Cattle Feeders

[Horse]

I see where a bunch of larger feeders are trying to set up a CWB [ or a marketing board] in the cattle buiz so they can negotiate better prices for the feedlot sector they want a combined pen space of 250,000 one time so they can talk a better deal ,now dont that realy make sence while the gov of alta and the feds are trying to get rid of the CWB I wonder who is right?

[silverback]

There is a difference between a co-op, or marketing board, and a state-run, forced monopoly.

I thought communism was almost dead, but I guess it still has it's followers.

[grassfarmer]

Well said Horse, it's funny how easy fooled the rednecks of Alberta are - all the claptrap about a free market economy and being too proud to take Government help as the free market will cure all. Yet their heros of the free market economy, the transnational corporations gained their strangle hold over primary producers by taking Government money and twisting politicians arms. Some are too naive to see who is shafting us and why. Good luck to the beef marketing group, they need that communal strength to fight the packers but lets hope they win or they can turn that power against calf sellers equally by limiting the number of buyers around our auction rings even further.

[Horse]

Silverback I just threw this out as info but you demonstrate why we colectivly as farmers are dumed everyone thinks they are an island unto themselves and when some large company strokes tier ego and gets the producer to take on thier battle for them to drive a larger wedge between us the company wins every time. Do you realy believe you could market your grain to general mills or dryfus better than a single desk. I do think you are not even a orduer to those people.

[silverback]

I value freedom above anything.

Don't preach to me about being naive if you don't produce anything the CWB forces western canadians to sell through them.

I want the freedom to fail or flourish by my own choices, not by some government agency in Winnipeg.

If those cattle guys can get together and form a marketing group of their own, great. I think that would be their choice. I guess you two would like it if the Gov't decided that all calves must now be sold through a gov't agency who will decide at what price they will sell into the market at?

I thought cowboys enjoyed freedom also.

[kpb]

Well after all the government support programs for ranchers in the last few years that still continue to dribble out cheques (half the time I don't even know what for) I'm surprised anyone still thinks ranchers are free enterprisers.

I assume that all the guys on this site who still believe that old saw about going it alone and have the freedom to make it or fail on their own turned back all that welfare money to the government? Sure they did.

Ranchers talking about going it alone is just about enough to choke a horse (No offence Horse).

kpb