FALL 2012 SNAP SHOT --BEEF CATTLE PICTURE IN SASKATCHEWAN

[SADIE]

Annual Fall Veterinary Conference in Saskatoon---2012.

Kato--you worked in a veterinary clinic so you can help me with this post.

PRE-AMBPLE--The veterinay clinic scene in Saskatchewan was bacically structured back when the WCVM opened its first graduating class in 1969. Other than the many small animal and pet equine clinics in our cities of Saskatoon, Regina, MooseJaw, Yorkton, Prince Alberta, North Battleford, Swift Current. the major larger (small towns) rurally were set up by the Rural Municipalies)who built clinics for the beef cow calf/swine for 80-90 % of the case load and when it is slow to encourage the veterinarians to keep the doors open and do 10-20% small animals.


THe entire owner/operates of these rural clinics are very concerned about their future business. There is 0 large animal especially Beef Cow calf work.

CFIA members were present and really wanted discussions with me with these clinics. The smaller cow calf operators. 50 cows, 100 cow herds are gone and more are going this fall.

THe so called areas of bigger cattle operators that have moved in the veterinarians just laughed at them---I mean laughed. Talk about animal neglect and animal welfare issues. They bring 0 Revenue into these clinics.

Another feedlot has its auction sale this month. BIRCH ISLAND which was up and gun-hoe less than 10 years ago---done.

Questions really came forward from CFIA members. Some where my colleagues. A group suggested another meeting with representatives from WCVM, These practicioners, CFIA and asked for Producer input myself--had to be invited as well. The group looked to me to chair this meeting yesterday to start the process.

Discussions arose of Where did this all go wrong??

Q: Why the small family farm cow-calf operator grass roots gone.

A: regulations, not knowing the laws, misinformation of laws, constant push from all cattlegroups--bigger is better.
had to purchase new chutes, hydraulic, RFID eartagging, industry doesn't want the small operator.

Q.CFIA asked is the small producer voice being heard or represented in cattle groups. WHy not.

A. No the voice not there, do not have time mixed farm and trying to make a living. THE SCA (newly formed) nothing but an old boys club again. Just a pat on the back club. Some regions have to beat the bushes for director.

CONSTANT RETAGGING OLDER COWS AND BULLS---Definately becoming an animal welfare problem. Amoungst veterinarians the use of the electro-ejaculator at full electricity on a bull is like a "STOCK STILL"---highly controversial form of restraint. JUST TO SAFELY APPLY THE RFID EARTAG.

Questions I asked:

1)DOes CFIA presently are seen as an enemy and a threat to the small producer. and the Veterinary clinic.

As the cattle cow-calf industry keeps its DEATH SPIRAL ACTION---they are presently the ones taking the blame do they want to take the SOLE BLAME?

2)There has been so much false propaganda in mail outs, T.V, ADS radio ads and posters with $$$ from cattlemen check offs or purchase of RFID tags that has scared the cow-calf producer.

THe cattle producer themselves are turning having a ditastefull feeling towards the CANADIAN CATTLEMAN, SASKATCHEWAN CATTLEMANS ASSOCIATION, CCIA and the CFIA. LUMP THEM IN THE SAME BARREL as the THREE STOOGES.

CFIA Q---BUT WE NEED TRACEABILITY.

A: AT WHAT COST. WHERE CAN THE TRACEABILITY START. CAN WE MODIFY THE SITUATION.

My suggestion still is: Can we use the Ketchum Metal Curloc on the farms, ranches, pastures and when the calfs go to market or cows go to market begin the traceability at the auction house or the beginning of the feedlot. A fresh new tag then---(ONLY APPROVED FOR 90 DAYS)---will have a strong retention through the feedyards, slaughter house to store?

IS this present exodus of the cow-calf producer reverseable??

[kato]

mm... let's see, where to start?

As for the vet clinics, in Manitoba the ones who are close enough to a town or city to have a good pet base for backup should stay in business. The problem we're seeing is that more and more graduates have no interest in calving cows in the middle of the night. They all want small animal practices where they can go home at supper time. Our big problems will come on as the current vets retire and we can't find any replacements.

Solution? Maybe the WCVM can be a little more pro-active in offering spots to those who are interested in large animal practice. It's not an easy place to get into, and the precious space is going more and more to future small animal vets.

In Manitoba there are lots of reasons small cattle operations are disappearing.

Ten miserable years of post BSE fiasco prices got the ball rolling, and brought a former financially sound group of people to the poverty level. Then a couple of years of floods that took out thousands of acres of pasture and hayland in the areas that were traditionally the main cattle areas of the province. Then the regulations. Oh ya, lots of those. Besides traceability, we live in a province where as far as the provincial government is concerned, nothing exists outside the Winnipeg city limits that's of any importance. Agriculture has a priority here that's just slightly above the dangers invasion by UFO's.

