BSE cases

[grassfarmer]

Interesting to read from the UK today that they are "relaxing" their BSE based ban on OTMS entering the food chain. Probably next summer they will start to test all OTMs and if they test negative will be allowed back into the food chain instead of being automatically incinerated as they have been since 1996.
UK cases this year have dropped to 242, down from 612 last year. Statisticly one in 10,000 cattle in the UK has BSE as opposed to one in 7000 in Portugal which is the worst in Europe (I don't know if these refer to total cattle populations or only OTM age group - I suspect total population.) And we have all this crap here because of one case in how many million animals?

[cakadu]

What was the reason given for the rejection? Is it even remotely plausible?

How much effect is this going to have on the ability for the plant to go ahead?

[cakadu]

If our one case were based on the statistics and testing like it is over in Europe and elsewhere instead of being strictly political, we likely wouldn't have many, if any of the difficulties we have been faced with.

It has long since passed from being a food safety issue to one of politics.

[15444]

http://www.canada.com/winnipeg/story.html?id=0bb3830c-39dd-43ed-b767-bf5c6099867e

[cowman]

I wonder if Mitchel thought the price tag was too high? Seems to me they were talking around $17 million for a pretty small plant?
Not saying he was right to reject putting money in but how did the numbers look?

[farmers_son]

There is no way to evaluate the numbers in this time of market uncertainty. The numbers government needed to look at is the importance of the beef industry to this nation and the absolute need not only for increased packing plant capacity but increased competition within the packing industry.

According to http://www.cattletoday.com/forum/post-53157.html the cost of the plant was $16 million and the Province of Manitoba had already committed $11.5 million. The proposal was to purchase a U.S. plant and relocate it to Dauphin. That was just the kind of signal we needed to send to the U.S. If the feds could send a message to the Americans that we are going to take part of your packing industry and build up our own and have that message cost only $5.5 million they should have done it.

Still waiting for a similar committment from the Province of Alberta. Why isn't Alberta supporting the province's beef producers like Manitoba is?

[Bez]

Well, let's see....

Last year the feds gave China a bit more than 50 million dollars in ag aid. I believe they also send similar support to India and Pakistan.

All three countries have hungry people - plus the following: A nuclear weapons development program, a space program - or ballistic missile program, modern armies, navies and air forces - in fact if memory serves me, China has the worlds largest standing army - called the Peoples Army.

We support the folks with larger economies and larger populations. China is forecast to have double digit economic growth for the next 5 - 10 years.

Seems to me they should be sending aid to us!

Be that as it may, what was needed in Manitoba was a tiny drop of piss in the bucket compared to what the lying libs gave to sponsors in Quebec.

Seems to me we ag types are truly a lost species.

Bez

[topper]

I think it's a crime that the feds don't support this kind of a project but I have to say it is also very disappointing to see the producers not wanting to help out either. I know a lot of producers who are sitting on the fence waiting to see if the plant goes ahead. Then if it gets built they will be the first ones crying to get their cows slaughtered. I know some will say "We just don't have the money to put towards a plant right now". Well that excuse doesn't fly because Ranchers Choice will let you buy shares and have the price deducted from the cows when they are slaughtered. How can you beat that for a deal. I was at a Ranchers Choice meeting a week or so ago and they said that out of province producers are welcome to join as well so hopefully some will.

[kato]

They've already got some of our money. We've got some cows lined up for them too! LOL

[Braveheart]

The concept of producer owned plants has merit for all the reasons discussed many times in this forum. However, when government money becomes involved, things get a little cloudy. For instance, there are some abbatoirs in Manitoba that have approached the government for loan guarantees or grants to expand and were turned down. Now Ranchers has some MB gov't support, so eventually those "rejected" abbatoirs will be competing against gov't money if and when Ranchers' Choice comes on line.

The moral hazard is that by helping one firm become established we may be hurting already established and previously sustainable enterprises with a taxpayer supported unfair advantage.