Australian Producers Not Ripped Off

[farmers_son]

This clip courtesy of Animalnet

No rip-off in meat prices, says ACCC
15.feb.07
The Age

A government inquiry has found no evidence that farmers and consumers are being ripped off by Australia's meat supply chain.
Federal Agriculture Minister Peter McGauran asked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in November to investigate prices received by farmers and those being paid by shoppers for red meat.
He was worried that farmers were receiving minimal returns for livestock while consumers were paying record high retail prices for their meat.
But the ACCC's three-month investigation found it could not reach a conclusion of anti-competitive behaviour based on short-term movements in the margin between livestock and retail prices.
Other factors like huge drought-induced increases in the cost of feed grain could have been a factor, the commission said.

[smcgrath76]

I read this some time ago, but it has bothered me a bit ever since.
I think it points out a couple of things...
1) commonalities in production agriculture are pretty common. This is just the cowman R-CALF argument restated.
2) the issue of concentration up the value chain is a global commonality. I think if truth were ever told about collusion among further processors there isn't any that can be proven in Canada. I do think that the further processors are very aware of their competition and their own self interest and use their market position to increase profit.
Tyson and Cargill both provide information to Canfax every week. I doubt that they could be pushed to do much more than that. Based on teh scale and scope of the Canadian industry, knowing what you sent in to Canfax and working backwards, it would be pretty easy to know what your competitor is doing.

As far as Tyson vs. Cargill, I think they have strategically structured their businesses so that they are not in direct competition.
This relates to FS repeated comments about lack of competition and to the posting about Australia.
If we approach the processing industry as a whole there is competition, but if we approach the specific niches competition is somewhat less.
The real competition is occuring at the smaller processor level, particularly between some established companies and some of the new plants that are now open. This is going to make it tough on these operations.

[Willowcreek]

Interesting thing is that it is some of the same players in Australia as in the US and Canada--Cargil,Tyson,Swift etc...And now expanding rapidly in South America...

mcgrath-- you are correct about the packers not being in competition with each other--historically the Big 4 (or Big 5) have gotten together and doled out regions or types of meat- so they did not step on each others toes (in fact many times helping each other put a smaller local packer under)...First this was done only in the US- then Canada and now since they are making their moves to control food the world over- internationally....

Worldwide Packer/Food Mafia is all it is....

[rkaiser]

Spoken like a true tree who is actually helping these pirates control even more market share with their closed border policy.

Any nuts in the top of your tree Willow 1 or Willow 2?

[WilIow-Kreek]

You must have came from a thornbrush Randy because you are sure a prick.

[coppertop]

Willow-Kreek, your language isn't acceptable, I suggest that you keep it in the barn or find a site that deals in BARNTALK !!

[rkaiser]

Sorry I hurt your feelings Willow. Mabe it was the nuts thing. Should have used leaves instead.

[Willowcreek]

Hey kaiser- sounds like you been spending too much time over there on ranchersnet-- becoming one of those Canucks like all them, that blame everything on the Americans and R-CALF... Instead of your old beliefs of trying to wean yourself from all the American control and believing in actually helping yourself...
You were one of the ones I still had faith in...

If you want to get a real good history of how the cattle industry operated in the past 150 years and how it all ties into the monopoly they now have on the US and Canada-- which they are trying to /are pushing out to everywhere in the world- you need to read old Reverand Bens book... I'm not sure if his 3 country cattle organization (Mexico, US, Canada) could ever get going or work-- but at least he has some ideas, besides just blaming everything on US cattlemen and R-CALF...

[WilIow-Kreek]

coppertop..I suggest you read cowmans thread called "Interesting".Read what willowcreek was called and tell me if my language is offensive.Randy and I are big boys and we can both give and take.

[rkaiser]

Sorry to one up you again Willow gang - I have forty of Ben's books being delivered today. They will be gifts for all of our buyers at this years sale.

You forgot to mention Willowtree that Ben is as much in favor of this border situation as I am.

I apologise if you could not keep up with my words Willowtree. I have never changed, and either have you. You will continue to follow the lead of the self serving LMA boys at Rcalf, and fight the fight over the border even when it is helping the very packers that you and I and Ben know are destroying our cattle industry.

Give Ben a call Willowtree, and tell him all about your cherry picked BSE science.LOL

[Willowcreek]

Actually kaiser-- I have talked with Ben 2 or 3 times...We actually know several of the same people in this industry...We agree on somethings- disagree on some-- but at least we have an agreement that the packers have us by both gonads, and are ready to swing the knife- that NCBA is completely Packer run (I knew that-but he shows the history even better in the book of how it came to be)and that if we don't take our industry back soon it will be too late...His thoro history of the NCBA and how the Packers got control sure makes me wonder about your guys NCBA buddy groups --CCA,ABP, SSGA, etc....

We do disagree on the fact that we could do it without government intervention- and just by the cattlemen of the US, Canada, and Mexico joining together...I think its too late for that alone as many of the big ranch's, down here anyway, are already Packer owned and the "owner or family" operating it are doing it in name only...

Besides that would mean we would all have to come to some type of general agreement on marketing--and I'm not sure I could agree with an old Russian Honyocker with wooly bulls...LOL

[rkaiser]

Next time you speak with Ben - Willowtree, take along a whole bunch of the Rcalf garbage about cherry picked BSE science and the Canadian border, and post his reaction here on Agriville for all of us to see.

If you could get it through your thick trunk that the LMA led Rcalf hierachy is, and always has been, a self motivated manipulative group, I know that I would be able to not only work with you but sell you some darn good bulls.