bull sales

[cowman]

Well in this area it seems to be dropping off in a big way. I think a lot of the Dutch farmers who came over saw dairies and hog barns as their choices and when they finally realized that they needed to be a lot bigger than they first expected, it is kind of a shock? Especially for the hog barns? The hog business is either become huge...or get out!
Then there are other factors? A couple of Englishmen bought a 2000 acre beef farm south of me this summer. Paid a pretty healthy price for it, cash up front. Now they are having trouble getting in and are trying to peddle the land around! Canada immigration isn't accepting them...maybe their hide isn't black enough or something? Heaven forbid we should have immigrants coming to this country with a few dollars, able to speak the language, etc.! Now if they were lowlife cuthroats or terrorists or something they'd probably get the royal treatment?

[cowman]

Another thing that has been happening for the past few years is real estate brokers going to europe and marketting operations that are already permitted for confined feeding operations, only to have the buyer come over and find that the operation has been sitting idle for several years and that they must comply with the new regulations prior to stocking the facilities.

There have been some operators that are only in it for a quick buck, trying to band aid an operation to acquire an approval under the AOPA legislation then sell the operation to some other unsuspecting european farmer.
This practice has been really frowned upon by the municipalities in question because they know that there are many environmental issues just waiting to become a problem.

[cowman]

Well I just had an "AHA" moment while typing out the post above about selecting replacement heifers??
Maybe the government immigration process has decided they need to select for some different traits, than what used to be acceptable?
Maybe they think with all their global warming BS they need a darker hide? Don't want all those darned fair skinned types anymore?
And maybe they think we're getting too inbred so need to bring in a really strong outcross? They probably came to that conclusion from having to deal with all these ornery Scotsmen we've let in here? LOL
And just to make it interesting we don't want anymore of these sedate old British, German, Ukarainian, Dutch types? We'll get some flighty high strung bastards who like to cut each others throats and riot whenever they feel like it? Well actually they probably could ignore that one...after all we have quite a bunch of Frenchmen that can fill that role? LOL...don't take offense...its supposed to be funny.

[rkaiser]

I love it when you beat around the bush cowman...LOL

[grassfarmer]

Perhaps the type of European buyer is changing? I know two couples that moved to Alberta last fall that are planning ranching/ grazing operations rather than dairy, hog or poultry. At the same time I know a few Europeans who are thinking of going back due to the campaign by politicians and virtually all commodity groups to get rid of supply management. Why, when these are clearly successful sectors, are the fools in power determined to put them in the same mess that the "free market" sectors are?
Oh yes it's so we can compete fairly on the world market - yeah right I'll believe that when I see it.

[cowman]

I suspect you might be right grassfarmer. I think the dairy business is pretty well saturated, at least around here. A lot of the European dairy farmers that came in thought a 100 cow herd was pretty big, but are now realizing maybe not near big enough? And that old quota at $35,000/cow can be a challenge!
Now personally I'd rather sell crack cocaine than milk cows or feed pigs but to each his own?
It does seem rather foolish to scrap about the only bright spots in Canadian agriculture, but there is a lot of pressure coming from south of the border to get rid of supply management.
Believe it or not the Canadian beef industry(and pork industry) were offered supply management once but turned it down? I wonder where we'd be today if we had accepted?

[Willowcreek]

cowman:
"Now personally I'd rather sell crack cocaine than milk cows or feed pigs but to each his own?"

I have a hard time visualizing you as homeboy on the street corner...LOL

[Willowcreek]

Good LORD cowman I hope you never have to make the choice !!!!