The Deputy is In

Who are ALMA and LISA and what do they mean to us?

by Allan Preston

Pay attention now – there will be a quiz at the end of this article. You will be asked to spell out the full meaning of the following acronyms – ALMA, LISA, TTT, IGAC, NAFTS, CCIA, FAHS, GF, CEC, CAHC and maybe a few more that come to mind as I write this article.

I’m going to spend a bit of time talking about what has happened in Alberta the past few months and the impact their livestock programs will have on Manitoba producers.

We will check in on the national front—on the traceability initiatives—and we will talk about what is happening here in our province.

Charlie Gracey came to Manitoba, his visit sponsored by the MCPA, to talk about ALMA and I hope many of you had the opportunity to hear his radio interviews. He added to what I am writing here and knowing Charlie, no doubt he added his very own candid views.

ALMA and LISA
The Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency was announced back in June, 2008. Take some time to go onto the ALMA website and review the thirty-six page strategy document that lays out the five year implementation plan – it is an easy, yet informative read. Alberta took this rather bold and controversial step to reposition the Alberta livestock industry as a major competitor on the global stage with world class, reputable, quality products. To achieve its goal, ALMA laid out some key steps that would be required by industry. I’m going to concentrate on three of them: mandatory animal identification and age verification, premise identification/registration, and movement reporting. These elements will all be contained within the Livestock Information System of Alberta – “a robust mandatory traceability system integrated with a broader, industry managed information system,” (meaning the CCIA).

ALMA is linked very tightly to a very rich farm recovery plan that will inject $300 million into the industry. The first half came easily to every known livestock producer, based on existing BRM program data. The second half of this sugar coated carrot, is really a very big stick – the money will only flow after the age verification and premise identification information is in place, along with some animal health data and records of animal movement.

Alberta should be congratulated for taking these steps to reposition its industry, as they work to stem the shrinkage that is occurring in both the cattle and hog sectors. Their leadership comes with risks, however. The industry is far from being unanimous in its support. Producers are funny that way. They like the money bit; but they don’t like having strings attached. Now the question is – how will neighbouring provinces react?

Let’s cut to the chase. January 1, 2009 has come and gone. All Alberta livestock producers were expected to provide their premise identification by that date, as age verification of Alberta born calves became mandatory. At the same time, it became mandatory for any producer, agent, assembler, or auction market that handled more than 5,000 head per year, to start reporting mandatory move-in information on all animals, linked to the CCIA identification. Additional information on vaccinations, pre-conditioning, and treatments will be required at a later date.

January 10, 2010 is the second important date to note. As of then, all calves moving into Alberta will have to be age verified.

Consider this perspective: As of December 2008, Alberta producers were age verifying 61.27% of their calves voluntarily; while in Manitoba, only 5.88% of producers age verify. We have a very long way to go and a short time to get there.

The National Perspective
The FPT Traceability Task Team (TTT) has spent a lot of time and effort putting together the National Agri-Food Traceability System (NAFTS), in cooperation with the Industry Government Advisory Council (IGAC). The Alberta programs are designed to integrate with these national programs since national templates of animal identification, premise identification, and movement monitoring make a lot of sense. And these traceability initiatives are an integral part of the Farmed Animal Health Strategy (FAHS) that is currently being developed by federal and provincial governments in concert with industry, through the organizational efforts of the Canadian Animal Health Coalition (CAHC) and the Canadian Council of Chief Veterinary Officers. (Are you catching on to the acronyms yet?!!)

The Growing Forward agreement has considerable dollars set aside for animal health related issues such as traceability and bio-security, as well as the broader topic of food safety.

One thing that is clear – premise identification is the responsibility of each individual province. Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec have moved aggressively ahead in terms of establishing their livestock premise identification systems. The rest of us are now playing catch up.

Ministers are currently reviewing the traceability, bio-security and animal health programs in place across the country. Given the incredible interest in food safety after the Listeriosis situation last summer, and considering the linkage between food safety and traceability, my bet is that you will see more provinces following Alberta’s lead in moving to a mandatory traceability system.

