News from BIG-C

[gwf]

The work of Cam and his crew are beginning to have positive results and we, as producers are very grateful for their untiring efforts. They are doing this at their own personal expense and I know that they have taken time away from their own businesses to promote a market concept that will benefit all of the livestock industry. This is the latest press release.

_____________________

Beef Initiative Group - Canada
234, 5149 Country Hills Blvd. NW
Calgary, AB T3A 5K8

News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


SASKATCHEWAN GOVERNMENT THROWS SUPPORT BEHIND
BEEF INITIATIVE GROUP – CANADA


Calgary: November 9, 2004: On Tuesday, October 19th, Clay Serby, Deputy Premier of Saskatchewan, announced at a Beef Initiative Group meeting in Saltcoats, SK that the Saskatchewan government will make funds available for a business plan/feasibility study based on the producer-owned packing plant concept that Beef Initiative Group has been promoting.

Nine days later (October 28th) at another Beef Initiative Group meeting in Tisdale, SK Mark Wartman, Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Minister, reiterated Mr. Serby’s comments and pledged support for the concept.

The Beef Initiative Group concept is to build a 1500 head per day slaughter plant for cattle over thirty months of age. This plant will be bridge-financed by the Federal Government with a $3.00 per head levy applied to every producer-owned animal sold in order to pay off the debt. The levy will have a sunset clause so that once the debt is repaid, the levy will cease and producers who have paid into the plant will become owners of the facility on a share basis.

Beef Initiative Group has been informed that the Government of Manitoba also plans to participate in funding this feasibility study along with the Government of Saskatchewan.

Beef Initiative Group has also obtained a show of support from some representatives of the Federal Government. “We see the Saskatchewan and Manitoba Governments’ support as a huge breakthrough,” says Cam Ostercamp, President of Beef Initiative Group. “Our hope is that these two provincial governments will help us to push this concept on to Ottawa to lobby for the bridge-financing that is so vital to this proposal. The first step however, is to develop a strong business plan and feasibility study that supports the concept and we are now going to have that underway,” Mr. Ostercamp said.

Since its inception in June, 2004, Beef Initiative Group has held twenty producer meetings across Western Canada to introduce farmers and ranchers to the concept of a producer owned/government backed packing plant. So far, the group has spoken to over 8500 producers. After several very well attended meetings held recently in Saskatchewan, Beef Initiative Group is now focusing on Alberta in an order to bring additional Alberta producers and the Alberta Government onside. Upcoming meetings are as follows:

November 18 – Hanna Legion Hall 7:00 pm
November 19 – High River - Hirsche Herefords – 7:00 pm
November 21 – Kinsella Community Hall – 7:00 pm
November 25 – Grimshaw Elks Hall – 7:00 pm

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For further information, contact:

Cam Ostercamp 403.684.3397 or 403.652.6487
Grant Hirsche 403.652.1173 or 403.652.8254
Doug Fraser 403.938.6207 or 403.710.9236
Myrna Herringer 403.239.8343

[kato]

Heard it on the news this morning. Keep up the good work!

[kato]

I note that there are no meetings scheduled for West Central AB. That area is home to numerous cow/calf operations and it is too bad that at least one meeting wasn't planned for the Rimbey/Breton or Sangudo area. For those who aren't aware, Lac Ste Anne has more cow/calf operations than any one single county in AB. They are located in the Mayerthorpe/Sangudo area.

[kato]

Emerald....... The way that BIG C has chosen the location for meetings has been by reqest.

If someone, or a group of people would like to have a BIG C meeting, all they need to to is ask, and then plan the darn thing.

BIG C is about you the producer, and how much you, the producer wants to ........want to.

[cakadu]

Randy, when do the delegates for ABP get chosen? On the radio last week, I heard about the final meetings being held, so presume the elections (or however it is done) will be open soon? Or is it done right at the producer meetings at the time of the meeting and then the votes are tallied later?

I don't know how the process works and would like to get to understand it a bit better.

Thanks.

