gospel is spreading

[jensend]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050403.wtrade0403/BNStory/National/

usa will find that countries develop other relationships when americans can't be trusted to live up to treaties. when even cca says the canadian govt. should consider allowing bse testing if it develops export markets maybe there's hope.

[grassfarmer]

Is it gospel or BS that's spreading?

"Globalization is upon us. I want Canadians to wake up to the challenge of globalization and the great opportunities they present."

In world agriculture it's clear that the "opportunities of globalisation" accrue only to the transnational corporations that move the commodities around the world. Farmers and ranchers are entrepreneurs and are the most efficient producers in any sector of the economy - yet they are going broke.
Where it may be easy for Federal ministers to tell us to get out there and compete on a world stage they have created and perpetuated the conditions that prevent us from doing exactly that.

MLA Lloyd Snellgrove at the Rimbey ABP meeting was telling us that in future we must look to value added production on our exports to sustain the Alberta Advantage. Yet he refused to concede that the current packer monopoly prevents us doing exactly that.
He also told us that we should concentrate on the US market as it was the best paying market in the world and that the Japanese/Asian markets weren't worth pursuing as they were only $2 beef markets. Clowns like that - a cattle producer and politician with so little clue as to what's going on - what hope is there for us?

[kpb]

grassfarmer you are so right.

This globalization talked about so often is a load of crap--it benefits just the already rich corporations at the expense of the farmer and has done so for many years. It is just a different version of the serf-master relationship and, as a serf, I'm sick of being told what is best for me when it actually benefits the chemical companies, big packers and other ag multi's at my expense. Sure, as farmers, we produce more per acre than ever before but are we better off?


kpb

[jensend]

glolbalization is here to stay; what we do with it is up to us. if we are willing to tap into diverse markets it should contribute to stability of our industry. india and china will be the big market opportunities for the next few decades. why curse the fact we have to trade with the rest of the world? this is a chance to move away from american dominance. the rest of the world is starting to realize that the usa only exists because of the availability of resources from the rest of the world. that gives other countries strength in negotiating trade agreements.

[grassfarmer]

I would welcome the chance to deal with the rest of the world rather than the US given how they have treated us recently. BUT.... as long as our beef processing sector is American we don't have much chance of that. Well technically we can sell world wide if you count the boxed beef that was transpoted south and then exported prior to BSE. Point is we are not in control and we receive none of the benefits of these higher priced markets with the current monopoly.
I think the CBEF should curtail activities immediately - seeking out new markets overseas, at levy payers expense, to be filled with Cargill and Tyson beef which allows them to ruin Canadian producers and reap them immense profits is not a worthwhile project in my books.

[rkaiser]

Canadian producers selling beef to other parts of the world besides the USA is and should be our ultimate goal. It should also be the goal of every beef industry group in Canada.
Applauding the expansion efforts of Cargil and Tyson will get us nowhere, nor will the Saskatchewan Government courting ConAgra.

How do we get through to people? How do we say that we have an alternative that will be good for producers, good for Canadians, and has potential for post slaughter benefits, and profits, to stay in Canada.

How can the politicians keep reciting the mantra about value adding while applauding the value adding that Cargil and Tyson do, and then taking most of the profit from it out of this country.

Communication is our greatest hurdle. We must find ways to communicate the message to industry leadership and government.

BIG C has taken a softer approach to ABPCCA as of late because of hints of listening. Time for all of us here to communicate with phone calls and letters. Spending more money on gas may be a problem for some, and I guarantee I cannot afford it any morre than any of you. BUT we can keep communicating. Write ABPCCA, the OCA or any other industry group. Tell them what we are all saying on this site. Phone your local reps, and phone the politicians. Leverage is ours as long as the border is closed. Open that border, and we have no chance for anything but more of the same. Look after home, it is what counts first, but find a way, any way, to communicate the message of Canadian producer ownership.

CBEF will work for us when we have a plant or plants up and runing. The groundwork they are laying now will help us market once our plants are in operation. When I say our, I would like to state that I mean any Canadian initiative with room for producer participation.

[kpb]

Not to put to fine a point on this but one reason we are in the spot we are in now is because of a reliance on foreign markets and governments for our product. I'll play the devil's advocate again and say that we would be better off as individual producers if we simply met the domestic demand and forgot about expansion into areas that we cannot control.

