M-COOL

[Bez]

Darn - cannot edit these things.

What I was about to say when I accidently signed off was - Borg (sci-fi characters)state there is no sense in resisting - they will be assimilated!

So let them have COOL - sooner or later someone will bring the chicken shit thing to the head lines.

Be curious to see what happens then.

Bez

[grassfarmer]

I certainly believe there are potential markets in Europe - a 9 million tonne annual consumption figure with tariff free import licenses for 400,000 tonnes issued in 07. This is becoming a bigger opportunity as Brazil has just been denied import licenses because they could not meet EU standards on traceability, FMD free status etc. Brazil supplied about 330,000 tonnes to the EU in recent years.
Current price for domestic fat cattle in the UK is equiv. of $1.08/lb - could we supply that market at that price and make money? We would need a credible birth record and traceability program (which we don't have now), hormone free product and also a totally different product physically. Think along the lines of Laura's Lean - same genetics, same fat cover etc and you would hit the mainstream EU market. There may be smaller niche markets for marbled fatter product in some countries.
I would not label my product "BSE free" for the EU - it would sell better without the words BSE appearing on the packet!

As to cpallets suggestion - I hope you were joking. There have been enough economic disasters created by highlighting quality/production problems with beef to consumers. Point in case the UK AG ministers announcement that precipitated the 2006 BSE disaster in Europe, went something like this "After extensive research we have concluded that although we can not prove it the most likely cause of vCJD comes from eating BSE contaminated beef....HOWEVER WE CAN REASSURE CONSUMERS THAT OUR CURRENT SRM REMOVAL PROCEDURES MITIGATE ANY RISK ATTACHED TO CONSUMING BRITISH BEEF, WHICH CONTINUES TO BE SOME OF THE SAFEST IN THE WORLD"
The crazed media and public chose to ignore the later part of the statement and the rest is history.

I can see your advert now "Don't eat American beef it's reared on chicken crap" with the footnote " - buy Canadian beef it isn't" being conveniently overlooked in the ensuing scare. Bottom line it never pays to scare consumers on food safety issues.

[cpallett]

I agree grassfarmer; friendly fire isn't. My post was just meant as a none-too-gentle reminder to our friends south of the 42nd parallel of another old saying: "be careful what you wish for, you just might get it".

[Willowcreek]

I think in the near future Canadian producers will be thanking the US for passing COOL and verifiable labeling laws...And may be clamoring for their own law...

With the Millions $ Cargil/Tyson/Cactus Feeders/etal are investing into the current FMD areas like Brazil and Argentina- its only a short time before they get the USDA rules changed to import cheap beef products from there into the US- thereby gaining access to all of North America thru NAFTA...

Hopefully we get M-COOL soon enough to give us a chance to promote/endear consumers on US product- before this deluge of cheap product can hit the market.....

A sidenote- the US is looking at doubling the beef promotion checkoff (from $1 to $2)- and its pretty well common agreement amongst producers that they want a portion of that fund used to promote USA BEEF- born, raised, and slaughtered....

[ProFarmer]

I hope we get the Canadian flag stamped on our meat so the american public can keep it apart from the 148,000,000 pounds of downer cows that the US has allowed to be slaughtered in California. Now that it is being recalled you just have to look for the Made in the U.S.A. sticker to know that it is garbage and to put it aside for a cleaner CANADAIN product........

[kato]

I don't think there's anything wrong with using the fact that we are years ahead of the U.S. in our quality assurance programs up here. When has anyone ever worried about our feelings????

After all, we don't kill downers, we don't feed chicken shit to our cattle, we don't even feed cattle parts to our dogs, we now have access to a vaccine to put ecoli out of the picture, we can trace, and if we really want to get on board, we can all do the verified beef program and put it in writing from start to finish. The groundwork is done.

A smart marketing agency could make it work big time. It's a matter of timing and will. Every time another story about downer cows and ecoli contamination comes up, out goes an ad campaign showing Canadian cattle standing out on a rolling pasture with mountains in the background.

Our competition, since this is what they want to be now, can't even agree on whether or not to tag their cattle! We are so far ahead of them that it's amazing, and it's our duty to use that to our advantage.

I agree that this could be a question of be careful what you ask for.... We may be few in number, but we've got our backs in a corner, and even little guys can get pretty scrappy when that happens. LOL

We don't produce enough of the American market share to be worried about not being in every supermarket, just a select few would do.

Now could someone please tell me how to pay the bills while we're waiting for things to turn around??

And then there's the whole violation of NAFTA that is going on here....

[Willowcreek]

Seems I remember, it wasn't too long ago I was reading about an eastern Canada plant that got closed down for dragging dead and down animals onto the meat chain...So don't go crowing too loud there Profarmer....

And remember as long as your stuck with your policy of riding on the US cattlemans shirttails and sucking on the hind teat of the US market- when the US loses demand- Canada's market goes down about double...

[pagewire]

wrote by grassfarmer
"I would not label my product "BSE free" for the EU - it would sell better without the words BSE appearing on the packet! "

I agree and include other EU neighbors

[ProFarmer]

The US farmer is one of the most subsidized farmers in the world. I wouldn't call any other countrys farmer a suck until you look at yourself in the mirror. Wake up willowcreek you Rcalf sucks couldn't farm if you were not attached to your own government's tit.

[rkaiser]

So what do we Canadians do? We know that Uncle Sam will continue to find a way to up the milk from the tit old Oldtimer sucks on.

The grain thing hit Canada earlier than it did America, but it is coming down there as well. And when it hits hard, Uncle Sam will be there.

Poor Old Willow Creek needs that milk in his old age, so I say let him have it and leave him the hell alone. America doesn't want our commodity beef folks. They would just as soon feed their people the cheapest crap they can find from South America. We are no longer commodity beef players, and American (the country) is a commodity consumer.

Identity will get us off the tit, and leave it there for Willow Creek to keep sucking. Identity will get us off this continent where folks are hungry for our beef.

Let old Willow Creek and the Rcalf boys fight the multinationals who will be bringing in commodity beef from South America by the shipload more all the time.

Our exports do not amount to all that much if you consider the rest of the world's needs. We need to get our minds off of America and on to other countries. Aware Americans will still search out our superior product, but the American commodity eater and those who supply them do not want our commodity beef.

Sorry to say Oldtimer, but Mcool is not going to do it for you. You too will need to work on your health and safety standards, your feeding protocol and your genetics,to make you product unique or your grandchildren will be nothing but welfare pups like yourself sucking off Aunty Sam's tit for the rest of their lives.