Cow plant

[cowman]

The latest news from coffee row is that something is happening at the old Canada Packers plant in Red Deer Alberta. Apparently the traffic in and out of the plant is considerable. Definitely a lot of the old equipment is being hauled up to the local scrap yard and trucks are backed up to the loading dock. This from a plant that sat for 12 years.
Nothing substantial yet, but the speculation is it is being refitted for a cow plant. I'll try to find out more. This plant has a capacity to kill 750 head a day and cooler space for slightly more than that. It has a deboning line.
Valuechain have you heard anything?

[pandiana]

Is this the old Maple Leaf plant?

[ValueChainFX]

I haven't heard anything for a long time now. I talked to someone in Redeer (a long while ago) but at the time we were not in this situation. There were several challenges with that plant. However, I don't think the challenges were something money and a will wouldn't fix. Keep us posted,

[cowman]

Pandianna: Maple Leaf was just a brand name that CP used. There is still a Maple Leaf brand but Canada Packers does not exist anymore. But yea it would be what you know as the Maple Leaf plant. Right across the road basically from Olymel(the hog plant-Fletchers)

[ALICIA]

Canada Packer a name from the past. I guess when they folded that was just the start of the fall.

[MissKrackle]

rumor has it it maybe an XL cow plant moving out of Calgary..

[cowman]

Now I might be wrong but I thought XL quit killing cows when the USDA opened the border to muscle cuts back in Sept.? I thought the deal was if you wanted to export muscle cuts you couldn't kill cows? Most cows from around here were going to the Neilson Bros. plant at Moosejaw. I think maybe Neilson brothers also own XL?
When the Alberta government brought in Cargill(And that was a sweetheart deal let me tell you!) the writing was on the wall for our small Canadian packers. They couldn't compete with a predatory government backed packer. Lakeside Packers was bought out by IBP in another sweet heart deal thus giving the kiss of death to the Canadian packers. So now we have two big American packers who pretty much do whatever they want.
At one time, in Red Deer, you had four options when selling cattle locally. Intercon, Canada packers, Central Alberta Meats or the auction mart! In addition there was XL, Dvorkins, Burns, CP in Calgary(probably a lot more). Today there is one option...the mart! Where they have one buyer basically who pays whatever he feels like.

[bulltipper]

Cowman.... you know what's really spooky about that?

You extend that to the future and you end up with Wallmart.

[pandiana]

I did hear a rumor that the 'Maple Leaf' plant would be approved for cull cows.

[ValueChainFX]

Not sure but the talk has it that there have been several plants under consideration to revamp to kill cows. The question is does this help the primary producer. First you need the people to run the plants, second if it is just another place to dump a $12.00 cow are you ahead. Many of the people I have talked to about this are still talking about buying these cows at the low price and selling them at the high price! How is that going to help our situation? Although it would be nice to have some sort of band-aid to get us past the hump, I believe you don't need a band-aid if you have your heart cut out!

Again, I suggest that whatever we put in needs to enhance the rural infrastructure and involve the many people that have felt the impact of this agriculture industry challenge.

[cowman]

Well Valuechain you give to much credit to our idiot politicians if you propose a long term solution. Remember they only need to make it look good; not actually accomplish anything!
The fact is they knew we didn't have a domestic market for our cows...and probably wouldn't for seven years. They also knew we couldn't eat our way out of it? They only need a solution until the next election? Solution: Bring in a mickey mouse plan to keep those old cows down on the farm. Next step, get some old plants up and running to kill those $12 cows....not good but better than bad publicity when the farmers started shooting them? Perhaps quietly haul the stored meat out to the landfills?
A real solution? Dig the pits. Shoot off one third of the cow herd, quick lime them and bury them! End of the over supply problem? Bite the bullet and pay the farmers $600/cow that went to the pit. For a total cost of about $1 billion! Not cheap for sure but a pittance compared to what they spend on drivel like the gun registry, bi-lingualism, culture,etc.etc. Why if they swung it right they could even add a tax to Albertas oil that would not only bag them the billion but a whole lot more!
And then we would be done with this so called surplus export market and never have to worry about it again.

[ValueChainFX]

Cowman I do believe the producers and the one with their life at stake are going to lead us out of this mess, but you can count on any government coming in and getting the credit for the thousands of hours put into making a project work. Our goal is to make something happen that will work, I really don't care much if they get the credit as long as they stay out of our way.