Who wants too?

[ValueChainFX]

If you had the chance would you look at a way to build markets yourself outside the system we had before the BSE issue.

Would you as producers be interested in a Canada wide distribution system, if it made sense?

If you were going to do this with other producers what would you like to see in such a system?

The obvious is a stable price with some profit in it, so lets see what you would like to see!

[dalek]

The Reform/CA/CRAP MP for Nipissing Renfrew etc. in Ontario has all the answers to BSE as she said on CJOH in Ottawa tonight.... all we have to do is make all the vegetarians start eating beef again. Sheeeeeeesh

[ALICIA]

I'm old eought that I can remember that before system that you say is before BSE and when our own cattle could not cross the boarder with out the vet checks were not very good, If any thing free trade has made the price per pound better and with the low Canadian Dollar the US buyers were comeing and pay good money for our seed stock and there was not the worry about crossing the boarder.
As far as the meat end of it, I still want the crossing of the boarder freely in place but our own beef could be marked 100% raised and grow in Canada. You really can't take the choice away from the people that may be like beef from other countrys, but we could market it as this country and let the customer pick from what country they wants there meat, because right now most meat is just sold as wing steak or T-bone or round or rump roast etc.
I for one do not think there was any thing wrong with the system before BSE. We just had a cow go down with BSE and other countrys crossed there doors to our beef. end of story.
Most farmer or ranchers are good about spotting a sick cow and we deal with it thats all we can do. As for building a market out side the system what system any system is going down if you have a problem with the producted, you got to weather the storm and start to build the system back up. Its a good thing selling world wide, I don't like clams and you can market any why you want and I am still not going to eat them Selling all over the world is the only way to go, and we just have to watch our cattle and don't be feeding them any thing we would not eat our self. And tell the customer just what is in the product, was it raised on hay and grain or was it raised on grass and finished on grain, soom people like to read ingredence so list it. Our product just has to have better labaling.
Protein, calcum, iron, minurals and no artificial flavour, or preservitors. put the kill date on the package and best before date. List the ingreadants,corn, oats, grass, hay, and no by products,or hormones and make sure the customer know that Canadian beef can garintee this but we do not list the meat from other countrys because we do not know. People only believe what they read and not what you tell them.

[ValueChainFX]

ALICIA so labeling nutrition and country of origin.

[cakadu]

Starting over again is a good idea, only for me it would be to remove any rendered animal parts out of animal feed and not use hormones and/or anti-microbials. That way, we could open up markets in countries that we currently cannot get into because we use those materials.

The EU has been telling us for years not to use hormones - why not listen to them and give them what they want - hormone-free beef.

Look at how the markets have grown for drug free meat products at home. Imagine what we could do if there were untapped markets for it?

The system is going to have to change and it will no doubt be costly, but take a look at what it has cost us to be so heavily reliant on one market - something to the tune of $11 million/day.

[ValueChainFX]

labeling nutrition and country of origin and feed trace back (which would be part of the trace back trace forward program) This is good the list builds, keep going?