Twitter Battle: Brad Wall calls out A&W on claims regarding Canadian Beef quality.

[Blaithin]

If your saying hormones haven't been found to be causing health issues maybe you do some research yourself.

The problem is I see a and w benefitting from the slogan but don t see higher prices for the producer or is there?

There can be premiums for "naturally raised" beef, yes. But there aren't any actual regulations to define that term currently. I know of cattle being raised in feedlot settings and being sold at premiums as "natural" as they don't receive implants. Yet who would consider feedlot settings as natural?

Because the feedlots so effectively cut off beef that haven't received as many inputs (I would never want to see a feedlot that DOESNT treat prophylacticaly), producers pretty much have to start direct marketing themselves. It's definitely not an over night change with guaranteed higher prices but it can be done.

http://earthworksfarm.ca/

That's a farm local to me that I believe are doing fairly well. You can see by their prices that they're charging much more than the average farmer whom you might just purchase beef on the rail from.

The biggest issue with supplying a franchise chain would be demand. They'd require more beef than the average individual producers can supply. Until a time when farmers form some sort of cooperative or there's a great industry shift to supply such a thing, it's most likely going to continue to be contracted out to the areas that don't funnel their calf crops into feedlots. Australia and NZ being big ones.

[the big wheel]

I agree with much of that

[grassfarmer]

The problem is I see a and w benefitting from the slogan but don t see higher prices for the producer or is there?

Yes and No. As I understand it A&W are buying 3 products to blend. Using Australian grassfed beef, beef off Canadian bulls (maybe why you get asked to sign an affidavit of no lifetime use of antibiotic when selling bulls?) Third component is trim off young beef animals out of a grass-fed program based in Montana. That's the component they can't access easily in Canada because there is no volume of trim that is not hormone treated. While the Montana program pays it's ranchers a premium for their cattle they don't have a value added market outlet for the trim so this was an opportunity that A&W saw and went after. Good business on their part as they are buying wholesale and marketing for a premium.

[checking]

It's not the A&W message, it's the messenger that I can't stand.

A bald headed, middle aged porker pretending to be interested in the views of random children. Ads have no appeal, and extent to their products by association.

Burgers need to be shown wrapped in tinfoil to garner my attention. Sorry to bring pharma into this. LOL

[farmaholic]

Lol...pharmaholic. my meds are wearing off. .... and you're execeding the limitations of my medication! Is it time for a username change? I've had two suggestions so far...teflon and pharmaholic.

I think Bucket wears the TinFoil Crown! ....I just supply him with the foil. He's the junky...I'm the pusher! You out yet Bucket? I got some good stuff that will shield the strongest mind reading rays and neutralize suspicions!

[shtferbrains]

The ads say no hormones or steroids.
No mention of antibiotics.
Cull breeding stock can supply this market as it always has but our system doesn't allow producer sgned declarations .
We have the much superior tracability system that has cut us out of the market.

[GDR]

If your saying hormones haven't been found to be causing health issues maybe you do some research yourself.

The problem is I see a and w benefitting from the slogan but don t see higher prices for the producer or is there?

Hormones are an issue for health concerns of obesity and early puberty and likely others but that's a whole different issue than beef implants.

Like little doggie says some of the healthy green stuff has huge amounts and the bigger problem is public drinking water with birth control residue

[bucket]

Snce Brad wall cares so much about ranchers maybe he should pay some attention to them....

[grassfarmer]

The ads say no hormones or steroids.
No mention of antibiotics.
Cull breeding stock can supply this market as it always has but our system doesn't allow producer sgned declarations .
We have the much superior tracability system that has cut us out of the market.

Sorry my mention of antibiotic free in relation to CDN beef for A&W was maybe wrong - although the Meyer program that supplies the US beef to A&W is antibiotic free. They need the extra fat off young cattle hence the need for trim, cull cattle alone wouldn't supply what they need.
Not sure why you say our system doesn't allow producer signed declarations. I sign them at two outlets I sell at - one auction mart and one private buyer business.
Sorry to spoil the illusion but we really don't have a traceability system in Canada. Every animal slaughtered has to have a CCIA ear tag but that does not tell you anything about where it's been in it's life or what it may have been treated with. A cull cow may be wearing the tag from the ranch she was born on or one slapped on at the last place she lived - no way of knowing which or where she was between times - no traceability, no accountability, no enforcement. The Americans may be even more backward with their attitudes to a national traceability system but they do have programs like Meyers with higher degrees of traceability than we have in Canada.

[sumdumguy]

Government has evolved noticeably since Wall and Harper regimes. Before governments responded to farm crises with farm support programs, now they tweet. . How tweet it is - not!

[WiltonRanch]

Sorry my mention of antibiotic free in relation to CDN beef for A&W was maybe wrong - although the Meyer program that supplies the US beef to A&W is antibiotic free. They need the extra fat off young cattle hence the need for trim, cull cattle alone wouldn't supply what they need.
Not sure why you say our system doesn't allow producer signed declarations. I sign them at two outlets I sell at - one auction mart and one private buyer business.
Sorry to spoil the illusion but we really don't have a traceability system in Canada. Every animal slaughtered has to have a CCIA ear tag but that does not tell you anything about where it's been in it's life or what it may have been treated with. A cull cow may be wearing the tag from the ranch she was born on or one slapped on at the last place she lived - no way of knowing which or where she was between times - no traceability, no accountability, no enforcement. The Americans may be even more backward with their attitudes to a national traceability system but they do have programs like Meyers with higher degrees of traceability than we have in Canada.

Traceability needs to be an industry backed program with added incentives. The tag thing is a trace back in case of disease. That's all. Even the angus tags you put in don't garner any premium at the farm gate. What you're doing with your cattle Grass, direct marketing grass fed beef is about as good as it gets. Any of these grandois value chain blah blah stuff starts out maybe alright but eventually the added benefit for the producer disappears for the extra work and bother involved.