ALMA directors named

[grassfarmer]

I should add that the current packer monopoly remains the number one problem. Opening export markets in Asia will be for nought as far as producers are concerned unless we can get beef over there without it first going through the Cargill/XL/Tyson plants.
This is the biggest problem ALMA faces and I hope they have the guts to tackle it. With out alternate capacity and competition in the slaughter sector nothing changes.

[Sawbones]

It's good to see that NFU, BIA and ACFA are now advocating packer reform. If ABP want any credibility, they'd better get on board as well

[perfecho]

I have brought this forward and will continue to bring forward labeling of our own domestic cattle. I was told this would be "consumer driven". Right;-)
I am also not asking for a total COOL protocol, only label what is easily identified...the information we as producers are made to supply. The export market is totally controlled by the 2-(3) packers, not producers.
I do agree that the ALMA should not be scrapped, but if producers are meant to be on board, create something that would truly move "our" industry forward. This, to me, smells to much like another program to help the packing industry, not the producer. And when I am told what to do, to strengthen my purchasers position, not mine, I do and will get defensive!
Time to check calves…..gotta love this weather!!!!!!

[gwfl]

ALMA APPOINTEES. My first impression was, when I first saw the article on the new appointees… that we may be heading down the same old path we have been going for the past six years. I have nothing against the list of people on the list, because I am sure they are all dedicated and qualified to represent their particular segment of the industry. It looked very much like the list of those that through various organizations “represent us already”. Maybe it is not the intention of this advisory group to represent anyone, I don’t know. Every little group that has a following of 20 people wants to have a seat at the table and the results so far have been “going nowhere”. It may be that this group will be able to achieve a consensus of what to do. It is extremely difficult to achieve one (a consensus) with such large number of advisors. The Alberta government has put millions of dollars into the establishment of ALMA and to a lesser degree, Canada Gold. I was elated when I first read about CG and of course attended their first meeting. I was of the impression that as cattle moved up the chain and ended with the packer, that the arrangement (with the packer) would be on a contract basis, and that CG would participate in the marketing of our beef. When I began asking questions about who would own, and of course finance the beef, I was advised that the packer would. I put my cheque book back in my pocket.

In all likelihood, all or the majority of cattle going to the feedlots and packers will be age verified in the very near future, so I have to question the purpose of Canada Gold if they are not going to retain ownership of the beef. It is probably very interesting to receive all the performance data as the cattle move up the chain, but what is it worth? It is worth far more if it is accurate and worth nothing of it is not. I could be wrong, and maybe I should keep my cheque ready. If the packers own the Canada Gold beef, I cannot understand why they would voluntarily share their profits with producers.

I think we are missing a key argument in the packer ownership of market ready cattle. It is probably true that they can manipulate the prices by having a captive supply of market ready cattle, and there is little we can do about it. The industry has to have packers in whatever form they come. They are in business just like everyone else, to make a profit. When the profits begin to disappear, they will be gone. Whether they are replaced by someone else, we will have to wait and see. The packers and the feedlots are having a pretty good year, and it could be said that it is on the backs of the cow-calf producers. Profit is an essential ingredient of any business and it is arrived at by selling ones product (in this case beef) for more than it costs, or in the case of the packer, buying the inputs (fat cattle) for less. It has nothing to do with the prices being fair or not. The fairness of the price will determine the number of cows that are kept in production, and with the depletion of the nation’s cow herd, one has to conclude that the price has not been fair for quite a few years. From what I have read, there are markets for our finished beef that are not based on or limited to the U.S. price, and offer opportunities that we will have to capitalize on to survive. Under the present system of marketing beef, there is no assurance that any opportunity premiums will be passed back through the marketing chain. This is why it is imperative that producers must become participants in the packing business.

I have often wondered where all the cow beef is going. The cow herds are disappearing in both Canada and the US and Canadian cows are not being exported, so look to a local grocery store near you. I have noticed lately the beef in the local IGA (Sobey) is labeled “AA or better”. In anticipation of a pending fishing trip last fall, I ordered a strip loin from the local IGA store and took it with us, it was $73; the label had no other identification. I was later told that IGA do not have AAA beef available to them. While in Victoria, we decided to buy another so we went to a Thrifty store and purchase a strip loin that was labeled AAA, aged 21 days with dates on the label and so on, Prairie Heritage Beef was on the label and the price was $134. I purposely chose the loin with Prairie Heritage on the label, (although there were others to choose from) because of curiosity and because we had thought seriously about trying to market through them at one time.

There is no question where a lot of the cow beef is going and until a lot more cows disappear, it may be difficult to get better value from the domestic market for the higher end of our finished beef.

How old can a cow be and still grade AA?

[Sawbones]

Good points gwfl
Less than 1/2 of OTM is graded and a lot of it is sold to the food service industry where it doesn't necessarily have to carry the grade. This can be shipped to the US without a problem once its in a box. Canadian packers are using our cattle to back-fill their orders and avoid paying us the same rate as they are paying for similar US cattle. Canada Gold will have a hard time getting cattle custom killed unless the slaughter rates go up substantially. Prairie Heritage rates have been steadily increasing. Keep your cheque book handy. There may be an opportunity to invest but this time producers must be smarter and protect their investment so that no matter who operates the plant, their intial investment of the plant is protected and the plant is always there to kill cattle. Buy the plant but lease it to potential packer partners. If they aren't fair...terminate their lease!!!