Selling Calves this Fall

[cowman]

I doubt any of the big feedlots are getting rich on the government handouts. Maybe surviving! I don't know about you but I'm awful grateful to have a Cor Vanray or a Rick Pascal in Alberta! Sure they're in it to make a buck...isn't that how it's supposed to be?
Rick Pascal has done more to get the message out about this crisis that Klein, Van Clief, and Chretien combined!
If you know Rick you should realize he is pretty dedicated to the Canadian cattle industry.
What I was trying to get across is if feedlot alley goes we are at the mercy of the Americans. And that goes for our grain farmers too! They need feedlot alley as much or more than the cow/calf guy! The only real feed barley market we have. When the crow went feed grain, in reality, lost its ability to find a viable export market, except perhaps to the U.S.
Perhaps we could all turn into little cattle feeders again. I don't know about you but somehow I just don't relish that thought all that much.

[rsomer]

cowman: My sympathies lie with the owners of the smaller feedlots, the 2000, 3000, 5000 head lots that have been having a very tough summer. I genuinely think our beef industry would be stronger if we had a 1000 more smaller lots scattered throughout Alberta, Saskatchewan too rather than 100 lots controlling 75% of the feeding industry. For certain the risk of owning fed cattle on this side of the border would be managed better if spread around more. When it comes to buying our calves this fall, since the border is closed to live cattle, the only competition in the marketplace will be the small lots. I think it is reasonable to say the big lots have each others phone number on speed dial. It is a fact that the smaller lots only got a fraction of the over $1/2 billion in BSE support. Most of the money went to 100 lots. Canada’s 90,000 beef producers have a right to be outraged if they are told after this fall that there is no money left for them.

[kato]

We have been told. Compensation does not exist on slaughter animals any more, and the government doesn't seem to think that is a bad thing.

I talked to Heartland Livestock in Brandon yesterday. They have a list of about 900 fat cattle waiting to be moved to slaughter. We have had some cattle on this list for weeks now. As soon as the government said when the compensation package would end, the packers started killing their own cattle, and refused to buy any. (at least from Manitoba) Now they have gotten the compensation, and we have gotten kicked in the pants.

Heartland tried to get the government to at least accept the animals on the waiting list, and they told us it was like talking to a brick wall. They also told us that with the Alberta program being extended, there was very little chance of the price of fats going up, as there will be no pressure on the packers to pay more.

We can't even sell the beef to our friends, as the local small abbatoirs are booked up until Christmas.

Now what?