UPDATE ON PFRA PASTURES IN SASKATCHEWAN

[SADIE]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9HnAm4Qh3I&feature=youtu.be

[kato]

[SADIE]

Thanks Kato Been off agriville awhile so I am rusty. Calving cows and many meetings bringing PFRA pasture patrons together. As of today there are 37 of the 62 pastures now members of cppas with 3 more wanting meetings and information before the end of April.

Great team of people to be working with.

[Horse]

I wish you lots of luck I think you are going to need it. When the powers that be get a bug up their ass there dont seem to be any way to stop them.
They want rid of the small producer and will go to any means to do it, like the crop ins biz, interest rates favor larger producers, machinery dealers and so on. As long as there are those that will sell their soal to look big and important the rest of us are finished.

[kato]

Finally got a chance to watch it. Good video. Nice to see you back SADIE. I was starting to think you'd fallen in a snowbank or something. ;-)

[per]

I'm not clear as to why the patrons don't just step up to the plate and buy their pastures and run private grazing co ops. There are plenty of examples of professionally run private grazing co ops that are the envy of anyone interested in good stewardship. Looks like an opportunity staring you in the face.

[SADIE]

Pasture groups have punched in the numbers. The business plan laid out by the Sask government is a "BUSINESS PLAN FOR FAILURE".

IF this continues as planned there is a huge exodus of smaller operators from the Beef Cattle Industry. Once the Patrons "quit" or bail then the door is open for the "big boys" to come in.

Per. Do you really understand how the PFRA pastures really worked for 75 years?

One pasture has a real problem of LEAFY SPURGE. DO you want to buy that pasture?.

The bush pastures in the north and the eastern side of the province are always short of cattle.

Toughest Chess Game I ever been involved in. So many players in the game.

[per]

Yes Sadie I get how they work. They are either economically viable or not. If the so called big players can pencil it why can't the patrons? Interesting that they are touted as the professionally run ecological gems yet aren't viable to purchase. The reason young folks aren't interested might have more to do with other factors and the PFRA system failed to attract them in the first place.

Don't get me wrong here though. PFRA has been an important part of Western Canada's development however I would prefer to look at the opportunity in front of you.

[kato]

Here's our experience with a pasture that has been sold to the patrons. The care the cattle got was excellent. Once the original cowboys started to retire, though, they were hard to replace, especially since there were no benefits and other things that come with being a federal employee. But the biggest problem we had was likely tied to the financing the group had to do to buy the pasture. We had to pay half of our grazing fees up front in February. I suspect there was a loan payment due. This is a pretty serious load on your cashflow, if you have to pay that much of your grazing fee more than three months before the cattle even leave home. This pasture, I'm sure, cost a lot less to buy than what will be on the market these days as well. I don't see a group being able to compete with the "big boys" when it comes to bidding for land at today's prices.

It seems that the cards are stacked against smaller diversified farms. And IMHO, smaller diversified farms are a much more reliable foundation to our food supply than the "too big to fail" undiversified, vulnerable to market crashes model that is so fashionable these days.

[SADIE]

Per

Patrons in each pasture have come together and pastures have become connected to "Exchange" knowledge in this process under cppas.

Moving forward we are watching what the Manitoba Business Plan is dealing with these pastures.

The first 10 pastures scheduled to be divested this year have had a frustrating winter.

Many meetings with themselves. Supposed to do a business plan and form an entity but how can that be done until the Federal level of pastures and the Provincial level of these pastures have concrete numbers to work with.

Many meetings and conference calls amongst pasture groups. We are looking at all options including some of the grazing groups in Alberta.

Each pasture is different in the "lands" structure. Federal Non-reversionary lands, provincial lands and RM lands.

Some of the first 10 pastures cannot move forward with their business plan until these land problems are taken care of.

It is now "maybe spring" and time to forget meetings and go to work. The feds have to get their "ducks in a row" first for this process to proceed.

Pick up the meeting process again next Nov.