Check-off

[Sawbones]

F_S A real example based on my experience was an $8/cwt advantage by having age verified calves ready for Japanese market by slaughtering with Rancher's Beef. That would have equated to over $100/head. In the short term that RB was able to slaughter they had 53% of the Japanese marketshare from Canada. Our local plants are only interested in US and not developing the Korean or EU opportunities. We need specific sales contracts that give some of those dividends back to producers. Selling more hamburger to the US will not increase our profitability and it is more likely that the basis will widen rather than shrink based on their current economic situation

[grassfarmer]

Farmers_son, that has got to be one of the craziest ABP thinking posts you've made.
You state "However to be clear my focus is on increasing net producer returns. That has to happen.....The brutal reality is that I need to improve my farm's net returns right now and unless I can increase my return from cattle on our farm I am going to have to divert grass acres to grain acres."
You then go on to restate the old mantra about the US being our best and only market worth pursuing. If that were the case what are you complaining about? why do you need to improve your net returns right away? You have got your dream market right now - the wonderful US price less basis. Even the huge increase in cost that you claim(falsly in my opinion)will come with the ALMS hasn't happened yet. In fact at this moment you have a substantial cheque in your pocket for that with another to come in January for no extra work (assuming that you have actually age verified in the past). With current APB policy it just can't get any better for you than it is now so why is your farm struggling already?
If you could see through the woolly thinking that seems to cloud the ABP propaganda you would realise that the US market is not the be all and end all that they claim. Producers here are, and have been for a while, going broke supplying that market hence the need for change. And on top of this we have COOL - I read in the paper yesterday that US packing plants have vowed they will accept no live Canadian livestock - which is causing an immediate disaster to hog producers.