Shall we turn up the Heat??

[Joe-2]

Well,the election has been called for June 28.Shall we get serious about playing the perception game?? I say we go for 100%BSE testing and a ban on growth implants;start high and "negotiate"!!Maybe while we are at it we should follow r-calf's lead and start bitching about imports.Maybe do a little flag-waving???
My sister is a commercial artist(sign painter),at this moment she is making me 2 4x6' signs for the back of my pickup.They will read as follows,"Eating BSE Infected Beef CAN Cause Fatal vCJD.DEMAND 100% TESTING".
The World Meat Congress is being held in Winnipeg Mb. June 14 to 17 2004.Here is a link, www.worldmeatcongress-canada.com/
Check it out."Partners" are Maple Leaf and Cargill.

Maybe I will drive around the block outside of their venue with my new signs on my truck.
What do you think????

[kato]

Good grief, don't scare anyone!

Maybe say.

HELP

America has declared war on Canadian Cattlemen. We need 100% BSE test to save our farms!

Anyone else got a good slogan? Fire away!

[Joe-2]

"Good grief don't scare anyone"???
How far has common sense got us???????
How far has "sound science" Got us????
The last 12 months have wiped out 100's of thousands of dollars that I spent over 20 years saving up working construction in Ab. Northern BC. and Yukon.I'm sure that everyone else,regardless of their situation,has seen their???? years of labor erased in the last year!!!! I'm 41 years old.The cattle business is not a tax write-off for me.I put everything I have into this game knowing that it was the right thing to do for my family.Common sense has become so uncommon in the last 30 years that it is pointless to try to point to common sense as a solution to anything.Perception and media hype is where it is at.What have we got to lose???? A negative margin is a negative margin!!!!
Don't scare anyone?????Come on!!!! Fight fire with fire!!!!
Fight BS with BS!!!!
Be afraid...Be VERY afraid!!!
The only way we will win is to beat "them" at "their" own game!!!
Go hard or go home!!!!
The only way to turn this into an election issue is to motivate the 98% of people that are not farmers.If you have a better idea than scaring the sh&% out of them I am all ears!!!
Joe.

[jensend]

why not try something more positive like: help prove canadian beef is safe - demand 100% testing.

[Joe-2]

And while I think of it, The average Canadian consumer didn't buy more beef last summer because of any sense of loyalty to us producers or any desire to "save the family farm".They bought more beef because it was CHEAP.PERIOD!!!! The average urban consumer does not have the first clue about the reality of farming in 2004.They think a cow is where their beef comes from and a cow is one of those black and white magpies that the media likes to show stumbling around in their stock footage video bytes.WAKE UP FOR CHRIST'S SAKE!!!!!!!!!
That gives me an idea!!!! Maybe we should point the BSE finger at the EASTERN BASED dairy industry!!!!
How many of us beef producers feed our calves those high protein calf starter pellets???? I don't.Do you????
Learn to play the game!!!!!It works for r-calf,Quebec,Monsanto,CWB,you name it!!! Why are we so stuck on honesty and common sense?????????It does not work!!!!

[topper]

I have to agree with jensend, we won't get anywhere scaring the consumers out of eating beef. Maybe some loose cattle stopping an important border crossing for a day or two would hit home the importance of US-Canadian trade. On second thought why stop with one, plug them all. I suppose the media would paint us as greedy ranchers though. I don't know what the answer is but I know consumer support has been the only bright spot in this whole mess we don't want to lose that.

[Joe-2]

WAKE UP!!! The only way the media will have no choice but to be "on our side" is if the perception is that cattle producers are concerned about the safety of the food supply!!!!!THINK!!!!
Forget about what you know to be true!!!!
PERCEPTION,PERCEPTION,PERCEPTION!!!!!

[15444]

I agree Joe-2. Perception is the key. Go scare the hell out of the packers.

[15444]

Another point that you are very right on Joe-2. People do want cheap food. As the media crews (CTV,CBC,etc.) are passing through the country and interviewing people about the election, I listened to one guy this morning talk about the expensive gasoline and expensive food being his big issue.

This goes hand in hand with another similar comment a few weeks ago that I heard on a show on organic foods. During the show, a guy complained about the high price of organic food and how it should be priced the same as conventional. And you know what? That guy is right! Eventually organic will be priced the same as conventional is now and conventional will not be economically viable at all?

So when you look at both of these comments, you realize that the average consumer will only worry about two things when it comes to his/her food, price and safety? I find it safe to say that if the price on beef doesn't go up in the supermarket or safety becomes an issue, then the general consumer really won't give a s#@t?
As far as they care, they just want good, wholesome, cheap hamburger to put on the barbeque for the kids?

Best of luck with the signs Joe-2. As far as I am concerned, if you have everything riding on your success in farming, you have every right to do anything you want when it comes to what you feel will help your situation! Can guarantee you have one supporter in this forum!

[kato]

R-Calf is trying their best to convince consumers that our beef is dangerous. I'm sure we can make some noise without going down that road.

That idea about the big meeting in Winnipeg is intriguing. MMM... It wouldn't be the first time we took it to the streets in Winnipeg.

Time, I think to move on from pestering politicians to pestering the media. That's where we will get the most "bang for the buck".

[grassfarmer]

Joe-2 - please don't take these posters out on the road with messages that scare the consumer - that would be the final act of suicide for our industry.

True, the consumers stocked up on beef last summer because it was cheaper than usual but they also do want to help the farmers out. We are currently taking orders for beef we are selling direct and they are all wanting to help us out because they perceive a great wrong has been done to us by the packers - let's foster this support and try and develop it into a better understanding of our industry not frighten them off our very safe product.

[jensend]

i agree with grassfarmer. 100% testing won't be as effective in restoring our markets if the consumers are panicked into demanding it. if they see it as win-win deal where they have greater assurance of food safety and canadian beef exports are restored to the benefit of the canadian economy the support for testing will be deeper and more solid.

[jensend]

i should have added that i think the more noise you make the better but make sure its a message we want to get out there.

[cakadu]

Joe, I don't think that there is a livestock producer out there - at least of the ruminant persuasion - that doesn't understand your frustration at the situation and the feeling that we are left at the mercy of governments waging their political battles.

I think we do need to get the media onside and do it from a positive perspective. The media has neglected those ruminant species that aren't cattle - I know because I'm a sheep producer. Now, the sheep industry is no where near what the cattle industry is in this country, but a fairly large portion of sheep producers' income has been cut off with the continued border situation. Personally, I feel that the media could be doing a much better job of letting everyone know just how many species have been affected. Granted, the leaders involved with these other species could be saying more, but that is a whole other thread.

I think we would want to look long and hard at giving a message to the public with any sort of negative connotation. These days people are quite easily lead astray by false messaging, even though the intent of the message may be something entirely different. There are people out there now who will not eat beef until this whole mess is cleared up, so to send a message that could be misconstrued may not be the road that should be taken.

Also think of the ramifications of an organization like R-CALF getting ahold of such a message here in Canada. Don't think for a moment that they wouldn't use that against us in some manner to further their own cause.

I certainly admire someone with a lot of passion and a willingness to try something new to get a point across. A positive message is always better than a negative one.

[magpie]

Since the consumer was supportive of our industy this past year and still are, would not a sign that asked them to ask their canditate in their riding how they intend to solve the plight of the cattle industry be warranted.Even if the local people running could take it to their leaders maybe we might get it into some parties platform.