Kill the Qutoa System - We Want American Milk

[TOM4CWB]

Grassfarmer,

WD9 has this one bang on... and for those in industry who are able to build a trusting relationship within the supply chain... it is possible to be as efficient only be more market responsive than the SM5 people are now.

This is for folks in the supply chain who are mature, know what they need, and have the discipline and resourses to deliver with integrety. Get quick artists need not apply.

If any one of these components that build trust and integrety are missing on either side of the processor/producer relationship... an inefficient supply chain will result.

Would you risk your life for those in your business relationships grassfarmer? Would they risk their lives for you?

[grassfarmer]

Siverback
"You ready to let someone else tell you what your calves are worth to the rest of the world? You have to trust them because they won't show you the records of the sales!"
Don't you realise we have that already with the packer monopoly?

[silverback]

You are truly forced to sell your calves to the packers?

If you started your own packing plant, would you still have to sell your calves to the gov't first and then buy them back at the gov't approved price?

Just a little difference.

[Fransisco]

Its a real tough concept for some.

Monopoly.

Mono meaning one. Not two, not five, one. It is singular, it is solitary, it is individual.

And what happens to those cattlemen who decide screw them all and cut and package their own beef selling it directly?

They get to set their price, keep their money, and their freedom.

[wilagro]

Let's get real. I can just see my neighbour who sells over 200 calves a year butchering and packaging his own beef and selling it door to door.

We live in an area where one corporation controls most of the auction marts for hundreds of miles around as well as major shares in a packing plant. How do you fight THAT monopoly? Each and every buyer in those auction marts is "handpicked" and no independent buyer is allowed with out prior approval. One buyer tried to "sit in" and was physically thrown out and threatened. How is that for orderly marketing and supply chain dependability and viability?

Tom keeps talking about supply chains, but each chain is only as good as its weakest link.

[Fransisco]

<blockquote>Willagro-We live in an area where one corporation controls <b>most</b> of the auction marts for hundreds of miles around as well as <b>major</b> shares in a packing plant. How do you fight THAT monopoly?</blockquote>

"Most" does not equal all. "Major" does not equal all". You can legally sell outside of the area, you can legally raise and slaughter your own animals.

It is not a monopoly.

If you want more choices more competition fine work towards that. Here is a hint replacing few options with only one option moves you in the wrong direction.

[cottonpicken]

Dont bother with the monopoly concept wilagro.

I tried explaining it a few months ago and it didnt work with this bunch.

[charliep]

One if the big changes has been the opening of the border to the south. US buyers are one thing that adds competition into the cattle market. Cow calf, backgrounders and feedlots also have choices around satelite autions, contracting programs, rail grade and investing in processing facilities themselves. One of the good things out of BSE (likely the only) is that many cattleman got a lot more creative in their marketing including direct to consumer.

Started on dairy and went to CWB/cattle. Always interesting to see how topics shift.

[Fransisco]

Which brings up another good point that you interventionists always get backwards. The closing of the border and the remaining restrictions are the result of <b>government</b> actions not market</b> ones.

Government bad.

Market good.

[silverback]

You are right charlie.

Back to the original dairy blast.

I visited several veal farms a few years ago, and those calves were the shiniest, most energetic calves I have ever seen. Those farms were running on razor thin margins and losing even one calf was not profitable so they did everything they could to keep those calves healthy.

None of those farms sounded anything like what was posted earlier.

[cottonpicken]

Which brings us back to the main topic of this website.

One seller good, ten thousand sellers bad.

[Fransisco]

Except that really it is

Multiple Sellers Multiple Buyers=Good

Monopolies suck.

[grassfarmer]

CharlieP, Surely you are more aware of the beef situation than your post reflects? You must realise how limited producers choices are for marketing cattle "satelite autions, contracting programs, rail grade" don't amount to much choice unless there are more than the "big two" processing cattle in this province. By the time you count the feedlots feeding cattle for the packers on contract, the ones owned by packers and the ones gone out of business there are very few independent feedlots left to bid on feeder cattle. As far as investing in processing goes that hasn't gone too well if you've followed the progress of the various proposals. Apart from Ranchers Beef at Balzac there is nothing new of significance available in Alberta.
As far as playing with the word monopoly try oligopsony instead - we have a very limited amount of buyers which is poor for producers. To suggest that one buyer is bad but two is good because there is competition is nonsense. Try reading Ben Roberts book on the packing industry in N America - way back before 1900 there was restricted competition in the marketplace with the "big 4" or "big 5" packers operating their price fixing cartels - nothing has changed, indeed the problems have worsened.

[cottonpicken]

Monopolies suck unless your the monopoly.

[Fransisco]

Tell that to the guy who takes out a 2 million dollar loan on quota the day before it becomes worthless.