Do you remember ?

[kato]

grassfarmer..Not "half empty". Realistic.

The thing is that some things should not be forgotten. To forget it is to say that it we're OK with what happened. Which we should not be. To forget it is to do exactly what those responsible are hoping for. It's what they've been delaying dealing with the class action suit for.

It didn't have to happen. But it did, and we owe it to all our fellow cattle producers to make sure those responsible don't get out of their duty to own up to it.

I am sure that if there was a definitive cause for the BSE outbreak in Great Britain that could be traced to government negligence, that the farmers there wouldn't sit back and take it. Especially the Scottish ones. You know that, I'm sure. I've as much Scottish blood as you, and it seems I've inherited that "Up Yours" attitude of my Highland ancestors. So therefore I for one will not sit back and give up.

Of course we should be putting it behind us and moving on, but that doesn't mean we should forget. Especially on May 20th.

[per]

Henderson 1972 - watching with my classmates in school

Black Monday November 1987 - planting trees in back yard, also contracted pneumonia that day

911 - dentist appointment that morning

May 20th 2003 - Still seeding crop.


Those are dates that had a profound impact for me out side of my family. Any of those for you GF. The question was simple do you remember?

[SADIE]

Ditto Per

The last three dates (especially the last two) had a huge impact on our farm gate cattle prices.

That is why some of us have become more cautious with farm management or planning going forward from today.

What and when will be the next "HIT".

[grassfarmer]

Per,
I remember where I was watching Gemmill against
Holland in '78

and Chernobyl in April '86 when they released nuclear
contamination that blew onto the hills of Scotland and
cost our sheep sector dearly. No compensation.

Also through the late 80s watched the evolving of
BSE..... in '89 suffered our export market for breeding
stock being completely closed - to last for 17 years.
No compensation.

Remember several times through the 80 and 90s
when our sheep exports to France were shut down
illegally due to what would now be called "non-tarrif
trade barriers" on some occasions, state backed mobs
blocking the ports and torching British trucks on
other occasions. No compensation.

In March '96 remember the real disaster that was BSE
unfolded - all cattle trading, auctions and beef
consumption essentially ground to a halt for weeks
on end. Complete loss of export markets for 10
years, all live cattle and beef products. Limited
compensation.

I remember 2003 and the years that followed, we've
all lived it. Limited compensation.

You either knuckle down and get through or you can
spend your time complaining life is not fair.
Glass half full or glass half empty it's everyones
choice to make.

SADIE, I don't remember any negative effect on farm
gate cattle prices after 9/11 you'll have to refresh my
memory on that one.

[per]

You shouldn't have detected complaining or glass half full from me GF as I also said we were prepared for disaster and weathered it by being diversified. 72 never impacted the cattle industry at all just a good national boost. The stock market crash did however affect trade as did 911 with an internalization of commerce. It too did not last long. 2003 changed who we (commercial cattle industry) thought we were. Maybe it was because we were complacent or something like that but it certainly was a date to remember. It was a watershed for me in that it spurred my interest into industry governance because the way we as an industry handled the issue did not suit me.

[rkaiser]

And a couple of large companies watched things unfold as well and said to themselves, "how can we take advantage of this situation?"

It was so un Godly lopsided that I first thought that these companies must have even been behind the whole event.

Now I rather simply see how they figured out how to farm the hell out of it.

Brilliant --- and they are still working it because we simply can not get our heads together and take the industry for ourselves.

Wonder how many will pitch in once the class action pays out and buy our industry.

Pretty pathetic when I speak with outside industry investors and tell them the we could purchase, or better yet rebuild, our own packing industry monopoly for less that 1/2 a billion dollars. How much would 1/2 a billion get you in oil industry infrastructure.

Oh yes, I had a load of cull cows at the Olds Auction Mart on May 20 and had to go pick them up when they cancelled the sale.

Worst / Best memory for me was the highest prices I have ever received for fat steers in August of 2003. Had a contracted price for non commodity fats that my buyer stuck to and when I asked the folks in the gov who also paid out the big bucks to Lakeside and Cargill if I qualified for the subsidy; they said, sure thing bud.

Sold those steers for $1.05 live and can't really remember the cheque that me and Lakeside and Cargill got from the feds, but I think it was about another 30 or 40 cents a pound.

Only difference was that I did not have another few hundred thousand fats lined up and sold in the box to customers in the USA and Canada like the big boys had.

And then they told the feds to go away when they were asked to open their books.


LOL --- that's about the only thing a person can really do.

And keep pumping the BSE lawsuit --- with or without grass farmers support...LOL

[ASRG]

2003- I was planting 3800 trees! Had just came through the 2002 drought and a pretty brutal divorce.
Son had just finished university with a B of Comm degree!
Was looking forward to expanding the farm and the cow herd!
Wow! What a different world! What an adjustment!
Cowboyed through. Lost all the money I'd saved in my life (and a good portion of my Dads!)
Am I bitter...........you better GD well believe it....these bastards left us out to hang by ourselves.....I never fed any damned cows to other cows! I never imported any trash from Europe!
They sold us out.

[dluther]

Thanks to everyone that replied to the question. Perhaps on the 10th annivesary we can all get together and get this court day over with, at least let them ------- know we are still around. I only have about 15 years left I hope.I like the saying old cattlemen never retire they just calve later.

[grassfarmer]

Not sure what you mean by "left out to hang by
ourselves" ASRG? There was a substantial amount of
taxpayer money paid in compensation to the "cattle
industry". Check out the abstract from this research
document:
http://www.synergiescanada.org/journals/utp/12032
8/t245k8710031/p7r1365722134189

Of course we all know it wasn't shared equitably
between the different sectors, cow/calf sector was
likely worst affected. I wonder how it could have
been done differently?

[kato]

Cow calf operations should have been the priority. After the initial hit, the feeding sector simply adjusted to a lower cost per animal,and carried on. This meant margins were maintained, while the cow calf producer continued to absorb the loss. There were risks for the feeders, but there was profit too.

The shouldn't have allowed the packers to deny access to their books to see if gouging was taking place. This was government money, taxpayer's money, and they just thumbed their noses at the government. And the government said, "OK, whatever you say."

At the same time, the Agstability people were merrily going along digging into old claims and coming down hard on the heads of any hard up farmer they arbitrarily decided had been overpaid.

Agstability worked for the first year or two. After that, it was done. This was good enough for feeders to get over it, but sadly lacking for the long term loss in the cows.

That abstract said the cattle industry was fairly compensated. I think they should have worded that to say that the meat processing industry was fairly compensated. The ironic thing is that with the cow numbers dropping like a stone, their problems may just be about to begin.