Packer expansion?

[Horse]

Not so many yr ago there was 300 hd feed lots all over and any one with 300/400 acres of grain fed cattle until people like cor van ray and rick pascal and tyson and ect decided they could corner the market with borrowed money and force the smaller feeder out of buisness now there are lots feeling sorry for them because they lost someones elses money , Hard to figure
We as producers of calves could feed our own calves and mabey a few bought ones if the money hungry mega feeders would back out of the feeding business and we would all be better off and the calves would still all get fed.

[kato]

By 'smooth talker' I mean one of those individuals who has the gift for getting a point across. If there was ever a time to 'get our point across' it's now.

I know in our immediate neighbourhood, I could easily have found well over two thousand head of fat cattle being fed at home last winter without really looking too hard.

These are owned by people who for years sold their calves in the fall, but don't any longer. They are all planning on feeding their own calves out again.

I wouldn't be surprised if Manitoba is a bit ahead of the trend on this, but it's something worth looking into wherever you are.

Now, getting them slaughtered, well that's another story!

[cswilson]

When the Beef Stabilization Plan was up and running in Sask. there were tons of steers fed up in this neck of the woods too. The best part of the whole deal was the single desk selling I think-we sold fats from Greeley to Ontario on there. We tried to start a community venture feedlot in 2002 was pretty disappinted when we couldn't find a building site but maybe we dodged a bit of a bullet after all.

[grassfarmer]

Kato, how have the guys that wintered and fed out their own calves in Manitoba made out? Are you finding buyers for them. How do the returns look compared to selling them last fall or in the spring?

[kato]

They are getting by. Not getting rich, though. I know one guy who direct marketed a lot of his, and did quite well, other than one bounced cheque.

If they had sold last fall they would have been better off.... as long as they hit a good day at the auction mart. The market was all over the place. It would go up and down by 15 to 20 cents a day, so if you hit it right, it was fine, but if you hit it wrong, you would have been better off keeping them.

We never sell in the fall, so decided to just do what we do. Except that 'what we do' is usually sell short keeps in January and Feb. We all know what the shortkeep market was in February. We figured for 40 cents a pound, we might as well finish them.

If we had known in the fall that was going to happen we would have already moved most of them by now, because we would have fed them harder, earlier. The short keep market normally doesn't like fat 900-1000 pound steers, so we fed accordingly. Then we had to 'put it to them', so to speak. They're looking pretty sharp now though.

Who's to know what the right move was, because I don't think there is such a thing as a right move any more.

I know this fall they're coming home, and going on feed right away.

[cowman]

The farmer/feeder always has made the market. They usually are willing to made a few more cents for quality and local "reputation" cattle? That is why the fall market usually has a little jump in early November...the farmers come to town to buy some calves?
Unfortunately this scenario has been changing like Horse said? Our farmer/feeders are quitting because the profits have been getting squeezed right out of the business? Well that and the fact that these farmers are just getting too darned old to be out feeding cattle all winter?
Over the years the guys who bought and fed out my calves were local neighbors and friends, for the most part. Now most of them have quit. Now it is usually an order buyer.
If you sell your calves at auction and you know who bought them, always thank them, even if it is just an order buyer! They'll remember you and next year when your calves come in they will remember what a nice guy you were! Don't laugh...it works!