Is The Set Aside Working?

[gwf]

It was interesting to see a lot of 100 steer calves sell on the TEAM today for $1.16 for 525 weight(I hope I have the right lot). It was announced at sale time that the calves carried the set aside tags. This producer did very well with $609 from the sale and $200 from the program. We sold Bred Hfrs in the same sale for about the same money.

[Cedar]

How is this possible? Where were these calves sold? The way I understood it, if we put in the set aside tags, we can't sell them for a set amount of time, i.e. here in Manitoba we can't sell them until Sept of 2005 (and they can't go for slaughter until Jan. of 2006).

[15444]

Cedar,

The way I understand it, the calves can be sold at any time but can't be slaughtered till Jan 2006. That seems to be the set date in every province. I don't understand the September 2005 date though. Maybe it means a person can't sell fats to the packer until that date? I have no idea. But as with all government programs, I doubt there is anybody that is going to understand it inside and out? Regardless, do you think the feds or provinces give a crap about how many hands touch the set-aside calves? As long as the tag numbers don't show up in the database until January 2006, then the plan is a success as it will shut the farmers up for the winter?

[Cedar]

15444:

I was told by someone who should know exactly how it works that we CANNOT sell them...period....(in MB) before Sept, 2005, and even then we must obtain from the buyer a written statement that they will not go for slaughter before Jan., 2006. So, that would mean we can't sell the fats to the packer until Jan, 06...not even as a private beef sale!...ugh....so much for grassfed!!!... ouch! No...I really can't imagine why any of the "powers that be" would give a crap about how many hands touch these animals along the chain....that's why I'm puzzled (as well as...well, maybe just a wee tad ticked...)that we absolutely have got to hang on to them until Sept of 2005...that's just plumb loco from where I'm sittin'!!! I can't see why it makes any difference who the heck owns them between now and then....as long as they don't go into the foodchain until the deadline (pretty much TWO winters from now!)

[grassfarmer]

gfw is correct in telling you how the scheme works here in Alberta. From day 1 it has always been clear that you were able to sell set-aside calves to someone else as long as they sign a form showing they won't slaughter them before 1st October 2005 which is the length of the setaside period in Alberta. Essentially what has happened here is anyone participating has tagged their replacement heifers and bulls plus some small or late born calves. I personally have tagged replacement heifers, bulls and a few fall calves as well as a handful of later born small spring calves that I plan to sell in a couple of weeks. So has the scheme worked? - it will in theory put money in producers hands but it doesn't look like it will pull any fat cattle off the market next Fall. Maybe if Alberta had done it the MB way and set a 1st January date for slaughter it would have worked better but I think people just wouldn't have used the scheme if that were the case.

[grassfarmer]

I would tend to agree with you grassfarmer,,,,,,, In a functional market close to 40% of any given years calf crop would not reach slaughter weight until October of the following year anyway. Maybe this will be a sidestep from some sort of antidumping tarrif that the Americans would have put on us had the government simply ageed to an $80.00 per calf payment across the board. OR maybe the extra few million it costs to administer the program satisfied the need for more involvment by our dear government.

Either way, calf prices are more than we expected last summer, but still no where near the cost of production plus profit.

Like Gerry said,$809.00 per calf is pretty good money, no doubt under this fellows average for his whole calf crop, but substantial none the less.

Is it the set aside program, or once again optimistic speculation like we had last fall,,,,, hard to say.

[kpb]

Cedar, There have been several sales that I have seen of set-aside calves on the TEAM weekly sale and, I assume, through other auctions. Only one person is able to claim the set-aside money (the producer) but the calves can be sold and re-sold after that--at least in Alberta. And, as to price, I normally buy calves at this time to background and grass next summer so whether or not the calves have set-aside tags in their ears is of no consequence to me. And, I would assume, the same applies to other backgrounders and grassers. These little British cross calves would not finish before next fall or early winter anyway and need some time to grow on the grass. So I can't see why there would ever be a discount on these calves--they were going to grass anyway. This program is just a government gift--beats me how it delays the slaughter of any animal.

[grassfarmer]

I was interested by Cedars comments and checked out the different provinces programs. They are quite different. Alberta is paying $200 on eligible calves with the set-aside period ending 1st October 05.
BC is paying $200 for January 1st 06 release with the option of $176 for October 1st release.
Saskatchewan is paying $200 for Jan 1st release and $160 for October 1st release.
Manitoba is paying $200 for January 1st release but the calves must not be sold by the tagger until September 05 (even to another feeder). It seems Manitoba backgrounders can claim 30% of their calves as well - regardless of whether they calve a cow or not. Interesting, I wonder how much strength this has added to the light weight calf trade?

[cakadu]

Grassfarmer, in all your searching I don't suppose you came across any set aside for species other than cattle?

I've not heard of anything even in the works for sheep, or other species. Even if the border does open back up, with the higher Cdn dollar, there will be fewer lambs going across because of the economics, as has been discussed in other threads. No wonder so many sheep producers are just dumping whole flocks.

[grassfarmer]

No, I saw no mention of sheep but again the set-aside for cattle is in theory to hold cattle until more slaughter capacity comes on line. I expect plants that kill sheep will be busy too but it seems to me the sheep producer is more dependant on the border opening than the cattle producer. Also it appears to me that the sheep industry in Canada is teetering on the brink with very little infrastructure in place to market or process the animals. Apart from catering to local niche markets I see little point in maintaining a sheep industry in a country where you will always be a very high cost producer due to the length of feeding period and predator problems. In the hills of Scotland you can produce lambs with no hand feeding of the sheep on land that is too poor to suppport cattle - and the Scots are high cost producers compared to the Cairns countries. How do you compete with that?