Mega Plant

[ValueChainFX]

I hear Ted Haney and Janke openly talking about a new mega plant at a cost of 250 ml for cattle. This is yet another case of not keeping touch with the industry. A large mega plant in Sask, Alberta or Manitoba would mean the producer still has all the challenges and cost of getting those animals to the plant! I still see so many challenges with a big plant probably in a city and probably run by the same guys that are stealing from you now!

Makes more sense to go back to rural Federal plants that can handle a capacity in their own area. Predictions in meat and pounltry magazine discuss the fractured industry in north america and how these big plants are out dated when it comes to marketing and how the new markets have turned them upside down. Not to meantion the new regs coming down soon!

We don't have much time left, but my vote is still with smaller plants with some type of producer ownership. If producers can balance out their ego and work with some people that can help them, they have the chance to make this happen! If they refuse the assistance offered by the people that know the industry it could easily end up the way many other producer plants have gone.

Producers need to get together, not only in Alberta but across Canada and recognize the need for a national hands on working body to balance out an industry full of challenges!

[cowman]

Once upon a time we had small regional plants. Now these were not all outdated,old, rundown plants! Example the Canada Packer plants in Red Deer, Lethbridge, and Moose Jaw. Moose Jaw is still in business.
The Alberta government gave sweetheart deals to Cargill and Lakeside as well as XL...in reality they picked the winners! The CP plants were closed not because they weren't profitable but because the government wanted the big plants here and CP could see the writing on the wall. Lakeside was old and inefficient and probably the worst plant in Alberta. They'd hung in there with sleazy business practices and by keeping the unions out. When IBP saw that Cargill would have a basic monopoly on Alberta cattle they moved in bought Lakeside and modernized it.
Today we are reaping the results of this so called "big is better" philosophy. So if you live in Manitoba there is no decent sized beef packer. And in Sask. you basically have only a cow plant.
So what is the solution? Is it another $250 mega plant in Alberta? Make no mistake that is where it would go!
Or is it more regional plants? That sounds good but would IBP and Cargill
let that happen? These companies are very good at playing hardball and they know(and use) every dirty trick in the book. Their track record in the US is very clear for anyone who cares to check.
I agree that your solution is the right one. I just don't understand how it can be pulled off?

[pandiana]

We had a small abatoir locally until a year ago. The owner and his family worked here for many years as was rather taken for granted. They handled the family's pig, lamb or steer, sold some extra meat and the front. It was Government inspected, so you could sell your extra meat to friends and neighbors or city customers.
The problem was he was getting older. With the squeeze of stiffer government regulations, increase in the cost of overhead, being forced to put in more cash to modernize but with little more return, why would he stay? We sorely miss having this facility but in all likelihood we will never see anotherone. We have had a few small operators since that have lasted less than a year.

[grassfarmer]

Cowman, you mention "Lakeside....with sleazy business practices" in your post in the past tense. Does last weeks performance by Lakeside of buying fats in Ontario and shipping them here to slaughter to try and break the feedlot cartel not prove that a leopard never changes it's spots.

[ValueChainFX]

We all see the solution from the producer side to be smaller plants. How we pull it off is really up to us. With the amount of money involved in small plants the producer could jointly own the plant and keep the checks and balances there (if the producer could get it together long enough). The proff is in the pudding so to say. We have opened a small cut facility for a local producer. Nothing really fancy but with all the food safe toys to exceed government standards and nice flow. This producer basically increased the return on his own animals by many percentage points. That is when he can get his animals through. His friends and neighbors have kept this facility going steady (he runs farmer hours, which plumb tuckers me out) but he is learning fast. It took less than 30 days to build the facility with plenty of long hours.

Small regional plants will begin the process of putting farm and rural community infrastructure back in place. The loss of farm and rural infrastructure is, (in my opinion) one of the big reasons we are seeing the rural communities go down hill.

Those who read these posts can also contact their government reps, both federal and provincial and voice their opinion on regional plants verses mega plants. by the year 2010, our plan calls for about 5 of these regional plants across Alberta doing about a million head a year.

These plants don't do the Cargill and IBP thing as those boys do standard easy to work line product.

The real question is can the producers work close enough with people that can help them make it happen and I'm not talking about the $1400.00 dollar a day consultant, I'm talking about the hands on working consultants.