We're all getting older. We lost the next generation. For some reason they weren't interested in giving up a life with a job and security for one of poverty and risk. Gee, I wonder why??

While we were suffering with closed border prices, we were dependent on so called farm income programs that either didn't work at all, or only worked for one year. That was followed by being told that we could borrow money to get by. More debt.. just what we needed.

In the meantime, how many millions of dollars, and how many fancy trips overseas went into opening borders again, only to find that we're going to have a hard time even coming up with enough beef to fill them.

The ball was dropped big time. The first priority should have been to assure there would be beef producers still in business to begin with. The smaller operations were the backbone of the industry, and they were the ones listened to the least.

Nero fiddled while Rome burned.

Solutions? Make a business environment where small cattle producers, and small diversified farms can prosper again.

Cut the red tape. Traceability should start at the feedlot and packing plant. There's no need for the government to know which pasture cow #35 was in two summers ago. That's just silly.

The farm income programs we have now are designed in such a way that they are of NO USE to a diversified farm. This only encourages the "all your eggs in one basket" approach that is just not working for the small farms. It only works for the big ones, which just keeps the death spiral going for the Canadian cow herd in general.

We need a general change of attitude about how we should structure the cattle industry. What we had before 2003 was working. It had it's problems, but nothing that couldn't be addressed. How do address the problem of no cattle? There needs to be a change in priorities to stop the bleeding.

[ALLFARMER]

It's really all about the money. 5 years ago canola
was 6$/bushel and 30bu/ac yield ($180/ac) now
its 14$/bushel and 50 bu/ac yield ($700/ac) 388%
increase

So $500 calf x 388% = a $1940 canola compared
calf.
I know we're not going to see this price any time
soon but the $500 calf is today $725

[SADIE]

AFTER talking to CFIA yesterday DO YOU THINK MR. RITZ is getting the proper entire proper picture from all parts of the cattle segments? IS his information just coming from INDUSTRY DOWN.

What about a STAY on further disburment of the PFRA pastures?

[ASRG]

Kato: You said it all! You have summed it up in a nutshell!

Personally I believe it is done. I don't say that with a lot of happiness. God, I loved the cow business....but realistically it will never be what is was.

If the government had stepped in and done the right thing...lived up to their obligations for food safety and international markets....it could be a different story? Too late now.....those cheap SOBs in Ottawa killed it, because they were too cheap to pay the piper!

Those pricks decided to stick it to the cattleman and not pay for THEIR F-up with BSE.......and they killed the industry.
Eat chicken.

[grassfarmer]

"DO YOU THINK MR. RITZ is getting the proper entire
proper picture from all parts of the cattle segments?
IS his information just coming from INDUSTRY
DOWN."

Ditto his decision on the CWB.

[SADIE]

grassfarmer

Look at the freedom for the grain farmer now with choice on the CWB. Now back in a crop rotation is HRSW and other crops that could only be sold through the board.

Thats right Grassy Freedom. Property rights and freedom to choose.

[grassfarmer]

So do you think it likely that Ritz got it all wrong on
beef for the reasons you stated yet the same reasons
don't apply to grain? How could that be?

[burnt]

grassfarmer, you discredit yourself further.

[grassfarmer]

Tell me why SADIES statement about Ritz and beef
doesn't apply to grain equally burnt - seems to fit
perfectly to me.

[kato]

The common thread between the beef and grain is that this government has it's own agenda, and the opinions of the people most involved have no part in the decision making process.

Angering producers is not a problem. Angering big business is a problem.

Reaction to the CWB decision is different among producers depending on what their opinions were before the decision. It's between one producer and another. The general consensus among the pro CWB producers is that they were ignored. The anti-CWB producers are happy with the loss of the Wheat Board. However the anti-CWB producers should NOT fool themselves into thinking that the decision was made because of their opinions. It was made because it made the multinationals happy.

On the beef side, we producers feel our opinions are ignored. And big agri-business does not share that fate. They're pretty happy with the way things are. They're control grows every year, and shows no sign of slowing down.

With the current government, it's all about big business. We are just the serfs at the bottom who feed the system. And as long as we spend all our time arguing with each other instead of putting our heads together and presenting a united force, we're keeping it all going to their benefit and our expense.

Divide and conquer, that's the name of the game.

