Border Beef ......How did it go!

[perfecho]

Sean, your posting did not come through and I would really like to hear how things went.
Thanks to all who are contributing!

[grassfarmer]

Perfecho, I'll give you my lengthy and biased opinion on yesterdays events and hopefully Sean can add his comments now we have started a thread for him.
It was an interesting dialogue for sure.
My take on the various speakers and organizations represented was thus;
I was absolutely embarrassed by the views of the 3 prairie provinces levy funded groups ABP, SCA and MCPA. Nothing changes with them - we need to be more efficient, get bigger, have better market access, lower feed grain prices, a lower CDN dollar and all will be well - none of them accept that there is a problem with corporate concentration in the processing or retailing sector. All are opposed to any form of ban on captive supply or packer ownership of cattle.

The Western Stockgrower's speaker was rather disappointing in that other than outlining the history of his organization he didn't talk about anything other than how pleased they were that the checkoff levy has been made refundable in Alberta.

On the other hand we had a very interesting speaker in Doug Price (Sunterra and Ranchers Beef founder) speaking on behalf of AB Cattle Feeders who recognized that the solution to our problems was to sell beef off this continent that has not gone through the hands of the existing packers(my words not his). He sees an opportunity to make this happen with Federal Government financing supporting the start up. Basically a rerun of Ranchers beef I guess but with deeper pockets. Again he would not accept the need for ban on packer ownership as he felt it would infringe on the ability of producer owned plants to operate. (Darrin Qualman of the NFU later laid this threat to rest when he explained that the US has been thinking about this for 10 year and that the legislation proposed under the current "marketing fairness act" in the senate will allow for producer owned plants to operate freely within a packer ownership ban). I really didn't disagree with much of what Doug said - we see the Government involvement differently - he feels they will back a producer plant in a fight with Cargill and I don't believe that will happen. I see the Governments role as governing - banning packer ownership/captive supply - a no cost solution as more likely to happen/work.

Another interesting speaker was Jerry Bouma a consultant with the Beef Industry Alliance. He felt that there were huge opportunities to sell branded products but that this would need producer ownership and like Doug he acknowledged that getting processing capacity working for us was critical and the most important obstacle to be overcome. Again I didn't disagree with very much this speaker said.

Darrin Qualman gave a presentation on the NFU cattle analysis document which seemed to go down quite well - no one questioned or challenged him on any part of the work. I continue to gain confidence that the NFU approach of tackling packer ownership and corporate concentration at the political level is the best strategy.

In conclusion I think it was a worthwhile discussion to have and am sorry I don't have time to be at today's presentation. It absolutely horrifies me that producers across the three prairie provinces are levy funding organizations that appear to be working at cross purposes to producers interests.
I got my Alberta Express paper today which has an excellent article by Brenda Schoepp and I really wish I had had it at hand for yesterdays meeting.
In her monthly industry analysis she compares some figures for 2008 and 2009. June 12th fed cattle prices in western Canada were $88 in both years, US corn was $6.75 in 2008 but only $4.14 in 2009(I assume western barley prices differed similarly). The Canadian dollar was $.9775 in 08 and $.9092 in 09. Her question was what happened?? Comparing 2009 to 2008 we had lower feed costs, lower dollar, fewer cattle yet the fed cattle market did not gain one cent!! Her answer is that we need "mandatory price reporting and value based pricing" My answer would be slightly different but I think it is what she is hinting at - we need competition - without it we do not have a functioning market.
I would dearly have loved to pose Brenda's facts to the MB,SK and AB status quo reps yesterday. These dummies get funded to the tune of millions of dollars every year and all they can do is spout the same old tired rhetoric that is quite clearly wrong. We've had lower grain prices, a lower dollar, fewer cattle and it has not made one cent difference to the value of fed cattle in Western Canada.
Well done Brenda, great article - I'm pleased at least one ex ABP director has seen the light!

[Sawbones]

Thanks for the support guys
Sorry Perfecho..I didn't get your email until I returned home but appreciate your comments
High River...thanks for the moral support
Sean your comments on "compulsory age verification and premise ID forcing everyone to catch up" were on the mark.
I agree GF that although there is much talk about gaining market access, ABP is blinded by the fact that neither XL or Cargill want to gain international markets and that it is actually detrimental to their current marketing plan. I wouldn't be near as hard on Manitoba or the new SCA in Sask.
You missed a good presentation by the North West Consolidated Beef producers and although they agree on market consolidation, there solutions were quite a bit different.
I was surprised at the strong turnout from AB personnel. It's good to see they really do want to hear what industry is saying. Thanks for your input GF.
Keep in touch

[grassfarmer]

Thank you Sawbones and your organization for setting up this event - it was well run and much appreciated.
As for the new Sask. organization - as one guy asked - what is the point of setting up such a group now when the model has been proven to have failed in Alberta(the ABP)? I don't hold out much hope for them if they go in with the same old thinking used by CCA and its provincial affiliates - really an acceptance that the status quo is just fine, packers can do no wrong, just need market access, lower dollar, cheaper grain etc.

