What does this mean???

[bunny]

It's just going to be another pay-out to the big packers!!

[Horse]

Kato just why the hell do you think show strs are more valuable than non show strs.

[kato]

Most businesses in small towns come out to show support for their customers by buying their show cattle.

It's a tradition that goes way back.

At the Royal Winter Fair in Brandon, they'll pay hundreds of dollars for a dozen eggs, for pete's sake. Thousand dollar market hogs happen once in a while too. Quite often the proceeds above market are donated to charity by the seller, but in the case of 4H kids, they quite often pay their way through university.

It's cheap advertising for the buyer. It's good for charity, and the seller brings home some prime bragging rights.

Basically it's a way for businesses who's livelihoods depend on agriculture to make a symbolic show of support for their customers.

I guess Cargill hasn't figured that out.

[grassfarmer]

Horse, I don't know about 4H calves but surely if there is any point in competitive showing of prime steers it is that they are the very best quality beef animals. Surely the best cattle judged on conformation, yield and finish will be worth more to any buyer?

[cowman]

Usually how this works is a company like Cargill or XL let it be known they will give market price for cattle that the 'local' business wants to buy to show support/advertize etc. So say Bob's backhoe service buys a 4-H calf for $1.20/lb., he can turn around and sell it to Cargill for 75 cents. That way it costs him a few dollars but he isn't stuck with a beef he really doesn't want. I think just about every 4H sale has an arrangement like that? And I suspect that is probably the deal in this case?
Obviously Cargill doesn't care about getting a few calves at a sale...in fact they are probably doing the sale committee a favor!

[cowman]

This particular show in Calgary is divided two ways. A live show for confirmation, and then you can commit your steer to a terminal carcass competition which is judged on the hook at cargil. The top steers in each catagory are paid some pretty good prize money, so I guess you are simply gambling that your time and effort will pay off. There is no sale other than the top two show steers, and then the committed sale to cargil of all carcass entries at the going daily price.
Most of these steers are already 4H calves bought by steer jockeys, or re-enterd after the local $H show and sale.
However, these people put a lot of time and effort into fitting and displaying these animals which ultimately aim to show us all the type of animal to breed that fits the current market demand.
Just one more area that companies who are making huge profits could give something back to the producers of this country, but NO IT IS NOT THEIR FAULT, AND WE CAN'T BLAME THEM.

[redcountry]

WE HAVE A EASTER BEEF SHOW AND SALEEACH SPRING THE BUYERS ARE MOSTLY SUPERMARKETS, CONSTRUCTION CO,sFEED STORES, ETC.
THE PRICES PAID SOMETIMES GET PRETTY WILD THE TOP STEER USUALLY BRINGS THREE TIMES MARKET VALUE , THE BUYER SENDS THE ANIMAT TO A LOCAL ABATTOIR AND THE MEAT IS DONATED TO THE LOCAL SENIOR RESIDECE FOR THEIR EASTER DINNER OTHERS WILL DONATE THEIR PURCHASE TO THE ISLAND HOSPITALS
AND A GOOD TIME IS HAD BY ALL

[cakadu]

The original post talked about the industry leaders saying that we are within 2 years of having the in-country slaughter capacity to handle things. That is great as a medium term solution, but it doesn't leave anything for the short or longer term. How many producers can afford to hang on for 2 more years? The calf run this fall is going to be even bigger than normal and if the predictions on prices and feed ring true, then what is going to happen?

If these leaders see us 2 years away from being able to slaughter our own, then who is working on getting markets for that capacity? We would have to start NOW because getting markets takes time.

Right now having slaughter capacity is an issue, but the bigger issue is where is the meat going to go? One of our bigger problems is that all these borders are closed to our beef? What are we doing to open up some of these markets or find new ones?

Back when they were talking about increasing the beef herds some of us were asking where this increased capacity was going to go and we weren't given answers then. What about now - are there any answers beyond if we kill it things will look up?

It's a chicken and egg thing, but both have to be looked at and worked on concurrently or we will have a bunch of frozen beef piling up in meat lockers somewhere. That's another thing - are we looking at increasing our storage capacity?

There are so many variables that must be looked at together. How are the leaders looking at those?

[greybeard]

The US seems to be able to take it all {in boxes} and not even notice.

[cowman]

You raise some very good questions Linda and the fact is the meat has to go to America! That is just reality! Now that doesn't mean we can't take this opportunity to screw the Americans a wee bit and steal some of those premium markets...like Japan and other Asian markets? You know, the ones they were filling with our cattle anyway?
To do this we need to test! Not necessarily everything...just the stuff going into those markets that demand the test!
And unfortunately that means we actually do need a packer that will do that! IBP/Cargill won't so we need a packer who will? Whether that is rusty 1's or whoever(maybe even XL) doesn't really matter?
Will they take our meat even if it is tested? Well I would assume we'd better get it down on paper before we committ a whole lot of money? Maybe our illustrious provincial government could actually get off their duffs and find that out for us? Instead of making general foolish statements about how they are going to increase slaughter, and in the same breath, provide zero solutions!? You know who I mean? Shirley/Ralph and the rest of the do-nothings?

[BWC]

Hey guys just remember that Ted Haney just lost in an election , and badly I might add. Shirley has found out in the last two months that there are real people who don't sit on CCA, ABP, or the like, that have a voice too. Haney is no more than a polituician that is trying to regain face after he got his butt kicked. The present situation suggests that alot of fols don't have ted and Shirley's precious 2 years they would e a lot more effective by waltzing to Ottawa and explaining that if the CFIA were put into line that their ideas might come to fruition a whole lot quicker. Shirley and Ralph ae starting to realize that there are some PO"ed folks out there .. so don't be suprised if thay don't throw money in the packers laps to expand, I hope not to Cargil or Tyson , but strager things have happened in the kingdom of Ralph.

[cowman]

On the Calgary news a couple of nights ago I caught a story about the opposition to Sunterras proposed plant in North Calgary. Apparently the locals are up in arms about having this plant built in their backyard. They suggested Price move it out to Beseiker or some other rural area. He insisted he couldn't do that(water,labor,transportation) so the fight is on. Anyway the next date for his application to build comes in late September and almost certainly it will be appealed if he gets approval. So I think we can safely assume that this plant might take years to build? Another interesting thing was Price stated the kill capacity would be around 600-800 a day! Not exactly that mega plant with all the "economy of scale" that some have been talking about? Maybe Price needs some educating about efficient plant size! Well maybe not! Afterall he is a very successful packer who has actually made money in the last several years? Perhaps before we go off half cocked with that 1200-4000 head plant in Saskatchewan we need to consider what Doug Price is thinking? I mean he won't even move the plant out to Beseiker(which is about 30 miles away).
Also I wonder about this: Ralph says or at least hints he's going to be putting some money in the pot to get more killing capacity? Now is that going to happen in Saskatchewan? In an election year in Alberta....I think not!
It might make more sense to build it in Saskatchewan but then Alberta has always bought the industry anyway, right?
So before you boys in Saskatchewan get out your checkbooks and start building a plant, you'd better realize you will probably be not only competing with Cargill and Tyson but with the Alberta treasury, too!