Manitoba’s Plans
As a province, we have taken to heart the directive from the TTT to establish the provincial premise identification system and database. We have the added impetus of a very clear recommendation in the Clean Environment Commission that Manitoba Conservation and MAFRI establish a database of all livestock facilities in the province. The intention is to follow national templates for premise identification, and to work with commodity groups to utilize information already collected and in place. The trick is to have the cooperation of everyone to share that information freely – otherwise, we will have little alternative but to start form scratch, something I’m sure no one wants to do.

Our pilot projects on full chain traceability have yielded excellent results and have been viewed very positively by industry and governments alike. Traceability is possible, practical and it does indeed yield positive results. The consumer is getting more and more demanding for this type of information and forward thinking individuals, organizations, companies, and governments are working hard to gain a competitive advantage by providing it.

We certainly hope to see the Growing Forward program assist producers and the industry in moving forward on traceability initiatives. There will never be enough money to go around to do everything from the public purse. That said, with careful planning and industry consultation, we can identify the areas where we can achieve the best bang for our buck with these dollars.

The most pressing issue today is Age Verification. I see January 1, 2010 as a bit of a mirage. Right now is the pivotal date for mandatory age verification of Manitoba calves—if we want to plug into that Alberta market this fall. Sure, the regulation says that our calves don’t have to be age verified until 2010, but think about it – if you are an Alberta feedlot operator who stands to gain financially for tracking your age verified calves (along with their health records) you are very likely to want all of the calves entering the feedlot in the 2009 fall run age verified, or else you are going to discount them to offset that sugar coated carrot. As a producer you are free to decide - but I’m going to age verify my calves.

The Path Forward
As one of my very wise former clients so aptly put it: “We are not the low cost producer. We cannot and should not compete on price alone. We have to differentiate our end products, attribute value, and capture intrinsic values that the consumer desires.”

ALMA and LISA are clearly heading this direction. Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia don’t have to create any new agencies or pass any new regulations. The big dog has barked and the tail had better wag. We have the basic tool already in place and that’s RFID animal identification. All we need to do now is tie in the age verification, the premise identification, the animal health information, the tracking aspect, and we are ready to play in this new game. With a bit of leadership from government and industry players, Manitoba cattle producers can easily get engaged in this new reality that ALMA has forced upon us.

My biased perspective? Thank Alberta, don’t criticize them. Grab onto their coat tails and enjoy the ride that will move our industry into a new era where short term crisis funding is replaced by appropriate returns from the market place where the consumer is demanding safe, healthy, nutritious beef.

Step one is to register your premise in the Manitoba database that is coming soon to a location near you.

Step two is to complete the age verification process this winter and spring as your 2009 calves are born.

And step three is to start recording all of that health, welfare, environmental information that will add value to your calves in years to come.

Or you can continue to do what you have always done and achieve the results that you have always achieved. You decide.

Until next time . . .
- Allan Read more!

Alberta forces the age verification issue

by Karen Emilson

The Canadian cattle industry was thrown into an uproar in early June when Alberta’s Agriculture and Rural Development Minister, George Groeneveld announced a strategy to revitalize Alberta’s sagging livestock industry.The Alberta Livestock and Meat Strategy is being described by the government as both comprehensive and long-term. They have committed $356 million this fiscal year and to stabilize the industry in the short term, producers have received $150 million in immediate funding. That sum will be paid out again in early 2009 to producers who age verify their cattle and supply premise I.D. - now mandatory in that province.

Feedlot operators in the other provinces cried foul, saying that these payments will give a competitive disadvantage to the feedlot industry in Alberta. Three months later, we here in Manitoba still don’t know how the program will work or how we’ll be affected, but the Manitoba feeding industry will be at a definite disadvantage.

What isn’t fully understood right now is how Alberta plans to deal with non-age verified calves coming into their province from Manitoba, Saskatchewan and B.C. Proponents of age verification have long said that producers would start to receive a premium for their efforts; and that certainly was the case with cows last spring. Determining the value of age verification on calves has been more difficult. But all that could change.

