Country of origin labelling

[grassfarmer]

I don't know what the progress on COOL being implemented in Canada is - but you might be interested in this story from Scotland.

"Scottish beef producers demonstrated outside TESCO supermarkets last week to protest Brazilian beef importations.
The demonstrations followed a six-week period during which deadweight steer prices have fallen from 196p/kg to 183p/kg – well below the 200p/kg-plus estimated cost of production.
Brazilian imports, which climbed 70% to 34,000t in the first half of the year are getting the blame.
NFU Scotland president John Kinnaird said that Brazilian product carrying a “Better Value” label was placed alongside Scotch beef in the Tesco store where he protested in Edinburgh.
A pack of beefburgers was labelled as “Aberdeen Angus”, suggesting they were Scottish. Only in the small print on the back of the pack was it explained that they were made of British, Irish or South American beef.

If COOL were implemented in Canada how would we make sure supermarkets or wholesalers were not cheating or trying to mislead the public?

[farmers_son]

Interesting post. 183 p/kg equals CAN$3.96/kg or $1.80 per pound. I am presuming that is dressed weight. Dressed price in Alberta is $1.40 per pound. I am wondering why Canada is not exporting beef to Scotland. Maybe we do not have enough BSE or foot and mouth to suit that market.

“Brazilian imports climbed to 34,000 tonnes”. So far this year Canada has imported 43.752 tonnes, mostly from New Zealand and Uruguay. This in the midst of a cull cow crisis that is every bit as bad as it was a year ago. No one demonstrating here.

One Canadian says to another Canadian “How are you.” The other replies “Oh, can’t complain, no one would listen anyway.” Apparently the situation is different in Scotland as they feel they can realize some benefit from demonstrating.

On the topic of COOL… Once you accept the reality that the packers only pay producers just enough to keep them producing more then it is easier to grasp why COOL will not increase prices to producers.

[rkaiser]

Isn't it sad that the beef industry has to put up with the continuous cheapening of our product. Not only with South American beef, but simply with the addition of soy or fat, or who knows what.

The kid and I had a burger in restaurant in Evansburg the other day that had a sign bragging of Alberta Beef on the menu. It may have had some Alberta beef in it, but it had a fair bit of other stuff as well.

We go to great lengths to raise a top quality product here in this country, only to have our product played with by retailers and wholesalers to maximize profit with no big picture idea for the industry in mind.

Drive the consumer to the untampered chicken breast, even if it has little nutritional value left, who cares. Too bad the producers of this country didn't have more control over the product they produce.

Trying hard not to complain,
Randy

[grassfarmer]

Why indeed aren't we looking to export there? Of course when you think about it what would the point be from a producers perspective? Cargill and Tyson could send beef there and not put a cent more in our pockets. It is interesting to see how Brazilian imports are used - not as is often mentioned here, that once they start landing Brazilian beef here in large quantities we can all quit ranching as the game is over. In reality only enough is imported to reduce and destabilise the beef market in the target country so that it is all produced at below the cost of production.
I didn't find the BSE and F M comments all that funny - in fact what you need to do is drop the hormone garbage that nobody in Europe wants.

[cowman]

grassfarmer: I think that is pretty well the main reason...the hormones, but also our BSE status?
I wonder how much of that New Zealand beef and Auatralian beef is "quality beef" and how much is just plain old cow beef? You would think they would be sending all the good stuff to the lucrative markets in Asia?
I wonder why we import all this "manufacturing beef" when we are awash in cows? What kind of trade balance do we have with New Zealand and Australia? What goods are we sending them that we can justify bringing in their product?

[farmers_son]

Last week Canada imported 414,085 kgs grinding beef and 747,044 kgs cuts, from Australia and New Zealand.

Assuming a 750 pound carcass and a 40 cent per pound dressed basis presently there is $300 per carcass extra profit to be made if Canadian packers could ship to the UK. And although there is an economic advantage to using hormones to raise fat cattle if we could access the EU market by not using hormones there would be an economic incentive to do so assuming the packers passed some of their profits down to the producer. The reality is the EU would protect their producers by restricting our access to their markets in one way or another. Economic advantage does not explain the movement of beef throughout the world. The increase in exports of Brazilian beef into the UK is not explained by a sudden reduction in the price of Brazilian beef or any new successful marketing campaign rather change in EU trade policy towards Brazil.

Over 70% of Brazils beef exports go to the EU.

Look at it this way. What benefit is it to the big packers to export Canadian or for that matter North American hormone free beef to the UK and the EU. Our producers would not produce the hormone free beef without being paid a premium for it. The packers have no interest in raising the price expectations of North American producers. It is interesting to contemplate how a producer packing plant might pursue a hormone free market in the EU however. I see more opportunity for a niche market in the EU with hormone free beef than I see in Asia with BSE testing.

