UFCW Union Wants to Cripple Beef Industry

[rkaiser]

You know farmer_son - while we are on the subject of the past ----- "the past" and the fact that those in the ABP/CCA who will not admit to have taken the wrong road in "the past" is exactly why ABP/CCA need new faces or needs to be dismantled.

When this BSEconomic crisis began the leadership of this country ---- which was led by the "producers voice" of ABP/CCA chose to suck the American tit over the suggestions of groups like BIG C to focus on offshore markets. To the point of ignoring Japanese re4quests to come to Cananda and take a look at the situation. Had we invited the Japanese and other trading nations and asked them how they would like to continue to trade with Canada rather than simply ask the Americans to come up and show us how to do things - we would not be stuck trading with a nation that is suffering an economic disaster today.

Of course we can all argue that no one saw the American dollar dropping like it did - or the biofuel industry causing such a ruckas --- however we all had the opportunity to see that focusing on one basket for all of our eggs was and is a simply recipe for disaster in even simple business dealings.

Keep bragging about getting that border open farmer_son it only reminds me and most of the rest of producers of this country of the dismal job done by our ABP/CCA dealing with BSEconomics. If you want a future with ABP/CCA I think that bragging about the past may be about the last thing to do.

We have a lot of work to do old buddy and non of that includes slapping each others backs about the US border. It all has to do with what we should have been dealing with for the last four years. Non NAFTA trading partners.

[farmers_son]

Grassfarmer: I agree again. However I would add that I have been in this business long enough to have gone through periods of high grain prices low cattle prices before and have come out the other end. And before BSE, my father came through the foot and mouth outbreak in 1952. So there are good times and there are bad times, certainly we have had our share of challenges.

Rkaiser: Obviously we disagree on which was the right road. Before BSE the Asian market was mostly offal, tongues and anal sphincters. I have never believed that Asia could replace the United States as our primary beef export market and of course Asia could never be a market for our live cattle which is what we really needed. Before BSE the vast majority of Canadian beef shipped to Japan first when through the U.S. and had a USDA label on it. To suggest that Canada could overnight take over the Asian market when we now were carrying the leprosy of BSE was very optimistic. Work will continue to see trade resume with Asia and the normalization of trade with the U.S. will help to see that happen. The best way to increase returns to Canadian cattle producers is to reduce the basis between U.S. and Canadian live cattle prices, my opinion.

And I do think it is time to say thank you to all the people who took up the challenge after BSE hit in 2003. Yes we face new challenges but we have live cows and cow beef entering the U.S. As Forest Gump would say, one less thing.

[rkaiser]

Simple economics farmer_son. No point in arguing the potential of Cananda to take a share of the Asian or E.U. market with you.

Lots of work today working with people who do believe the potential.


Why not ask our minister what the Japanese told him about dealing with the "leprosy of BSE" when it first raised it's ugly head.


Reduce the basis?????? Who you working on with that idea. LOL

[rkaiser]

One last thing before I head out farmer_son. Quit worrying about the American Market. Cargill and Tyson are looking after it just fine -- always have. Nothing you and ABP/CCA have done or will do will affect the American Market in the same way. They are looking after it bud and will continue. Only problem is they could give a shit about you and me. You and me need to either work on other markets or start SELLING BEEF TO AMERICAN IMPORTERS OURSELVES.

[farmers_son]

Yes we need to sell beef ourselves. That is certainly a future I look forward to. But tens of thousands of cattle producers could not hold out for that future to come true. Status quo or not, live cattle trade has resumed with the U.S.

Yes, we can have a share of the
Asian and EU market but it would only be a small share, that is all it ever was. 2% of Japan's beef exports came from Canada.

You say simple economics... right now the economics say that cattle should be fed in the U.S. Feeders are going to the U.S by the thousands where in the good old days we were bringing U.S. feeders up here. If we send most of our feeders and possibly 50% of our cull cows south where is Canada's beef export potential?

Economics, cost of gain, may dictate that Canada will be a live cattle exporting nation not a beef exporting nation. You can do the math on where that would leave any Canadian packing plant.