Santa came!

[ianben]

Interesting thread
However multi nationals are global!
10,000 acres, Alberta,even Canada alone can any of these run fast enough not to be eaten.
Wheat board might get you a small premium but not a realistic price.

Can any group of farmers ever become organiezed enough to fix prices and control supply?

I will not suport small groups which are run by part-timers bringing farmer mentality to this global market.

I would love to see an independant internet based priceing and supply management sevice for farmers round the world.
An organization which would price as a multi national on ability to pay and advise on production.

I see your condemnation of packers as unfair when you have a closed border yet continue to rear more calves.
A multi natioal would have halved prodution the day the border closed.

Unless we can achieve the ability to produce the quantity and quality require we will always be weak sellers and no NFU red rose CWB subsidy system will change the law of supply and demand.

[rkaiser]

ianben. I would ask you first, what is farmer mentality. Are not, what you call globally run companies run by people? Are you saying that you and I are lesser people because we are farmers. In my mind farmer mentality is practical and ethical, and not afraid of a challenge. What is farmer mentality to you?
Second, I wonder if your wealth of knowledge could be an asset to a group trying to make a difference, or are your comments saved for tearing down rather than building.
If you think that producers should have halved production after the border closed, why were you not out in the public pushing that thought, and trying to make it happen?
Your comment on supply managment seem even farther from the current monopoly driven situation than NFU or Unifarm, yet you want to run them down as well.
Is farmer mentality all about blasting off negatives, ianben, and then sitting back and taking a screwing from the unethical profit driven packers? Most of the producer groups making an effort are trying to avoid more control, whether by government or your precious multinationals.
By the way, these global mutinational brain units you talk of. Are they not simply groups of people. Don't think that it takes rocket science to produce and then market beef. If thinking people like yourself and others on this site, could get together and set up a structure to operate under, and then hire managers out from under the Mutinationals noses like Xcel has done, I belive we could change the industry for the better of all cattle producers in Canada. Besides that, we also have a couple of very competent producer funded groups in place already that are doing a hell of a job marketing beef for Tyson, and Cargil. Do you think they could maybe help out this pathetic group of farmers you speak of?

[lakenheath]

As we are all aware, it is no mystery that a strong marketing plan is a must on a successful farming operation these days. What I would like to see in this dicussion room is more marketing talk and less politics. I am not knocking TOM4CWB, but basically all he bring to the board is politics. There is a place for him and his ideas, but i don't think a marking discussion board is the place. We have brilliant marketing resources in Lee, Charlie, and our own experience. We could learn so much from each other and make smarter marketing decisions if that was the focus. There is too much sifting through political debate to make this chat room and resource library for true commodity marketing. You can debate politics till the cows come home, but the bottom line in the your farming operation won't change. Let's get our focus on track. Maybe agriville can set up a "Political Room". Marketing is one the most posted rooms and I believe TOM4CWB is taking advantage on it and using it a campaigning room. Move on TOM, or if you are to stay, stick to marketing.

[greybeard]

Check out page 4 of this newsletter as it is relavent to this thread. It realy hammers home the "who runs the fastest " theory.
http://www.gardinerangus.com/pdfs/GAR_nsSpring03.pdf

[ianben]

Farmer mentality in my mind is that I worked hard to produce X somebody should buy it and give me a profit.
If this has not happened then someone else must be to blame and we each have our own favorit candidate who is responsible.

I have gone through BSE in UK and feel for you guys but you must have seen BSE devestate beef farmers across Europe as country after country had positives.

This is the kind of information I would like to see commodity by commodity the risks we taking. In your case the effect border closure would have. The new situation in terms of numbers and price. Information for farmers in Brazil that US will be looking for BSE free beef and a price to aim for. Information for Canadians that a market Brazil was suppling may be looking for beef and a price to aim for.
A request to reduce sales to maintain price on over produced commodities.

I hope I do bring new ideas and not just negatives.
To bringing these ideas to being needs the marketing and pricing department of a multinational and computer literate farmers.
Immopssible or the new Ebay?