I personally found the Manitoba guy to be quite obnoxious, implying if we were all as clever as him and on as big a scale we would have a great future. I also think he cut enough rope to hang himself with his comments that they (MCPA) were no longer going to take their direction from guys with 30 cows and an off farm job. While I agree partly with this point he was absolutely out of order to make such a statement. By holding the public office he does he is effectively an employee of the cattle producers in Manitoba and is answerable to all of them whether they sell 3 cattle a year or 3000. As long as they pay levy he has to represent them - I predict this comment will come back to haunt him.

Final point all this talk about market access being the solution - how is it? beef producers sell live cattle not beef so will not participate in any gains to be had from increased market access as long as there is no competition bidding for the live cattle. Most groups want to skirt or avoid the issue of corporate concentration and packer/retailer domination but really unless they admit this problem and attempt to deal with it the rest is all just hot air.

[grassfarmer]

Further to my comments on the MCPA Chairman a quick google search on him found the following extracts from a CBC interview from 2008.
"Martin Unrau, president of the Manitoba Cattle Producers Association, is just one of hundreds of ranchers expected to sell off their animals this year and put their fields to work raising grain......"
"Unrau's operation near MacGregor, Man., has been losing money — a common affliction in the industry...."

Sounds a rather different tale to what he was telling us yesterday.

[smcgrath76]

First, as I tried to post before...
Thanks to the Border Beef Group and the
speakers and particularly Anne Anderson
for her candid insights. I was not able
to attend today so here is my two cents.
1. I wish more producers would make the
effort to engage.
2. I agree with many of the arguments
and positions (even the NFU to some
degree).
3. I definitely don't like the approach
of being "like the US", I want to be
better.
4. I think one of the few "unfair
advantages" that we can leverage and
don't as producers is the individual
farms and ranches and families we
support. NB and Cargill cannot do that
and based on the size of our industry I
think building a brand(s) that is
difficult to replicate is the best path
to profitability.
5. This requires producers to work
together and put some skin in the game.
6. I think ALMA is a piece of junk
legislation and without the prior steps
it creates a captive supply of value
added cattle for two processors that
producers cannot extract value out of.
7. I trust myself and have more faith
in the producers in the room (even the
ones I don't agree with) than I do in
government or a "broad industry group".
8. Anne made some comments in her talk
about the type of leadership required
and I am thinking over my list of people
I know that have the qualities she
talked about.

All in all, very well done by BB and
overdue. I see the biggest threat to
producers being our own failure to take
initiative and having organizations try
to "save us". We need to save ourselves
one ranch at a time by working together.

[perfecho]

Thanks guys, and thanks for your initiative to get involved. Unable to attend, however would certainly try harder in the future. I do believe producers are tired, broke and have a lack of hope for the future, but if the right momentum and plan came together, more would be on board.
It is hard to believe that there are some groups that seem to think monopolies don't effect pricing. Any one know how ABP etc, arrive at this conclusion? Is the structure such that a certain group in the chain has more voice than others?
Personally, I don't believe the gov will effect much change.....much of their financial support as well as appointments after political careers come from the large corps....the only way to effect change that way is educating the consumer as to what is really going on, and we as group do not do that....but we could. This is the only way to make any changes with the province…….boil it down to votes. With Quebec's proactive, sometimes radical producer groups, and the need for the Fed's to "bow" to the pressure. there may be more support Federally than Provincially. Even the ALMS guidelines state that ALMS is a packer imitative, "hoping" to trickle down to producers. Were there gov officials there and what was their response?
Any recording of the sessions that could be viewed or listened to on-line?
What is the next step?

[kato]

I would sure like to hear a recording, and see for myself exactly what it was that Martin Unrau said about the MCPA not taking direction from small producers. I bet he wouldn't make a comment like that in Manitoba! He is probably thinking word won't get back here. He also probably thinks that in another year there won't be any small producers left. Now isn't that a sad thought?

