[KWO]

Now here's one for our climate change gurus who love to fly away on holidays 4 times a year, but bash oil and gas!!
But those climate change gurus have no f***ing idea how they get their food, or what it involves to produce it!!

But while you were home working to pay for their trip they got to (insert some trivial thing here) in some exotic location.
And we all know they don't pay the cost of their lifestyle.
There are too many people in the world who simply consume resources

 

[grizzer]

It's obvious that we get taken advantage of in the livestock industry. Nothing really changes, the real profit makers are the guys behind the primary producer.....You'd think that the guy who put the most work in would and should make the most profit. Well we know that doesn't happen....and really don't know how it can change.

 

[dookiller]

Yes we work for pennies on many dollars made down stream. That is what forced the family farm to get bigger to survive. All that did was allow them to gouge the farmer even more. You are not supposed to be wealthy. That is why I support value added scenarios. The guy producing 50 beef the way the consumer wants and selling his product from his doorstep stands to make far more with a lot less. I have watched and heard cattle buyers 30 yrs ago in our local sales play to suit each others needs. "let be buy this next group so I can fill my liner" It is organized crime no matter how you look at it. They know how many each other is looking for and are in the business of making piles of cash with no risk. Competition is out the window. Just like fertilizer pricing. You can ask and not get an answer then everybody has their price at the same time. It's whatever the market will bear. We are slowly letting them decommision varieties of wheat etc telling us it's for our own good. It is a slow move towards us entirely being at the need of the seed company. Consumers having to pay outrageous prices for food to keep the rich wealthy are starting to bypass the grocery store more and more. And my hats off to them! Buy direct from a farmer and support your local meat cutter in one blow getting what you want in quality and product. I know in our small community this has been the trend more so than ever!!

 

[Snapper22]

Buy local is an awesome concept to supply. If you can get into that niche all the power to you. My question is how you go about the same concept with restaurant chains and the population at large? How do you break the lock the packers, wholesalers, and retailers have on the feeders and cow calf. Any producer organized packing plants and value chains were largely failures because large players pushed them out in the commodity beef sector. The large players have an advantage in that they can gain more value from a carcass with established markets for products a smaller player has no access to. Ie tripe, offal, blood, organs etc. It’s a tough situation.

 

[Combine Pilot]

I thought they were passing a new law that farmers would be allowed to sell off the farm, providing the proper procedures and inspections.
I know here in Calgary so many people would buy off the farm if they knew where to go, you guys just need to advertise more, huge demand. Maybe make a Facebook group with all you guys advertising all the off the farm beef and locations with prices. A lot of the guys at work would get together and buy a beef, and split it up.
You have to take the initiative. It's out there and restaurants will come to you if they know you can meet their requirements. this system is not working time to make your own.

 

[Mags]

I disagree - making and selling hay is a lot of work!

Not compared to looking after a cow herd year round. Not even close.

 

[bob123]

Theres a local pig farmer and a colony that have built their own small time slaughter plant that do all their own stuff and sell out as fast as they can cut it. I think all the fancy restaurants would love to slap a locally grown label on their meat menu if you could find a way to get it to them. Theres a restaurant in winkler that does only locally grown if I remember right

 

[jvw]

We are a mixed farm, mostly grain now, in the middle of cattle country. The cows are quite profitable using land that isn't fit for any other purpose, andusing feed that is salvaged from hail/frost/ rained on hay etc.
But there is no way I can justify putting a cow on productive land that can grow grain. Same with hay. At the price of land in this area, cows only make economic sense on very very marginal land.

I'm also in the hay selling business, and am convinced that at these land values, one would be much better off buying hay than attempting to grow it one's self. Unless it is on marginal land that can't grow crops.

But when I drive around the prairies, or look at google earth. There is massive amount of marginal land, serving no purpose at all, within and around grain land. It seems to me that the opportunity is to partner with grain farmers, fence the sloughs, and trees and hills, pasture the stubble, salvage the damaged crops, and the excess straw, in exchange for labour, or manure, or rent. For almost no cost to the grain producer(maybe fencing or a share thereof), they could be making money off the non productive acres, and gaining produtivity if feeding and manure is handled correctly. Cattle guys could get a foot in the door without the upfront cost of a land base.

Lots could go wrong of course, cows out at the wrong time in crops could cost more than the profit.

 

[dookiller]

All farm land could benefit from cows after the crops have been harvested. Seeding a quick cover after or spreading at the same time a guy sprays fungicide would give the cows a quicker release out on the land after combining. Keeping the soil green as long as possible is the key to healthy soil. Having an ample supply of water on the land is the key which isn't easy. Swath grazing or planting corn for winter would be my choice. The heck with the baler and haybine. Many do this now with great success and no water bowl just snow!! That was the part I hated about cows the most was baling during the summer and vaccinating when a trip camping would be a better idea lol. Then there is the fencing which I'd rather be fishing or riding my DRZ on some bush trails. Then calving time as well I could think of other things I'd rather do lol. Truth is I hated when we had cows!! I like the idea of someone else having the cows but my land could benefit from them.