Stop CBC and Suzuki propaganda...

[les]

grassfarmer... who said farming was a huge success?

[les]

I dont care a lot for suzuki either like a lot of you people here, but did he say anything that was not true??And look on the bright side who the hell watches CBC anyways unless there is curling on?

[gwf]

I watched the “Nature of Things” tonight. It was a program on CBC hosted by David Suzuki. (For those that might have been watching Beethoven’s Symphony #3, it was the program just prior). Although I do not agree with everything Suzuki has to offer, I feel he called the crisis on the BSE very fairly and revealing. I am no great fan of the CBC, but if they had not aired the program, would we be having this discussion? I do not recall Suzuki expressing an opinion on the cause of BSE, but rather he let you come to your own conclusion. The reasons the three scientists that were fired because of their stand on their revelations of BSE, would make very good reading or listening, and would perhaps shed more light on the fact that the CFIA and the government bureaucrats have maybe sold us a bill of bogus goods. Why are we so naïve to think that the crisis that is so devastating to all of us is going to be resolved by the present course of those that are making and implementing the rules? In reading some of the resolutions that will be presented to the up coming ABP Annual Meeting, one would never know that we as producers, are desperate for a resolve to the current and obvious short-comings of the status quo. It is difficult to know if the ABP represents the Alberta Government or visa-versa when it comes to policy concerning the livestock industry. I don’t know how much more hurt will have to be endured before we wake up and realize that we will have to fix this problem ourselves.

Only about 40% of the Western Canada Cow Herd is in Alberta. If and when the border opens we will still have to find a market for the over thirty month or maybe even 20 month cattle. If culls and drys represent up to 15% of the herd, that is still close to 700,000 head a year plus two years back-log of this type of cattle, that we will have to eat or export to somewhere other than the U.S. The border opening will have the greatest effect on the price of calves and under thirty month fat cattle. Everything else will stay on this side of the U.S. border or go offshore.

There is one proposition being put to producers by the Beef Initiative Group that has been supported by about 94% of nearly ten thousand producers in the four Western Provinces. It will be interesting to see of the Alberta Beef Magazine poll supports these figures. The concept of a producer funded Slaughter Facility as presented by the BIG-C, is being advance by the Manitoba and Saskatchewan governments, but does not have the support of the Alberta Government or the ABP.

The only thing producers need the Alberta Government and/or the ABP for, is to support and facilitate a vote of producers to accept or reject the concept of a producer funded slaughter facility. Then we can get on with what has to be done. If the vote is favorable, we can go to work, and if the vote fails, we will have to be satisfied with what we have now. Either way we will know what lies ahead.

We should be looking at ways to expand the livestock industry in a safe, efficient and profitable manner.