Getting on Board

[cowman]

Linda: I personally believe we need to take care of our most important customer first-the domestic market. A good part of our problem is we export so much of our production. We overproduce in this country for just about one reason...the governments plan to let the USA and the EU kick us out of the world grain markets! The death of the Crow was the final straw. How much good land went into hay and pasture then?
The reality is we shouldn't be even trying to raise cattle in this artic environment. When you have to feed 7 months of the year it truly is not efficient. No way can we compete with countries like Brazil and Argentina.
But you have to play them how they're dealt to you, and thats why we have this huge cow herd! Simply poor government policy on grain.
By the mid nineties every man and his dog was buying cows. Some of these Johnny come latelies should have never been in it but all us old boys loaded up on cows, too! The money was good and the future looked bright! Today we reap the whirlwind!

[cakadu]

The more I listen to people, cowman, the more I am getting a sense that there are some out there who would like to see us move towards becoming self-sufficient at home and not worrying about the big global marketplace.

You are so right about the other countries around the globe that can produce livestock - I'm talking beef and lamb here - for far less than what we could ever hope to produce it for - no matter how efficient we become or what economies of scale we shoot for.

There are Canadian producers going to the South American countries to produce beef - BECAUSE they can produce it for so much cheaper than we can here.

I don't have some nice neat little answer that will help to solve everything. What I will say is that the more I look at the big picture, the more I realize that we may just have to bite the bullet and some dramatic changes just may have to occur.

How is "bigger is better" actually working for us?