[cattleman2]

Didn't a producer group go down this road in the Rimbey, AB area a couple of years (pre-BSE) ago? EU certified plant, hormone free calves, paid a premium right off the cow, fed in a controlled lot, killed at the producer plant, etc...

If I recall correctly, they had the feasibility study done, raised a bunch of money, then realized the premium paid for the calf (to keep hormone free) and the production cost increase (in the feedlot) did not justify what they could sell the product for, and some people lost $100,000 each as it was their investment.

NOt saying that there isn't a market there, but not as lucrative as one might think.

[rkaiser]

F-S"The packers have no interest in raising the price expectations of North American producers. It is interesting to contemplate how a producer packing plant might pursue a hormone free market in the EU however. I see more opportunity for a niche market in the EU with hormone free beef than I see in Asia with BSE testing."

Another one of many reasons not to give up on BIG C. Working away with no - zippo - nado - zilch support from ABP and or CCA.

But Randy, the border is open, why don't you pack it in. Because farmer-sons statements hit the nail right on the head. Producers of this country are on their own. They can either be satisfied with these feeder and fat prices we are seeing or bloody well do something for themselves. And doing something for themselves no longer includes trying to reach the likes of ABP or CCA.

[kpb]

farmers_son said "assuming the packers passed some of the profits down to the producers". farmers_son, most of your posts are well thought out and very well reasoned--have you been smoking something funny today? Did you actually write this statement or was it your evil twin? Please tell me you're not slipping into dementia?

seriously, rkaiser is right on the mark in everything he said in his last post.

kpb

[Willowcreek]

You'll never know if producers support you and your domestic beef as long as you let the thieves that have had you bent over in the compromising position- the multinational packers - have their way with you...Either your proud enough to identify it as a Canadian product or let it go into the generic mix- with the US, Mexico, Australia, soon to be most of South America.....Remember under NAFTA, CAFTA, AFTA, and FTOA what comes into the states unmarked can then go on north unmarked.....

[cowman]

How is it that countries like Australia and New Zealand can ship beef half way around the world and still out compete our cow beef? If we are averaging 30 cents a pound for live cows...what are they getting? Surely the cost of transportation must be fairly signifigant?
Why would the EU allow in beef from a country that has FMD? I thought Europe had about the highest health expectations in the world?
Apparently the European consumer doesn't want hormones in their beef so doesn't it make sense to give them what they want...if it makes sense? I think the reality is it just doesn't pencil out? Not a sure enough market to alter the whole North American market? The perception is that Europe is just using the hormone/GMO thing as an artificial trade barrier and if they didn't have that they would come up with something else?

[farmers_son]

Kpb: Re what we are smoking...Prior to BSE the cattle industry did assume that if there were markets for our beef that the packers would seek out those markets, sell into those markets and the resulting profits would work their way through the system to the primary producer level through higher live prices.

Well that was then, no one in Canada believes that anymore. And whether we are talking about COOL or producer checkoff dollars being spent on promotion and marketing there should be absolutely no doubt anymore that the resulting benefits will not make to the producers. The system just does not work that way.

COOL will not work, period. It is absolute folly to believe the packers will let any resulting profits slip through their hands in the form of higher live prices. The packers have zero interest in pursuing any avenues that will see the price of live cattle increase even marginally over the long term. In fact their interest is best served by maintaining live prices at a level that will see producers just keep from going broke.

Whether we are talking the U.S. or Canada there are competing sources of beef available from countries such as Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, New Zealand. We are in a North American market, the world knows that even if we do not. It is high time we started acting like North American cattle producers and work together to find solutions to chronically low live prices rather than work separately through protectionist non solutions like COOL.

[FRENCHMAN]

Willowcreek..You'll never know if producers support you and your domestic beef as long as you let the thieves that have had you bent over in the compromising position- the multinational packers - have their way with you...Either your proud enough to identify it as a Canadian product or let it go into the generic mix- with the US, Mexico, Australia, soon to be most of South America.....Remember under NAFTA, CAFTA, AFTA, and FTOA what comes into the states unmarked can then go on north unmarked.....


Ot ...
It leaves here as Product of Canada
All you got to do is stop rubbing the Product of Canada labels off

[cowman]

Or how about the Canadian cattle out of feedlot alley that went directly to Washington to be slaughtered and on the boat to Japan with a big "product of the USA" on the box? Here those Japanese thought they were eating US beef when all along it was Canadian barley fed beef!
Probably got a shock when they got some of those corn fed Brahmas from Colorado!
I'm all for COOL...both in the US and Canada! Put the USDA stamp on all that cheap supermarket beef and we'll keep your high end restaurant trade! I suspect if any restaurant or supermarket in Canada advertized USA beef they would be throwing it out the next week? That is how much R-CALF has turned off the Canadian consumer. Pretty sad.

[farmers_son]

You say you are all for COOL. Do you believe it will increase the price the packers pay for our live cattle?