In this vein I would urge everyone to read Cam Ostercamp's latest paper that addresses some of these issues entitled Lifting the Veil--The Lessons of History for the Future of the Canadian Cattle Industry. This is, I believe, the best paper ever written on the current state of the cattle industry and how we got here.

Cam points out, right at the beginning of the article, that back in the '80's we used to just meet domestic demand with a fairly matched packing industry. I hate to be nostalgic or foolish but those were decent times in our industry.

There are two figures presented that I would like everyone who favors globalization and expansion into other markets to ponder---Cam points out that "History and statistics show us that we've ramped up production by sixty per cent in the last ten years but Stats Canada farm income graphs tell us our incomes have shrunk at a similar rate". I say how did expanding our export markets benefit anyone but the multi's?

Cam also makes a telling prediction later in the discussion paper when he says that if matters stay the way they are, he can see the demise of 30% of the family farms. This is frightening.

I sympathise with the view that if we diversified over other marketplaces we would be better off but I believe this is misguided and is prompted by large multi-national corporations and their government partners who will be the only beneficiaries of such expansion. History has shown us that we cannot depend on foreign governments to act in our best interest or, even, to act rationally. I believe we should reduce our cow herd and concentrate on our domestic market to ensure our producers have a secure future. If we rely on foreign markets, no matter which, we are bound to be disappointed again at some point in the future.


kpb

[grassfarmer]

kpb, I agree that was another excellent article by Cam - pointing out what is obvious to all but politicians and industry leaders. However I wouldn't go so far as to advocate reducing to supply our own markets only. Problem with that is the US packers have moved in here since that prosperous period you talk of before we ramped up production. Supplying the home market with the monopoly control remaining over slaughter capacity wouldn't work either - prices would not increase. Also I'm guessing that you would lose more than 30% of production capacity to achieve this result. Problem with drastically reducing production is who is going to get out? I guess you don't plan to kpb, I sure as hell don't plan to - so who will leave? the producers who aren't really interested in the current crisis or the smaller producers? Or as your post yesterday said are these guys backed by off farm income the ones that can out survive all us full time producers? Careful what you wish for!

[kpb]

grassfarmer, a reduction in our production to serve our domestic market would have to be accompanied by producer-owned packing plants. I don't think the multi's would find the climate here, under that scenario, to their liking and would likely go home.

I think a lot of cattle producers would sell out to a regulated, staged-in processs of reducing our herd--we've had a few different ways of accomplishing this outlined on this site over the last few months. It would be a way for the guys who want to sell to get out with some dollars and dignity. It would also, in the long and short run, be cheaper for the government to establish a sustainable industry than giving us cheques every six months.

I also think that if we got back to servicing our domestic market, there would be no need for part-timers to work off the farm. Cattle producers, like the dairy guys, would make a decent living working in their chosen field alone and not have to support themselves off farm.

How many dairy farmers do you know who are hobby farmers or who work off farm? None that I am aware of and that is because they make a good living, as we all should, off their farms alone.


kpb

[greybeard]

The loss of 30% of the “Family farms” is a number that doesn’t surprise me. After all, isn’t the average age over 50? Most of those lost will be “caretaker” operations where the owners have decided they didn’t want to change with the times and the lack of profitability drives them out or they cut their losses and leave voluntarily. It’s been happening since there was a farmer on every quarter. The trick is not letting it happen to you. There are regions here in Saskatchewan where it will happen on a large scale. Waiting for the old days to come back will get you in a hole you can’t get out of.
I totally agree that this “Globalization” will not benefit those of us at the bottom of the production chain. I have no desire to be the cheapest producer in the world.
As Grass farmer has been pointing out, all the money and more is still being paid for beef. We just aren’t getting our share. So how do we get it? Make the multi’s give it to us or move up the chain and take it for ourselves? The caretakers and hobby ranchers will be waiting for someone to make the multinationals give us our fair share. They will never get involved in any new initiative as they want things to go back to the way they were.
If all of the hobby producers are forced to leave, where will you get your deals on grass cattle kpb?
I guess I am saying I don’t expect we can ever go back. History shows we never could. When selling calves as a commodity gets good again, it will only by short term, as Globalization is here to stay. Rather a bleak outlook if I let it be.If I do I'll be part of the 30%.
One mans opinion.