What do you think of the prices?

[cowman]

My son has been getting itchy to ship off the grassers, so has been spending some time in the marts of late! Which is okay, if he'd just do that and not have to be so sociable at the Legion after the sale!
Anyway he said 700 steers were in that $1.15 range and some of the cattle around 1000 pushing the dollar mark. Now is this a good price? I suspect a lot of cattle are still at home because the farmers are out combining and the rush is yet to come. Are there a lot of yearlings around? Seems like a whole lot of calves went to the states last fall and there might be a slight shortage of big grass yearlings?

[cswilson]

Cowman I think those prices are better than we all expected for grass cattle. I normally feed ours out in Alberta but the latest fed cattle compensation program is just for Alberta taxpayers so I guess we'll sell at least some of our grass cattle. Just my luck Sask. will come out with a program as long as cattle are fed in Sask. Were closing a set of grid cattle here in next 30 days -that should be an interesting closeout to read.

[cowman]

cswilson: Why not feed them out in Sask.? I would think the custom lots there should be able to do the job just as cheap? I always wondered why more cattle weren't fed there. Cheap land, an abundance of cheap feed grain...how come this hasn't taken off?

[cswilson]

Cowman I've just always found it easier to do business in Alberta-I'm not even sure you can participate in the Cargill grid from a Sask. lot. Highland Feeders has been excellant to deal with and is actually closer to me than most Saskatchewan lots.The majority of cattle in Saskatchewan are north of North Battleford.Not that there are not some lots in Sask. doing a good job -but once I find a good business partner I tend to stick with them.A better idea would be for Alberta and Sask. to join as one province-our NDP government isn't one to encourage free enterprise.A few years of paying Sask. taxes with nothing in return some of our Alberta imports will probably head back home.It is frustrating for us here to have those guys who sold out there put on a pedastal as being better operators than us.

[ivbinconned]

I was told these figures once. A large feedlot in Saskatchewan will have a cost of $25,000.00 or more per year than an Alberta lot, just in Provincial fuel taxes alone,to clean correls. This is just one strike against progress here.
I have a friend in Alberta who is a grain buyer and a couple of years ago he wrote our premier Roy a letter thanking him for sending our calves to Alberta, then our grain to Alberta, and then our kids to Alberta because they where great workers. BUT he expressed a lament to Roy that if the roads where in better shape he would be willing to pay a little more for the barley.

[charliep]

After travelling a lot up highway 15 in Saskatchewan/having suspension tested and then smooth sailing through Oyen/Hanna, I appreciate your comments about roads.

Just an interesting thought about the number of cows/Alberta ranchers that have moved east over the past few years as a result of the back to back droughts and lower cost land. Saskatchewan and Manitoba have both had good opportunities to build their herds. Realizing that everywhere is subject to drought, there are perhaps some good reasons to have cow herds in the eastern prairies from a competitiveness standpoint.

Don't know anymore than anyone else how things will turn out but it is important that no region be disadvantaged in policy decisions/competitive advantage be a driver in where the industry is located.

[ivbinconned]

Here in central Sask it is so dry that 90% of the poplars are dead on my place and we have been driven out of cattle by drought that started in 97.
In 99 we had timly rains and had a good crops and grass but have had next to no snow for years so dugouts are dry and the little hay that was cut around here this year, it took 8 acres to make a bale!
Our gross income off 6 quarters of grass and hay will amount to %20 of our tax bill.

[cowman]

Now I'm pretty much in the dark about Saskatchewan although I took a little trip through there last year in July when we were in a bad drought. I actually only ran into one bad stretch of road! It was drought ugly in the north west but got better over by Yorkton and was really good near Regina. I saw some of the best crops I've seen near Lumsden.
What really was an eye-opener was all the government buildings in the bigger towns! And how dead everything was come the weekend! Gas at the pumps was the same or slightly lower than Alberta everything else about the same even after you added the sales tax.
Sure enjoyed the people though! Very freindly especially in the small places.