I for one am not impressed. This is not the feeling we have gotten in the past from the MCPA here, and can't understand where the statement came from. If this really is the policy of the MCPA, then somebody's going to hear about it.

As for the whole conference idea, I say good for you guys for putting it together. Who knows, maybe a light switched on in someones mind, and good results will come somewhere down the road.

Now could someone please do something about the dollar? It's starting to scare me.

[smcgrath76]

The way I read Martin's comments is that
MB is always playing catch up and that
producers will have to save themselves to
some degree. I read it more as those who
are not serious about the beef business
(whatever size) should probably not be
directing its' future.

[grassfarmer]

Sorry Kato I wasn't taking notes of what he exactly said but it was something involving being "sick of taking direction" or "no longer going to take direction" from guys with 30 cows and an $80,000 off farm jobs. He made the comment not once but twice and it wasn't in the midst of a heated debate either - it was in his opening speech about his vision of the future.

As I say I don't totally disagree with the sentiment he expressed but I'm not the president of a levy funded organization that by implication is answerable to every levy paying producer in Manitoba.

[kato]

Thanks for the info. I guess we need to make more noise if the only ones giving him direction are 30 cow farmers with big fat paychecks. I believe I shall start doing just that.

[PureCountry]

Hey Gang, wish I could have made it to the shin-dig. Good on the BB Group for their efforts.

We spent last weekend with some great people - Ed & Sherry Horvath of Sunshine Organic Farm @ Warburg, AB. We were part of a group of folks doing a straw-bale builder's workshop, putting up a straw bale barn for Ed & Sherry.

Anyway, Ed & Sherry have their own meat processing facility on-farm. They did it over the past few years, steadily improving and upgrading as funds allowed. They direct market at Farmer's Markets in Edmonton and area, and are as busy as a puppy with 2 peters, as you may well imagine.

Seeing them in action really made me think about the possibility of us and some friends/neighbours doing the same thing here. Then on Wednesday, our local abbattoir called and said they had a cancellation and could squeeze in 2 head for us if we could get them in before 8am Thursday morning. I got them in and was grateful for it, since we weren't scheduled to get any in until August 20th. I told the butcher if they have anymore cancellations to book us in for any and all free spots. He told me they are now booking into mid-September.

Where I'm going with this is, our little beef jerky thing is in it's fledgling stage. We're selling it in town at the golf course and trying other things also. If it really takes off, we're hooped. Our local abbattoir does all the processing, has the jerky recipe, but can't take my animals until mid-September!! A producer, or a producer group will always fight this unless they take matters into their own hands, and control the operation from pasture-plate.

I'm not saying I want to build a packing plant, just to even have a licensed processing facility would make a world of difference. Yes you're still depending on an abbatoir for the kill & chill, unless you build that too. Just me thinking out loud, and I'm glad everyone else is voicing their opinions also. I agree with Sean 100% that we need to take control. To me, that doesn't mean raising a ruckus at ABP meetings or storming the gates at Cargill. It means just damn well doing the things to build profit and sustainability into our own businesses, farms and ranches.

[grassfarmer]

Why don't you just book kill spaces ahead of time and cancel if needed? That's how we work with our processor and they are quite happy with the arrangement. They know they can always fill last minute spaces with guys who haven't booked ahead. I booked all our fall processing back in May - some for August and some for October. Now it's just a matter of juggling the cattle to be ready at the right times.

[perfecho]

Just as a side note, through the work we are doing through Economic Development and a Local Food Initiative, have had discussions on a mobile unit that would kill about 10 head a day right on the farm. The difference between this unit and the one the Province touted, would be that the halves or quarters would be put onto cooler trucks right away and not need to be chilled on the mobile slaughtering plant. The hanging meat could then be delivered to local shops etc., and have the ability to be temperature monitored, location monitored remotely.
What I find interesting in this idea, is that it could work in nicely with local retailers and butcher shops, (that are seemingly making a resurgence) but, the surprising (or not) part is the meat is supposedly much more tender due to being killed on farm. When you think about it, the normal system has the animals are under a lot of stress on killing day.....loaded, hauled, forced into a killing line that they can obviously smell and don't like. T
At first, I thought this idea had little merit, due to processing constraints, etc, but I now think there could be a real opportunity for a small group of growers wanting to supply a certain area or market niche. If anything matures on this, will post details.

[perfecho]

The above post could have gone elsewhere, but just a comment back to PC.
On the Border Beef topic, what is the next step....any positive comments form AB gov reps?