What does this mean???

[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!

[grassfarmer]

Cowman, if you are referring to the plans spoken about by the BIG-C group for a large plant in Saskatchewan there are a few points you need to know. This plant would be aimed at over 30 month cattle only hence would not be in competition with Cargill or Tyson. It seems obvious that "over thirty month" rules will apply for many years which will preclude these pirates from killing over and under 30 months animals in the same plant. A plant to kill cows would provide our most immediate requirement to reduce the cattle backlog building up. A plant east of Lloydminster would be a good geographic choice being central to the Alberta, BC, SK and Manitoba cow herds. There is no point putting it in Southern Alberta if you aren't killing fats from feedlot alley.
Early indications are that the Saskatchewan government is very willing to cooperate in seeing a plant set up in their province whereas the Alberta Gov. seems uninterested perhaps due to their ties (payoffs?) with the US packers. One concern to me would be the XL / Nilson response as I believe they are fond of running cartels also. If they run a policy of blackballing producers who send cull cows to a new plant instead of their one we might have a problem.

[cswilson]

You can survive in the cattle business without dealing with Nilson's-despite what they'd have you think.

[cowman]

Well I wasn't specifically referring to BIG C's plan but politics are politics? No way is Ralph going to chip in money for a Sask. plant? And while Saskatchewan might be awful supportive, the fact is they are broke and really don't have any money? In fact they are about 12 billion in the hole? Top that off with some of their goofier labor ideas, and I think you have a problem?
What is to stop Alberta from giving the likes of XL or maybe Sunterra a sweet heart deal to build a cow plant? After all, when all is said and done and despite the drought induced wreck here in Alberta, where are the largest number of cows located? And whats the big deal? Saskatchewan producers and those from Manitoba could ship them here as well as Alberta could shipping them to Sakatchewan?
Ralph Klein isn't some sort of idiot! He knows that if he is going to be able to sell the idea of Alberta putting major dollars into a packing plant, then it is going to be in Alberta! I would suggest maybe Lethbridge, where Nichols old riding is up for grabs?
I've always had a problem with this concept of a "big cow plant"! I doubt it could ever compete with the big efficient plants in the states...just like our old plants couldn't compete with the powerhouse Cargill/IBP/Conagra plants. XL used to be a major cow plant in Calgary but the new rules of the BSE game made them pick and choose? Maybe the time has come for Ralph to offer them a sweetheart deal on switching back over to cows? I believe with two cow plants XL Calgary and XL Moosejaw, as well as incentives for Cargill and IBP to increase the kill, we could probably get them all killed until the border opened up?
And hopefully some of this garbage about testing gets resolved at the same time. Maybe we actually should be testing the older stuff? If XL Calgary was testing and so was XL Moosejaw then maybe we could put this whole stupid thing to bed?
Also, I might add, Nilson Bros. seem to have a rather bad reputation or something? All I can really say in regards to Nilson Bros. is they took one of my local auction marts(Burnt Lake in Red Deer) and turned it back into a top notch mart after it had become a complete joke when Sask. Pool had it! The manager(Glen Cross) doesn't let the order buyers screw you! If they are playing games trying to keep prices down he steps right in and starts buying! I think the locals really appreciate the job he's doing turning this dog around! Maybe that is just the man, but he's spending Nilsons money and they haven't gotten rid of him!

[cowman]

Sorry, the manager is Mel Glencross!

[nerves]

We haved to question how big of a plant is necessary. If you are have a slaughter plant that kills fats you will have pile of trim most will be fat. The industry uses this trim in cow and bull meat to add a little fat to the hamburger it will still be lean and you have also found a market for that trim. So if you have two plants in competion you may have a problem getting the product you need to add value to your product. Cows and bulls in a separate plant will make a poorer quality product and how and who do you market poor quality meat to. My feeling is that mid-sized plants reasonably close together to keep shipping down between the plants makes more sence. I don"t think that this bigger is better idea is feasable, in the real world.

[BFW]

The only ones playing games at Burnt Lake or in any of Nilssons markets is the them!