Tough Go

[magpie]

When one thinks of all the adversity that we have been thru as producers of cattle one has to think we are crazy, but no business in actual reality would have endured what we have been thru. Who takes the kind of pay cut that we have done and still are in business. We started an expansion of our cattle herd just before our first bse case. Our lives have been changed because of bse. Will things get back to pre bse I don’t think so ..Open border or not we must carry on and grow thru the adversity ,the same way that our forefathers did and see thru all this crap of politics for the betterment of our children. I know I may sound like a wimp but that is just how I feel right now, does anyone feel like they just been thru 10 rounds with Mike Tyson knowing that you could have been a contender. I read a lot of good threads on this site , some I agree with ,some that make one think and that is a good thing.. I will stick my neck out now and say that opening the border now is not in the best interest of our cattle industry long term. We will fall into the same habit of sending feeders across the line again leaving us open once again to border disputes . My thinking all along has been that this is our opportunity to capture our industry back as as partners rather than being just a grassroots producer

[PureCountry]

I hear your sentiments magpie, and I know exactly how you feel. Those feelings are what got me searching high and low for a value-added program to get involved in that would take the border and multi-nationals out of the picture. I started looking in Oct/Nov. of 2003, and found it in Feb. 2004. I took the initiative and made some changes to fit their program, and now, I'm more excited about the future of this ranch than I've ever been.

There's potential to invest in the program, potential for premiums on our product, and potential for breeding stock sales. In my opinion, this is the future of beef sales. I agree that thousands will simply fall back into the rut of dumping calves in the fall and being price-takers instead of price-makers. But I will not. We'll make changes, push on, and prosper.

Producers who are involved with such networks, or like TK Natural Meats, are on the right track in my mind. I met a family that manages a big ranch in central Alberta 2 weeks back. They run 1200 cows and it's a pretty intensive operation. But I was really surprised when I asked him what their goal was and he said,"Buckskins." That's it! I said,"So you breed the white cows red and the red cows white, just to make buckskins?" He said,"Yep, they always seem to sell good."

Now, don't get me wrong, maybe they make decent money taking orders for their calves every fall. But it just surprised me that an operation as complex as that had no other direction or goal for their beef. But, like you say magpie, BSE should have made people realize that change is needed. However, some people will just never come to that realization.

[cowman]

Well purecountry, who knows how they do it? They must have been doing something right over the years to accumulate enough land and machinery to own 1200 cows?...Or maybe they got lucky with some oil wells!
Right now there seems to be lots of money around as the oil and gas companies seem hell bent on filling up the farmers pockets with lease money! The amount of wells being drilled east of Red Deer to the river is something else! Probably break every record for drilling activity ever set!
In the auction marts there are a lot of smiles and the talk is all about coalbed methane and shallow gas wells. Good times.

[PureCountry]

The guy that owns this ranch is the richest man I've ever known cowman. He's more than happy to subsidize it, and the managers are more than happy to live there and keep the place up. And actually, coalbed methane came up in conversation with them. Something about 1,800 wells being drilled in that Red Deer to Bashaw area. Incredible.