So… Does the Border Open or Not?

[madcow]

cowman & son farmers_son, you're not painting a very pretty picture of the future for the Atlantic region family farm.We don't have many land opportunities to have large operations,the average cow herd here (I think) is around 25 cows,I run 45 cows ,and going to about 100 ewes(45 now) 20 acres of blueberries,10 acres of Christmas trees and 40 acres of maple woods and another 90 acres of wood lot.Typical atlantic canadian farms are diversified and that will likely be the only thing that saves us.It also seems to keep us broke,good proping up the poor, and they change places from year to year,this is our biggest problem with the CAIS program not helping much here..A good thing we farm for the fun of it and the healthy lifestyle(can't afford any bad habbits Ha!)
A lot of our feeder calves are finished on PEI but the new plant ,as with the old Hub Meat Packers, pays on an Ontario minus trucking ie. Ontario last week was $1.43, PEI $1.36. We produce less than 20% of our local consumption ,so 80% costs us Ontario plus trucking.Many of us would be happy to be at par with Ont.But there is an arguement for the fresh, on the door step to be worth Ont .It is as you have said, BSE hasn't been our only problem and the border isn't going to fix it,but lets hope it helps.

[grassfarmer]

With supply and demand ratios like that madcow aren't you tempted to direct market your beef? get Ontario plus 20% prices into your own pocket less the kill charges. I would imagine with the diversity of operations you have you would be able to manage another enterprise (marketing).

[madcow]

Do I detect some sarcasm, we have some of that here too,home grown.But seriously.
Been there and tried that already,Had a truck on the road a few years back,carried pork,processed meat ,eggs and cheese.There are four other outfits in the county doing that, I had to rent a shop to work out of, it took a lot of time but made enough to pay its way,but not enough at this time to justify a shop of our own.Works fine if you don't have to run the farm,3 of the 4 don't farm ,just handle the meat, the other is a large family farm and they have the family members to do it.May be an option when my kids get older .Freezer beef trade isn't worth the hassle here ,alot of seasonal workers,order in the spring ,when its ready in the fall is about the time they get laid off,then comes the story---christmas is coming ,my UI hasn't started, I have to catch up on the power bill first etc,about 25% of the money you had to chase all winter and when the meat's all gone it's hard to get the money( I know ,,,don't deliver without the $, but I can only store so much and it led to hard feelings in the community if I held back for the $ ). It was easier to load the calves on a truck and go cash my check.Another problem we have here with direct retail is it seems you need to be about 25% below the average of the chain stores to keep people coming.
The 20-80 % ratio I mentioned earlier refers to the retail store's volume in the Atlantic region vs our production and does not take into account farm direct sales volumes.

[grassfarmer]

No sarcasm from me madcow, we started direct marketing some last year and are doing it again this year. As you say there are problems with it to - we offered a half payment on delivery/ half 6 months later as well as the regular cheque on delivery. Got stung with one customer which is a shame as the rest appreciated the offer. Most realised the position producers are in and were happy to pay on delivery. The customers we have are good ones, loyal and willing to pay you a fair price for the beef. At the same time it is only a sideline at the moment and we are not rushing to double our customer base. I think it is early days for direct retailing grassfed beef in Canada but hopefully it will grow the way it has in the US.

[madcow]

grassfarmer ,I hope your right and that the grass fed market takes off.How large and what type of outfit are you running ,and where abouts are you?
We do sell some to the locals we know and trust but that doesn't amount to much.We picked one up at the shop yesterday,a small cow that couldn't calve,about 300 lb hamburg,we'll have another to go in Sept,does't look like she is going to calve and she'll be fat by then.Most of what we depend on (as far as beef goes )comes from sending feeders to PEI feed lots though and that future doesn't seem any too bright yet.The blueberry crop looks good so far,been wet and humid,hard to make hay though.