Speaking of MCOOL

[kato]

It's fine and well to say we all need to get out of commodity beef, but for a lot of producers that's just not an option. For instance, we don't grow a single bushel of grain ourselves, and don't have the land base to grass finish beef. We do have the ability to produce top quality calves though. So that's what we do. We're not alone in this, so there will always be a need for the commodity beef market, and the export of feeders. If we had truly Canadian companies producing it, that would be the ideal, but we're not there yet.

The way things are going, how long will it be before every burger sold at every restaurant in Canada is USDA graded beef?

Harry Siemens posted a good article.
http://www.siemenssays.com/2013/06/02/amended-u-s-country-of-origin-labelling-regs-go-from-bad-to-worse/#respond

What I take from it is that expecting the U.S. government to ever do anything to fix this mess is a waste of time. They are so dysfunctional that I doubt they could do it even if they wanted to. They will ignore anything the WTO says, because it gets in the way of their self interests. This is how America works. The rules are for everyone else, not for the U.S. Competition is only good if they are on the winning end. Do not get between them and a dollar, or a barrel of oil. You will not win.

That being said, there ARE people in the U.S. who are just as unhappy as we are about this situation. It's time for our cattle organizations to strap on a pair and join up with those on the other side of the border who still have some common sense, and do what it takes to assist them in fixing it from the inside.

Forget the politicians. They are all talk and no action. This needs to be fixed by Americans. And we need to help them do it.

End of rant. Gotta go fencing now.

[rkaiser]

I am not sure why the hell our industry leaders don't strap on those things you are talking about kato and tell Cargill and JBS to sell Canadian Beef in the USA. Yes there are patriotic folks in the USA who will choose MCOOL beef, but there are those who would choose Canadian if it were branded and maybe even produced a little different than American product. Promote Canada. Promote our safety standards and our traceability program. And maybe --- just maybe step out and raise and promote ractopamine free or something really off the wall.

[grassfarmer]

Why is it not an option kato? you could be selling
your calves into a non-commodity program even if
you don't fatten them yourself.

[kato]

Where? No such thing in Manitoba.

Friends of ours did a deal with such an outfit in Ontario, and got burned for over a hundred thousand dollars in unpaid cattle. Neighbours bought into a plant here, and literally all of them lost their investments, and most who actually sold cattle to the plant got about 10 cents on the dollar several years later. The government has collected millions in checkoff money to promote processing in Manitoba, and so far have only spent any on the big wages in the office.

The trust level around here is not too high for things like that. Everyone here either has been burned, or knows someone who has. It's a tough spot to be in, because gaining trust back again is a long and slow process.

In the meantime, bills need to be paid.

[Happytrails]

The way for us to gain allies in the U.S. to fight MCOOL is to NOT practice the politics of appeasement. We have to stand up for ourselves and tariff beef imports from them to the same extent our exports are being penalized. If it sounds like a trade war remember they fired the first shot. Canadian beef import policy works for everybody but domestic beef producers.

[kato]

And we all know how high on the priority list we are with our government. They talk big, but I don't think they mean it.

Threatening to retaliate... after waiting for the WTO to say it's OK is just smoke and mirrors. The Americans don't listen to what the WTO says now. But they're pretty confident we will "follow the rules" and they can get away with their games for another year or two or three or..... forever.

I don't believe for a minute that our government is going to step up, so that's why I'm saying we need to encourage those within the system in the U.S. who disagree with this nonsense. Only from the inside will it get fixed.

[grassfarmer]

"Where? No such thing in Manitoba."

I'm sure there are opportunities in MB like everywhere
else. I'm supplying some direct marketers in your
province with breeding stock so they can have a beef
supply to market. I'm sure they and others would
have been happy just to source calves reared to a
protocol they wanted rather than having to breed
their own. If you want to market non-commodity
cattle get out and build the bridges to do it - if
everyone waits for someone else to do the work then
hand over the opportunity they might be waiting a
while.

[kato]

They are likely selling beef direct from the farm to consumers, which is not something that everyone wants to do. As I said before, we don`t have the land base or the grain for that.

I know two people who are making a living at that. One owns his own grocery store. There`s a limit to how many grocery stores are viable, so that`s not an option that comes up often. He`s lucky that he`s in a small town that is far enough from any bigger markets that it can survive.

The other is a very small operator who is organic, and sells lamb, pork, and chicken. He fills a true niche market, but if everyone else moved in on that he would soon have problems. The only reason he does well is that his market is not flooded. The only reason the people who buy breeding stock from you are doing well is because people like us and ninety per cent of the other producers in Manitoba are not jumping in on their market.

There is not the customer base in this entire province to use the beef produced here. We don't have a Calgary and Edmonton with all it's well paid consumers. We have Winnipeg, with it's average income earners, and higher than average number of low income consumers. This province has depended on the U.S. market ever since Alberta bought the processing industry. It's been hurt the most by all the nonsense of the past ten years.

The world does not revolve around Alberta. Not all beef producers are in Alberta. The situation in other provinces is not the same as Alberta.

[grassfarmer]

Maybe the biggest thing lacking is a "can do" attitude?
Toronto is likely only 24 hours away from some of
you in Manitoba. Plenty of customers there and it only
takes space on a reefer truck to get it there. I have
customers 20 hours away in Yellowknife and some
that drive 12 hours from Vancouver to collect.
My point is don't underestimate the strength of this
domestic market and the strong and growing desire
of Canadians to buy from Canadian ranchers - its the
best thing we have got going for us, certainly a way
better opportunity than trying to get paid selling into
the protectionist bully US market.

[rkaiser]

Happy Trail said -"The way for us to gain allies in the U.S. to fight MCOOL is to NOT practice the politics of appeasement. We have to stand up for ourselves and tariff beef imports from them to the same extent our exports are being penalized."

Who are "we" Happy Trails? The beef producers and the American / Brazilian packers here in Canada working together. LOL Sounds like ABP /CCA talk for the past 20 or 30 years. And maybe the government of Canada working alongside this collaborative effort.

You are on your own Happy Trails, unless you work with some group beyond Cargill and JBS.

The multi millions of dollars that have been spent by this CCA dream of "our beef industry" could have built a sustainable "CANADIAN" Value chain a few times over already.

[kato]

Which brings us back to the beginning of the thread.. the disconnect between our cattle organizations and cattle producers. It's time for the representatives to represent.

[DogPatch]

Grassfarmer... Most beef producers in MB are sick and tired of being kicked around by the general attitude of our provincial Government in the City of Winnipeg. A bunch of NDP farts that listen to tree-huggers and hate hogs, feedlots and anything else progressive. They killed Rancher's Choice either directly or indirectly, their Union buddies killed most of the packing industry that MB had years ago.

I agree with Kato...... the movers and shakers in the Beef Industry went to Alberta and said the heck with MB

[rkaiser]

I hear there is a mover and shaker out in Carman MB who may be up to something that we don't have anyone with guts out here in Alberta doing.

[kato]

Plains Processors. They're planning on up to 1000 head a week, but they're not at that point yet. Still constructing, and getting federal approval to go through.

It's a good start, but won't handle all the cattle here yet.