Regulated beef industry

[cowman]

There are many kinds of consumers. Some want cheap, some want quality? Lets face it if you are the $500,000 a year lawyer what do you care if you pay $25 for a steak at a fancy restaurant...might be a lot different for the single Mom trying to sc**** by on a poor job!
I do think though that people want value for their buck?
Beef is losing market share to pork and poultry. Partly price, partly a perception beef is not a healthy food?
It is not helpful when groups like R-CALF get up on the podium with "beef unfriendly" groups and say the USDA and CFIA are not doing their jobs!
I don't think we need a regulated industry...and know it will never happen!
This may shock grassfarmer...but I do agree the government needs to put some tough rules in place to "regulate" the meat complex!
Corporations are not evil? They will function within the bounds of the rules? The federal government in Canada has just about let them run wild with no checks or controls? I think they need to rethink that position?

[farmers_son]

Re supply managed... Cattle production in North American is supply managed right now. Make no mistake about it, the closing of the U.S. border to Canadian beef and live cattle had more to do with managing the supply of beef in the United States than it had to do with food safety. North America presently manages the supply of beef by high tariffs on imported beef (net importer of beef), restrictions on packing plants, restrictions on testing, availability and cost of governemnt land, taxation, restrictions on interstate and international trade in beef and cattle, subsidies, grain policies, and on and on.

The difference between what we think of supply managed commodities and cattle/beef is in the supply managed commodities the producers manage the supply through quotas while in the cattle industry the government manages the supply through price. I was at those meetings in the early 1970s. The decision was put to producers on government involvement versus free enterprise while in fact there was no true free enterprise option available.

Now I am not advocating for supply management for cattle. I am suggesting however that producers realize the very significant role government is playing on a daily basis in controlling the price we receive for our live cattle. The price we receive for cull cows/bulls, the price of fat steers is a direct result of government policy.

[madcow]

we are peasants today so to speak ,but there have been peasant uprisings in the past and maybe it's time again. The farmers in this country are beginning to feel like they live in the third world, if Ottawa saw us that way they WOULD help.What kind of country are we becoming anyway when we pay 12 Million to compensate for a US blunder on a "Canadian" citizen but the Atlantic Fleet of the navy is tied up because they can't afford fuel.Our leaky subs don't have torpedoes (and no fuel)When I was a kid I was brought up in what I thought was the best country in the world, now I'm almost embarrassed. If we can't defend or feed ourselves ,what future as a nation do we have
Feeder sale here in NS ,January 20th averaged 88.11 cents for a 578 lb sale average. The top price went to a pair of steers that were charolais cross, 1015 lb, double vaccinated dewormed and age verified.The provincial govt announced help for beef farmers and then attached it to a CAIS trigger and eliminated most of the producers from help,,what a province. I don't think we will take it sitting down.

[cowman]

madcow: I can certainly understand how you feel...something is really wrong with this country? I was horrified with the article about how the navy couldn't afford the fuel to patrol our coastal waters! Totally unacceptable!
What happened to the Canada that pulled together and fought a global war that pulled us together? When everyone did their part?
Recently I was reading my grandmothers record books for the farm? She was very "innovative" with the records...and liked to make comments beside the cost/income figures? What I was struck with was the "patriotism" and pride when they bought victory bonds and recording how much produce came from the garden!
And the heart felt worrying about her sons!
Where did we go wrong in the last sixty years?

[madcow]

cowman, Alan Jackson's song about "the little man" pretty well says it all. My Grand Father had a small community service station.Sold gas oil,tires,parts and fixed anything in the village that broke.One man in the village had 4 or 5 log trucks and one was in our shop getting a motor job.The owner was a bit impatient and had been in earlier that morning and Grand Father was working away at it and told him it would be finished by supper time. The owner came back after lunch to find my Grand Father working at a kids bike,he grumbled at my Grand Father for holding up his business .Grand Father looked at him for a few seconds and then asked him how many trucks he had..The man replied "4 ". Grand Father kind of squinted his eyes a bit and said"kid's only got one bike" and went back at the bike.The truck was ready by supper time too.My father ran the garage after that and I worked there when I got out of school.But times were changing the oil company wanted to switch to tankers going to single drop deliveries, cars had long warranties that required the dealerships to do the work,muffler shops did the same. It was getting so that the people bought gas in town a few cents cheaper and came to us when they needed to 'charge it'. The profitability was becoming less and less ,I was building up a farm at the same time and when dad retired I let the shop go.At that time there was 7 guys that had a few cattle around here,15 to 20 head. Now I'm the last one left. We keep sheep as well,dropping the cattle back to about 35 cows and going up to about 150 ewes, 20 acres of blueberries and 15 acres of Christmas trees,there is a sugar woods here as well but not hooked up .Had a farm accident that cost me my right leg below the knee seven years ago and most days seem busy enough as they are. I have been wondering allot lately what to do ,Is there a life for me beyond farming. I never worked a day in my life where I wasn't my own boss ,,,don't know how I would adjust,,,don't really think I should have to . The farm always did provide for us ,it didn't get any smaller,the margin just faded away. But , the rest of the world gets increases and rewards. We just get more and more beaten up and taken advantage of by big business or government or foreign production systems. We(our local federation) met with the provincial government early this month and they said they can't afford to help agriculture. Nova Scotia is largely a rural province and we asked government if they could really afford NOT to help agriculture, no response other than they are aggressively campaigning in Alberta and the west to bring Nova Scotians home, why the he!! would anyone out there working come back here??? I have a cousin working for Syncrude in Ft McMurray made more in two weeks than I did all last year?The real question is why am I still here.

[cowman]

madcow: Depending how old you are, it might just be easier to hang in there?
Believe me I see your type of situation all the time!
I am involved in the oil field through a joint venture company. I get around and I talk to a lot of farmers. So many of them seem almost like a deer caught in the headlights...they just don't know what to do?
Many of these farmers are worth a lot of money, but just struggling to pay the bills. They know they could sell out and live the life of Riley, but have a hard time walking away? Which is very understandable? And very sad.
My father died when I was reasonably young and I guess I could have lived a fairly comfortable life farming. I sort of fell into the oil service business...started cleaning up a few leases, fencing, seeding, spraying etc.? It has grown into a good business and is pretty hard to beat. Very easy to make $1,000/day per man.
Now I am getting to the age where I am considering retirement and have been trying to wean the boy into taking over! Unfortunately, business is booming and he regards me as his slave or something! But I think I will escape, yet!

[coppertop]

madcow, there has been quite a bit of news here in Alberta about the visit of the eastern premiers. My understanding is that they are lobbying companies in Alberta to utilize infrastructure in the east to build items needed in the oil industry out here, thus creating jobs for easterners at home. It could be a win/win for all concerned if things work out.