How do you see yourself?

[dferguson]

Glad to see your land is worth a lot in AB. Lot's of cheap land here in NS. If you care to move here please bring a packing plant with you.

[dferguson]

Soorry to start new thread. Learning this by "trial and error". Mostly "error" I guess.

[rkaiser]

You know ferguson, this wealth thing in Alberta is part of the packing plant problem. Alberta leads the ABP, and the ABP leads the CCA. Neither ABP or CCA are overly interested in supporting producer ownership of packing plants because most of the executive is a bunch of insulated rich boys who could survive another 4 years of this BSE BS if they had to. Most are linked to Cargil and Tyson by way of custom feeding, grid cattle pricing, or simply a fear that they might get on Cargil and Tyson's black list like me.

The "Canadian Beef Industry" to them means,lots of low life uninformed producers, a few big money integrated (with the mutinationals) producers, margin players, (who need the mutinationals), and of course a high speed, factory like, mutinational packing industry.

Where do I see myself - Certainly not that paradigm. As far away from Cargil and Tyson as I can possibly be while continuing to raise cattle in Canada.

Continuing to try to inform and help those who cannot or will not buck the conventional marketplace which I believe is more unrealistic than the one I apply my efforts toward. My market is customer driven, does not capitalise on anyone, and is based on integrity. As well as the fact that most consumers of this country realise the low cost of food, and are willing to pay for a product with those moral attachments I have mentioned above.

[whiteface]

Some of the most beautiful land in the country is in Nova Scotia and I would bet that to some people it's "worth" is far greater than that of Alberta or anywhere. I'd love to bring you a packing plant but maybe rather my golf clubs and beer and watch the seagulls soar and the ocean roar, the hell with this "pricey" land that never gets rained on and winters that seem to go on forever!!! LOL! Enjoy your land!! Have a good day all!

[dferguson]

If you have to be broke, N.S. is the best place on earth to do it.
I have got by the last two years selling some feezer beef, but that's been slow and my calves are getting to the age that they have to go. Price not great,looks like .80 for 800 lb. but no choice now.
We have no Federally inspected plant here. One coming on line in PEI but it is UTM only and will likely always be so. Levinoff was a cow market but don't know how that will turn
out. Better Beef has been processing most UTM but rumour is that Cargill doesn't want Atlantic cattle.
S... about to hit the fan, I think.

[dferguson]

dferguson, there are folks all across this country in the same boat, albeit we do have some packing capacity here in the west but certainly not enough.
Its been a tough couple of years. It seems as though there is a lot of farm land being put up for sale around Alberta, I would venture to guess that a lot of it is a direct result of the BSE situation. By the way, my Mother came from the Gays River/Truro region of NS.

[bob-b]

sort of kewl how east can talk to west and west can talk to east without Ontario and Quebec taking a slice!

[bob-b]

sorry but I should point out I'm from Manitoba.....a "wanna be province" good luck!

[dferguson]

I've enjoyed looking in on your conversations in the past while. Thought I would put in my two cents worth. Different perspectives are interesting.
My family are cow/calf and lamb producers. Most operations in NS are diversified except the dairy and poultry, of whom there are few left. Dairy got into a Quota pool scheme with Que. a few years ago and before they got out Que had sucked off a bunch of NS quota. NS has highest Quota prices in Can. but it made no diff to Que.
Most of the feeding in Atlantic Prov. is done in PEI where they have a lot of potato waste. As that producer owned plant goes, the beef industry goes, I think.

[dferguson]

Emerald, my plae is 40 mi. N of Truro, Gay's River is about same distance S. I worked on a pipeline through there a
few summers ago. It's beautful country, super nice people. Yes, we have our own pipeline in NS. It takes gas directly to the US border. Better to leave it in the ground, I think, Perhaps our grandchildren will have brains enough to find a use for it here.

[cowman]

Lots of NS boys in Alberta working in the oil patch. They work hard and they party harder, but all in all they usually turn out to be very competent guys and in a few years are doing very well.
In the oil patch, a good number of workers come from the Maritimes as well as lots from Sask and Manitoba. They all seem to turn out very well. I wonder how these provinces can continue to lose their able young men(and women) and not decline? They definitely have been a plus for Alberta and once they are here they tend to stay forever.

[cowman]

cowman, nobody can party harder than the good old ALBERTA oil patch boys !!!

[kato]

My nephew is one of those Manitoba boys working on the oilfields. The call of good money is pretty strong when you're a young guy starting out.

So far he plans to use the money to go back to school. Hopefully he'll come back to Manitoba, but we'll have to wait and see.

[Eastcoaster]

Here's another Nova Scotian who has a boy that left here for the greener pastures in Alberta. 22 years of age and a pretty good cow man, who doesn't mind getting cows--t under his nails but doesn't see the same opportunities here as out there.It's really a shame I think. I read here recently that this is going to be the first month in the province's history that there will be more deaths here than births. Now they are trying to encourage more new imigrants into the province. Would be nice to have some incentive to get our native sons back.

[dferguson]

I agree. What makes government types think that imigrants will stay here if our own kids won't/can't. My older boy is working in a car plant in Ont. and would like to come back to NS but he can't raise a family on farm income here and there are few other jobs.The imigrants will come here if the incentives offered are good , then head for Toronto as usual.