[grassfarmer]

Cakadu, The votes were counted today for the elections with the voting having taken place over the last few weeks at fall producer meetings. Here in Zone 6 Diane Panrucker and Greg Bowie were elected to replace two sitting delegates. Both are what I would call champions of producers and will work hard to overturn some of the current stupidity in ABP. Greg is also a representative of BIG-C so hopefully can further it's aims within the organisation. I haven't heard any other results yet.
It looks like a lot less producers voted in ABP elections than attended BIG-C meetings so shouldn't that mean the Government will have to pay attention to Cam and his galant volunteers? They obviously speak for the majority of producers.

[grassfarmer]

Good news from your area Grassfarmer but I guess our zone will have to get by without yours truely.

I have to say that I am disappointed, however this setback will not take away my drive to see BIG C succeed. With Greg, Diane, and another BIG C rep from southern AB (Brent Carey) in the ABP loop, we now have a stong voice inside as well as outside ABP.

Looking forward to strong meetings in Hanna etc. to show more momentum for BIG C. I wonder what the turnout for the ABP meeting in the Hanna area was?

I hope that everyone is carefully considering the consequences of an open border matched with more multinational packing capacity and continued packer ownership of cattle.
Short term gains over our current debacle - yes.
Viablility for the family farm - I think not. Whether we choose to push ABP or grab on to BIG C, we need to get this industry back into the hands of Canadian producers, and legislate changes to stop the trends we've seen for the past ten or so years.

[cakadu]

I am sorry to hear that you didn't get in Randy as I'm sure you would have been a terrific asset on behalf of producers and served ABP well.

I hope that the experience has been positive enough that you will consider running again, whenever the next election is. How often are delegates chosen and how long is the term that they serve? Is it a rotating type of deal so that there is continuity from year to year?

Grassfarmer, I know that Brenda S. was a delegate in your area, does this mean that she is no longer sitting, or is she still on for some time yet?

Randy, I'll leave you with a quote from Sir Winston Churchill..."Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.

Best of luck in your endeavours with BIG C and I hope you will try again.

[cowman]

I believe Diane is our own pandiana? Congratulations!

[grassfarmer]

Cakadu, Brenda is still a sitting delegate in zone 6. There are 6 delegates in this zone and they serve 2 year terms so 3 come up for election each year. This would be the only zone that there were 3 new candidates standing against the 3 sitting ones. I'm amazed that there was not enough interest in many of the other zones to even put up a candidate against the incumbant. Especially in zone 5 to my south - Red Deer and Lacombe county all the way out to Stettler. Lots of apathy or are producers just crying wolf about the current crisis?

[BFW]

Zone 3 also had 5 people running for 3 delegate positions.

[pandiana]

Thanks cowman. Appreciate your incouragement. Hope we can add a little different perspective to ABP.

[cakadu]

Congratulations to all the successfully elected people.

With this apparent apathy out there, I wonder if it is a matter of too many people trying to keep body and soul together therefore they don't have time for anything else right now, or is it election overload, too many issues to try and sort out or some other reason?

One thing it does seem to do is underscore the fact that change is very slow to come about in agriculture. That is just the reality and not a judgment of any sort. Is it a case of the devil that is known being better than the one that is unknown?

One would think that with all that has happened in the past 18 months that people would have come out in droves to see change.

[farmers_son]

And I would add a thank you to everyone who put their name in as candidate. Win or loose the industry needs more people like you and I would encourage you to try again next year.

Cakadu: In reply to you question on how delegates are chosen, terms etc. see: http://www.albertabeef.org/aboutus.asp#structure

[pandiana]

You are absolutely right, cakadu. I am stunned by the apparent apathy of farmers who, on speaking to them one to one, will share their anxiety over declining margins and fear for the future of farming, and yet...! I don't think there were many more that turned up at ABP meetings. This is their money ABP is spending. 13.4M budget for 2004. ABP needs, not just input but a large voice behind them in order for ABP to be heard. If 700 producers had packed the halls to standing room only instead of 50-150, the community, the media and the government would have heard their message. How do we get this kind of support?