NFU

[smcgrath76]

Further to this GF I would add a couple of points...
I don't like the idea of a single desk for beef (AKA CWB) however there is merit in pooled marketing. Northwest consolidated is doing just that and seeing some real benefits. That is one approach and if a producer wants to sign on it is there perogative and risk.
I am not an NFU supporter, but I did not see a call for government owned plants in the document. The government does need to foster an environment where producer plants can grow and thrive through tax structures, lending, marketing support, trade agreements, streamlining regulations, etc.
How does a producer owned plant get started? Pull out your checkbook. That is pretty much the size of it. I know very few producers who want to own part of a plant, yet they will pay for more land. That is fine, so perhaps another option is developing branded programs and paying for custom slaughter at existing plants. Short of producers stepping up to the plate they won't own a plant. It is like trying to buy a new truck without signing on to make the payments.

[smcgrath76]

forgot to mention. Supply management is offered as one solution. In my personal opinion/feeling/visceral reaction it is one option that I hope never makes the light of day. That said, the other stuff makes some sense to me.

[kato]

Supply management, that is the suggestion that supply management is an option for producers, is also a suggestion that may get some notice from both current large players and current government. This industry is controlled right now by big businesses who use the lack of government interest in what they are doing to their advantage and our disadvantage. They are rolling along in total confidence that we will bow down to the status quo and our government will sit back and let it happen.

Just discussing something like supply management, especially if it starts to seem credible to more than a handful of producers will get the attention of big business. You can bet on that. Producers getting together and presenting a united front is the kind of nightmare that big business did not want in the times of the first unions organizing. It's the last thing they want to see.

And it's a subject that's popping up more and more. I think it's an indication of just how bad things have become for us. We are actually discussing what only a few years ago would have been unthinkable to most. I've heard people suggest it who I never thought in a million years would even give it a thought.

We live in a world of big agribusiness. Giant corporations who have more resources than a lot of countries. How did they get so powerful? By keeping those who produce their primary products divided and scrapping amongst themselves. Any inflationary costs associated with their raw product over many many years have all been absorbed by guess who? US. Their margins have remained intact while we keep sinking deeper and deeper into an impossible situation.

We've hit bottom. There's no where else to go, and whether or not we believe individually in supply management, we need to keep it on the discussion table. The mere fact that we're talking about it is an indicator of our dire straits.

So keep talking....

In the meantime we need to address our problems in as many other ways as we can. Sooner or later we will hit on a solution that works.