Husky Ethanol Switching to Corn

[agstar77]

Silverback,still believe in W. of M.D.?

[silverback]

Way to avoid hard questions.

Ever hear of the Kurds?

You probably think that was an appropriate way to do some crowd control - or somehow george bush's fault.

[agstar77]

Where do you think Sadam obtained the Gas? Giving weapons and tech to a fruitloop like Sadam was bound to lead to disaster. So how do you fix your mistake ,Bomb him. Eventually the U.S. will leave . Will Sadam's replacement be any better ,probably not. Whether the U.S. should or should not be in Iraq doesn't matter. the net result is the same ,the U.S. economy can't afford it. Are you telling me their current deficit is good?

[craig]

Agstar
Tell me what the voters will do. It would seem that all politicians are on the bio fuels bandwagon. Are you suggesting that they will destroy all the plants so that they will have a cheaper supply of corn for their pork and beef. We have huge energy prices but consumers still buy gas guzzling vehicles. I guess if the bio fuels market isn't right then we should also start attacking the meat industry as a terrible waste of grain. Lets all become vegetarians and ride bicyles.You quote all the dumb things this government has done and the money wasted yet when they do something that actually reduces their support levels to the ag sector and saves the government money you also claim that is stupid. For once American policy has been good for my bottom line.You can argue all you want but I'm planning to run with the cards we were dealt.

[northfarmer]

like i said earlier agstar.....why don't you and you collectivist borg friends get together with your islamofacist friends in the middle east and try you social economic engineering over there.....i will go hang out with my freedom fighting allies to the south(never mind the fact they are my biggest customers), they are not perfect, for sure, but they represent better my view better than your perspective.......and if you do not like the islamofacists, try Chavez or Castro, i am sure they would have you

[agstar77]

Let's all be good little preschoolers and call each other names. How to show your true character.

[charliep]

I am surprised someone hasn't mentioned energy balance.

I might start with the money balance on the recent Saudi feed barley business. Saudi paid (with subsidy) $440/tonne CIF. $130/tonne ocean freight. Fobbing Vancouver, CWB costs, rail, elevation, etc. - about $80/tonne. Net to farmer $230/tonne.

Energy balance. US imports oil from Saudi Arabia. US grows a corn crop. Import corn into southern Alberta for livestock. Export feed barley to Saudi Arabia. The complete circle.

[agstar77]

Yes CL you are right on. Look at the energy used to transport the Barley and the corn.

[northfarmer]

who called who names......you are so insecure agstar...quit your blubbering...

charliep, you make a good point....and it drives the homegrown biofuel energy source justification for the US, import less foregn energy, grow more at home, feed the byproduct feed/protien to the animals...sell the mid east the hallal beef...we get the value chain and the cwb/railway/boats/longhsoreman would not get their cut on the barley movement offshore...

i find it hard to beleive that there is any feed grain exported out the country when they should be shipping higher value meat protein....but....there is way more politics to the meat trade than the grain trade.....

and when it comes to barley, malt or feed, the only thing we should be exporting is malt and i am not talking malt barley....but we know the issue there!!!!

[wmoebis]

Let's see. USA owned cattle, in USA owned feedlots being fed USA corn. Slaughtered in USA owned plants. Meat shipped back to USA for sale. What does Canada get cheap calf market,cheap barley market, cheap job market and expensive meat.

[northfarmer]

ok...so the US strategy works best for them, not us.......we built our Candian cattle feeding/finnishing and export program around the presumption of low cost feed sources(stranded production may be a better term)....no longer the case given current global coarse grain demand and new US driven demand for ethanol from corn.....they have the corn ddgs...they get the feedlot cattle...if we harmonized our biofuel policy there would not be this arbritrage against us, but the primary difference is we are net exporter of carbon fuels there are large net importer.....they will take care of their politcal and economic needs before ours, this I expect...there rising grain demands drive up crop values, this has significantly improved the financial health of my grain operation........this more than compensates for lower returns on my cattle operation....

[northfarmer]

you see...I see????...my grass backgrounded cattle owned by me being finnished in US feedlot on corn DDGS and sold to US packer...my cattle will get finnished where the market determines, not where the 49th parralell is .....maybe some day they will be finnished on nothing but forage and grass

..i see the best barley prices in my 20 years of farming, even with the borg screwing up the market.....

i do not know about cheap jobs in my market, I have never seen people getting paid as well as they are now in my 25 adult years of existence in my neck of the woods.... the average wage increase has more than kept up with inflation...

and my meat is cheap...cull cow extra lean hamburger and dry aged beef, grass finnished hormone free steaks and roasts....no you will not get this deal at Safeway, but your cattle ranching neighbor would probably make you a deal..........

[furrowtickler]

I remember 'Red Williams' preaching at the U.of S. about the abundant cheap feed grains and the potential for the hog/poultry/cattle industry to expand dramatically in Sask. The problem I argued with him was that we as grain producers will not grow $1.5 - $2/bus feed barley forever. Livestock returns will improve again, they will have to - peolpe are eating more meat globaly. Grain producers have been taking it on the chin for a very long time - it is our turn. I just hope that the livestock producers can weather the storm and get more out of the system. The money is there to pay for $4/bus feed barley - just go to the super market. The same problem applies to all ag products - too many middle men - end of story.