BFW: Unfortunately in times of short supply is about the only time we do recieve a fair price for most ag commodities. Consider the drought situation of 2002? Bad drought in Alberta and a good part of Saskatchewan? A shortage of grain and a shortage of hay? So what happens...the price starts to rise.
Barley prices were rising close to that $3.50 range(my neighbor sold some to Western feedlots for $3.53 at the bin with a plumpness premium). Then what happens? In comes the subsidized American corn and down goes the barley price! Now that is just peachy for the cattle feeder but what about the grain farmer who got one half of his normal yield?
At the same time the price of hay and straw goes sky high! So in comes straw and hay from eastern Saskatchewan and Manitoba...much of it full of fusarium! The Alberta government did everything in their power to "let" this happen when in fact they were breaking their own laws(Pest Control Act)by even allowing this importation of a major grain pest! But afterall they couldn't let the cattle business go down right? Well what about the grainfarmer? What about the malt business? Once again the government was picking winners and losers and to hell with what the law says!
Now maybe we got away with that one, for now, but the fact is fusarium gramminearum is now here in the soil and if conditions are right it could be very ugly?
There are several large scale American malting companies that have been showing interest in Alberta as a place to set up shop, especially if we get rid of the CWB! Do you think it would be a disaster if we ruined our malt industry because we went with a short term solution to a long time problem(that being we have to many darned cows in Alberta)?
In regards to the "labelling" thing, you bet we should stick a label on every darned pound of our beef! Hopefully some day that label will read..."Alberta beef, certified BSE and hormone free"!
Barley prices were rising close to that $3.50 range(my neighbor sold some to Western feedlots for $3.53 at the bin with a plumpness premium). Then what happens? In comes the subsidized American corn and down goes the barley price! Now that is just peachy for the cattle feeder but what about the grain farmer who got one half of his normal yield?
At the same time the price of hay and straw goes sky high! So in comes straw and hay from eastern Saskatchewan and Manitoba...much of it full of fusarium! The Alberta government did everything in their power to "let" this happen when in fact they were breaking their own laws(Pest Control Act)by even allowing this importation of a major grain pest! But afterall they couldn't let the cattle business go down right? Well what about the grainfarmer? What about the malt business? Once again the government was picking winners and losers and to hell with what the law says!
Now maybe we got away with that one, for now, but the fact is fusarium gramminearum is now here in the soil and if conditions are right it could be very ugly?
There are several large scale American malting companies that have been showing interest in Alberta as a place to set up shop, especially if we get rid of the CWB! Do you think it would be a disaster if we ruined our malt industry because we went with a short term solution to a long time problem(that being we have to many darned cows in Alberta)?
In regards to the "labelling" thing, you bet we should stick a label on every darned pound of our beef! Hopefully some day that label will read..."Alberta beef, certified BSE and hormone free"!
Comment