that if you polled every cow/calf man from the west cost to the Ontario border you would get close to a unanimous negative vote".

None of you will like his response, so make sure you’re sitting down.

“REALLY, why is that”?

So I said, well let me tell you what I guess your process was.

“You had presentations given you by CCA and they were in favour of it”.
“You had presentation from ABP – and they were in favour of it”.
“You had presentation from Alberta Cattle Feeders Association” and they were in favour of it.
“And probably from other Prov. associations who were also in favour of it”.

Answer on all four counts was “YES”

"So do you know why the conflicting picture between a grassroots poll and the organizations"?

"No"

“Well most of the leadership on these organizations are in bed with Nilsson or the packing plants and their livelihood is totally dependent on their relationship".

Comp Rev Brd response - None of you will like his response, so make sure you’re sitting down.

“REALLY” That pretty much was the end of a worthwhile conversation.

I quess I should have had that conversation before the board took it's vote.

[per]

WSGA and Big C both opposed it to the competition bureau. I'll bet there are others. Makes you wonder where your checkoff dollars could be of better use. I think this might be a bit of a water shed moment where we can all pull in one direction to take back our industry. Apathy and status quo will not bring us back from the brink.

[cpallett]

""It was further stated that they would pursue individual members with attractive bids, thus attempting to break up the organization," Lonsberry wrote.....

XL Lakeside is owned by Nilsson Brothers."

Seems to me you all should be a wee bit happier at this point than you appear. If the facts set out above are true, this could be a blatant public violation of s.45 of the Competition Act. A keen-eyed Alberta lawyer well versed in Competition Act issues ought to be able to put this one clean over the right field fence, I should think.

45. (1) Every one who conspires, combines, agrees or arranges with another person
(a) to limit unduly the facilities for transporting,producing, manufacturing, supplying,storing or dealing in any product,
(b) to prevent, limit or lessen, unduly, the manufacture or production of a product or to enhance unreasonably the price thereof,
(c) to prevent or lessen, unduly, competition in the production, manufacture, purchase, barter, sale, storage, rental, transportation or
supply of a product, or in the price of insurance on persons or property, or
(d) to otherwise restrain or injure competition unduly,
is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to a fine not exceeding ten million dollars or to both.

[perfecho]

Clip and paste Sawbones and cpallet and send to everyone, MP's, MLA,s newspapers!

[kato]

Holy Smoke! Go get a job in town, stay off the computer for a day, and all hell breaks loose.

Thanks for posting that!

[Sawbones]

If any of you are serious we need a commitment of what you are spending on commission and check-off for some of your calves and cows...that's about $30/head Once we have 100,000 head committed, we can buy our own packing plant. That $30 will be taken off annually as you deliver your cattle. You will actually be buying your spot on a value chain and in 10 years, the plant will be truly a producer owned plant. We currently have 188 producers. Once that is in place we have retailers that are ready to sit down and have a serious conversation We'll set up a table at Randy's demonstration.
Phone or Leave a message at 780-847-2445 and I'll get back to you

[grassfarmer]

At risk of taking this thread away down a side street I want to comment on two things. First a most interesting comment from cpallet - if only we were able to act on this but i'm guessing Nilssons would be rather more careful with their wording. Worth looking at though.
The second comment is on wd40s post - of course he is right that the competition board heard no dissent from the organisations he listed and that is a disgrace. As Per stated Big C and WSGA opposed the takeover as did the NFU.
Just to show how out to lunch and arrogant the ABP continue to be here is one of the few resolutions that were passed at their AGM "Be it resolved that ABP educate cattlemen and beef producers on the importance of supporting ABP with their checkoff dollars so that the Alberta Government or other groups won't have a reason to implement mandatory checkoff to support ALMA"
Yeah, it's all we need from ABP - an education on why we should continue to send them money. This from the organisation that defeated almost every resolution proposed by their members that carried any merit. Resolutions like mine that called for action on packer ownership and for the Canadian government to at least mirror any legislation the US draws up under their "marketing fairness" act were once again sidestepped - given the sideways shuffle to a committee where they can disappear without a fuss.
With leaders like ABP it's no wonder we are in the mess we are.