BFW

[blackjack]

BFW...been away at another farm putting up silage(nice to see the pits being filled)... have no problem with farms getting big ... but I do have a problem with our industry in that there has been a steady stream of buyers lost between the cowcalf man and the packer...maybe the cowcalf man was to content with what they were getting prior BSE... we all see now no competition is not a healthy situation...

[BFW]

Not sure that there has been a steady decline in the number of buyers for feeder cattle, Blackjack. However what has occurred since May 20, 2003 is that the feedlots ability to own cattle in many cases has been significantly impaired due to loss of equity (even after programs) and thus the amount of capital they are able to borrow is also significantly reduced. This is what the real problem for the feeder market will be this fall, a reduced pool of money available to purchase cattle not to mention a shrinking level of optimism amongst the feeders in the industry that their investment will yield some sort of a return. Also tough buying feeders while bidding against packers who are making near the price of a 550 pound calf with every fat that they kill.

[kato]

Time for some laws about packer ownership. Right now.

I know of a very large group of feeder cattle who walked out of a Manitoba feedlot before finish, in order to be finished in Alberta. They were American owned. They moved to get access to slaughter.

Something fishy going on here.