[cowman]

Pandianna:The closure of your small local abbatoir is sort of the way things are going everywhere in Alberta. Just about all the older plants need to upgrade big time to meet new provincial regulations and it doesn't really make sense to stay in business. So the operator has a choice to make...build a new plant or quit. Unfortunately like farmers most butchers(with money) are just too old. When you listed all the reasons your local butcher was quitting, you could have substituted the word farmer very easily!
Yesterday I was talking to a small feedlot guy and he said there is a group looking seriously at the old closed CP plant in Red Deer. Apparently they are considering getting it up and running to kill and process cows. He claims there is some heavy Alberta Government money behind it...which makes sense I suppose? I suspect this could be a white elephant with some sharpies getting ready to milk the government cow?
Grassfarmer: I don't know if IBP retained the old management team from Lakeside, but I suspect they would fit in nicely! They had the same attitude as IBP!

[kato]

There is a plan afoot in Manitoba to switch a plant in Winnipeg from hogs to cows. It is a former cattle plant, so it's not impossible to do. There is a feasability study about to start on it. Over 1100 farmers put in $100.00 each to get the ball rolling. It's supposed to be a Co-op of sorts, but the details haven't been worked out yet.

[ValueChainFX]

kato who are the key contacts?

[cowman]

Apparently the group looking at the Red Deer plant decided it was a complete wreck that would take to long to fix up. All the compressors, motors etc. were seized up with rust. Probably cheaper to start from scratch.
Talked to a dairy farmer who had sent three old cows out to Rimbey for the sale. He netted just over $60/cow! Told the mart to just send the check to the Christmas burea!

[kato]

I'm not sure exactly who to talk to, but anyone at the Man. Cattle Producers Association will know.

Their email address is mcpa@escape.ca Phone 204-772-4542

[ValueChainFX]

Thank you Kato, many plans are in the making at the moment. It would be nice to see a little coordination. Many stories like cowman told are happening every day. Until we have a long term strategy the band aids will just keep falling off.

Processing (as in a plant) is only the first step, several key players in the supply chain need to come together to make any of this work!

[cowman]

Long term stratagies are good but what we really need are some short term solutions. It would seem the governments' solutions continue to be smoke and mirrors and dithering! Which is okay as it doesn't cost the taxpayer very much and they can concentrate on the homos, dope and other life shattering problems. And those dumb old farmers will continue to feed the cows and blow what little equity they have left. Well priorities say no one really gives a rip about a bunch of dumb farmers?
Why just last week Ralph Goodale said they have some money but they want to make sure they get it right so they need to study the problem a bit more! But Ralph you've had since May 20th to study it? Didn't you keep any notes?
The government has two options. Either dispose of the 650,000 cows or else find a market for them. One involves the pit the other involves testing. How hard is this to see?

[ivbinconned]

Cowman...we are not going to get anywhere with you talking like that. You need to use clarity! Be clear about this. You need to write the same thing, but a minimum of 5000 words are needed.
Liberals don't like simple solutions for what they percieve to be, complex problems.

[cowman]

You know I was thinking the other day about how unconcerned our leaders seem to be about how the farm situation is falling apart. Then I started thinking about how they must look at it.
Considering that dope is a $7 billion dollar business then a lot of people must be smoking it? I mean if the average smoker, smoked a thousand bucks worth per year that amounts to 7 million dopers. I heard Svend Robinson declare that 10% of the population were ***** so that means we have 3 million homos!
No wonder can't get no service! I doubt there are 3 million farmers left let alone 7 million! So you see government really does have its priorities straight! In the big picture of decadent lifestyles we really don't rate!

[ValueChainFX]

Goes back to what I have been suggesting since the beginning. If the solution is going to be found it will be a grass roots solution. You as the producers will make this happen. Again the challenge is to pull the farmers together long enough for the individual to become one voice. The voices that are getting the attention in the government are the ones that have a clear agenda. To many people feel the farmers agenda is to squak and use binder twine to fix things! My feeling is that at some point in time the grass roots will have to figure out a way to make sure they have at least enough of a strategy to go beyond the government and build their own cash flow and infrastructure without some of the twits getting in our way!