[smcgrath76]

This is an interesting discussion. Here is some of my perspective (worth the paper
it's printed on - LOL).
I don't disagree with the CWB decision, I do disagree with the approach on it as well
as a lot of other things. I am not and never have been a fan of dogmatism. There
was a middle ground on the CWB issue that could have easily been found, but was not.
I think part of the reason for the failure in the beef thing is certainly due to
profitability. Big debt and low returns are not that sexy when you are trying to pay
for groceries for a young family, and BSE wiped out a lot of equity. That said, I
think our beef model has been wrong for a long time, and we have often placed our
effort and investment in the wrong places. We suck at picking technologies that
improve our production per acre, unlike the grain guys, and we are always good at
adding costs. Examples of where we may have missed the boat are implementation of
better grazing systems and forage variety research. Low cost and big return.
We have also failed miserably at marketing in the broad context of industry. "The
Market" is made up of many smaller market segments and we have not done a good job of
proactively serving these market segments. Instead we have relied on a system where
a plant kills enough cattle in a day that they can ensure they can fulfill their big
$ markets and then they offload the rest. Law of averages if you kill enough, you
should be able to get a small percentage to fill a valuable market. No wonder there
are very few premiums passed back?
Also, I do agree with Sadie about the degree and volume of regulation and I see that
growing. I don't have a huge issue with this, other than it is not tied to adding
value, rather to governmental risk management and bureaucratic A$$ covering. I
support regulation/documentation that adds value (even traceability) if we can make
it add value. For example, traceability for growth implants to target special
markets could pay.
The final point is that due to some of the factors above there is a missing
generation. What this means is that there is a lot of the industry concentrated into
hands whose primary concern is equity preservation rather than risk taking and
growth. There is nothing wrong with this in an individual operation (I expect one
day to be at that stage as well), however when the industry is driven that way it
makes change a slow process in a rapidly changing world and is a competitive
disadvantage.
I am excited about the future of the industry, concerned about some of our
infrastructure and power concentration, and expect the unexpected with a sense of
optimism that the unexpected may be kind of fun.

[SADIE]

smcgrath 76--

I hasn't my last post yesterday because I do have one weakness in life ---I am a avid RIDER FAN. I had to go and watch the game. WHAT A VICTORY OVER CALGARY!

The situation is very critical and at a very high level at this time. Freedom of choice to do or not to do something with (this case) your own animals, on your own farm ---Huge media explosion level. Could also mean a huge embarassment to Min Ritz.

CFIA is supposed to enforce fines or penalty too those ie truckers, owners, auction market operators Video just posted below here. CFIA is suppose to represent animal welfare in the industry.

Each to his/her own beliefs but the case and now argument is set for huge massive debate.

1)I am not re-tagging with RFID eartags because----First tag deep in ear---ungly ripped ear. That alone will create a huge debate.

2)I am not re-tagging cows or bulls again because of ---acute pain, head thrashing, bellering operator injury, wrists, hands, face.

3) Exodus of the smaller family farm operator out of the business. Because of the above reasons.

The way it was told to me. This whole traceability and the need for application of the PLastic, blobs RFID eartags that now we know are only a 90 day feedlot tag (test data) was pushed from industry from the TOP DOWN. Packers, Feedlots to the ---cow calf person. Do it or else.

June 15 2010---AT my tribunal in closing arguments (it is documented and on record) we introduced.

Lets together take what we know, the shortfalls that are appearing and modify so that we can accomodate the "cow-calf"---Pasture of intermingling group. Ketchum Curlock Metal and only apply the PLASTIC BLOBS OF GARBAGE at the feedlot entry level.

This was also tried to be shown to CCA reps, SCA reps in JAN 2011 just after Dr. Temple Grandin spoke at the WCABP
Western Canadian Association of Bovine Practicioners.

I was shunned from the meeting. Some so called BIG CATTLEMEN that thought they could BUDDY BUDDY ME approached me and said. Stop this you are an AHOLE and you are hurting all of us. I see him at Agribition --he tries to talk to me now because all this new evidence is coming forward.---I ignore and give him my worst of words---I will always now and forever stand up for what I believe in. I remind him I am a veterinarian first, diagnistion and believe in doing the right thing for my animals regardless of any overiding law.

Property rights. This is our Prime Minister Platform also. A huge statement here. My cow herd is my property. I will not perform. I want my freedom to protect my property.

Harvest is done. I have time to write. I have introduced and set the seed with CFIA vets in Saskatchewan.

[SADIE]

Forgot two comments.

3)The use and need for using the electroejaculator during semen testing time on bulls. At the end of the test one more time ---turn the crank and you can now safely re-tag with the RFID eartag.

CCIA --I tried to talk to CCIA. Once yelled at by one rep in this province "IF YOU HAVE THE EVIDENCE COME ABOARD AND SHARE IT WITH US".

I have tried to offer. Now the spring of 2012 the Sask Ag minister announced spending tax payers dollars and putting $$ into research on why the tags fall our. No research without animal behavior research included!!!!

WHAT HAVE I POSTED ON HERE BEFORE:

THIS RFID EARTAG AND TRACEABILITY IS GOING TO GO DOWN AS A BIGGER GONG SHOW THAN THE CANADIAN LONG GUN REGISTRY.

WHAT PARTY AND PLATFORM CELEBRATED OVER THE DISMISSAL OF THAT ACTION.

DEATH SPIRAL OF THE CANADIAN BEEF COW HERD---WILL CONTINUE.

[smcgrath76]

Sadie - Ditto on the Victory (although
they certainly worked hard to make it
close).