Wondering?

[pandiana]

The original question from cowman is something about when, or if, the packers will dictate the kind of cattle we raise. I would have to say this is already happening. The only problem is, once we give them that product, they are the ones who reap the profits, and I'm not only talking about government BSE money.This boxed beef scenerio boggles my mind. Tell us to breed cattle a certain size and consistency, feed them right for shelf life, and then eliminate the most important part of the process. We would simply never supply the fine tasting palates of the world if we hung our wonderful product for a few weeks. And what about testin for BSE and eliminating Hormones for Europe.
As far as the breed of cattle they want, I don't believe they give a %$%#@ as long as we get them to them in the size and protocal they want; which we are already doing.

[pandiana]

Almost forgot to mention.
One or two of those Top 4 breeds is being forced into change by the packers with discounts for overweight cattle as well. Kind of cattle, not breed of cattle.

[pandiana]

cakadu, I agree with most of what you say. We can never lose track of what the consumer wants or think they want. The fact that there is no single answer to that question I think leaves the door open for those niche markets. I remember the previous discussion on organic foods. I have talked to many people since who have a heightened awareness of where their food is being produced, mostly attributable to health scares of one kind or another. But even the big corporations are picking up on this. For example, Maple Leaf and their naturally grain fed chicken products that they sell at a higher price than generic type chicken. No market is secure, as the big companies have the clout to give them flexibility and influence.

Although I can't agrue with the logic of keeping a heritage gene pool, my question is still who is going to pay?

[pandiana]

yes, rpkaiser, I would agree that too little of the money for our products comes home to the producer. Many a post has been dedicated to this topic. How do we get leverage enough to demand our fair share? An at whose expense? Everone needs to make money to stay in business.