“The more animals out there that are age verified, the more of a spread we are going to see,” said MCPA President, Martin Unrau. “Whether you want to call it a premium for age verified or a discount on animals that are not, we probably are going to start to see a price difference and it could come as early as this fall.”
Manitoba producers are encouraged to age verify and add their premise I.D. before they market - just in case.

And while primary producers in Alberta and B.C. will be paid by their provincial governments to provide the data, no such incentive is offered in Manitoba, Saskatchewan or Ontario.

Clarification on how mandatory Age Verification in Alberta will affect Manitoba producers will be included in upcoming issues of Cattle Country.

Read more!

COLUMN - Ruminating

by MCPA President, Martin Unrau

This summer has been filled with both good news and bad news stories. It seems everything I wanted to talk about this month has both a positive and a negative aspect.
From the MCPA’s perspective, sometimes we just don’t now how a scenario will play out given all the variables until all is said and done. Because our industry is so intertwined from the packing plants all the way down to the cow-calf producer, a change in one sector can dramatically affect the profitability of another.

Today I’d like to talk about the good, the bad and the optimistic aspects of the following issues:

Country of origin labelling

Good news: The Canadian Cattlemen’s association lobbied hard since COOL was proposed in the U.S. and believe we were successful by working with USDA and the American bureaucrats to get the rules in the original document relaxed to the point that the new legislation would not be devastating to our industry.
The bad news: We’ve heard there are a few U.S. plants that won’t accept Canadian cattle and we won’t know for awhile exactly how our cattle are going to be viewed by U.S. feedlots, processors, retailers and consumers.
The optimistic view: Discounts on Canadian cattle probably won’t be as high as we originally thought.

MCEC investment in plant

Good news: It looks as if Manitoba will soon have a packing plant to process and market cattle.
The bad news: Producers in the province have always been divided over whether a plant here will be a viable investment or not.
An optimistic view: This is the chance for those producers who support the idea to see it become a reality and it is a very good opportunity for producer dollars to be put towards something positive. The naysayers will lose nothing with the options available.

WTO talks

The good news: Manitoba Agriculture Minister, Rosann Wowchuk attended the WTO meetings in Geneva. Staff from the CCA told me how impressed they were by her tenacity, that she and her colleagues pushed hard for the trade dependent west, in favour of opening new global markets for beef.
The bad news: Eastern Canada is not as interested in new markets because they heavily represent supply managed industries like milk, poultry and eggs. Talks broke down when India and China could not come to an agreement with the U.S. on import tariffs.
The optimistic view: WTO isn’t dead yet. There are people working behind the scenes trying to revive it and although we may not see much happen until early in 2009, the hope still exists that Canada may be able to negotiate a trade deal that is more favourable to the beef industry in the future.

Hay crop

Good news: Many producers have had decent crops in the province and have put up enough hay this summer.
The bad news: High levels of rain in isolated parts of the province are making it near impossible for producers in those areas to get up enough hay for this winter.
And in a corner in the southwest, dry conditions have persisted since spring drying up the pastures and making it impossible to harvest hay. Some producers have been forced to start selling cows.
The optimistic view: The provincial government has offered a positive freight assistance package. I hope that producers who normally just feed hay, explore all options. Good oat straw and six pounds of barley a day will get your cows through the winter just fine. Don’t be shy to ask for professional help about balancing rations.

We’ve had discussions with a few MPs and they are working hard to see if something can be done through AgriRecovery.

Cattle prices

Good news: There are a number of positive signals in the market that cattle will be selling for a decent price this fall. Cull cattle are bringing pretty good money, the dollar is down a bit and because of erratic weather throughout the country, there may be quite more feed grain available than originally thought.
The bad news: To recoup the losses producers have seen over the last five years, we need more per pound than what most of us can reasonably expect. Recovery on each of our farms is going to take awhile.
The optimistic view: I think good, 550 wt calves will bring $1.25 - $1.30 per pound this fall. Cull cows are also a decent price and it looks like we’re climbing out of the bottom of a hole.

Cattle movement

The good news: Cow-calf producers in Manitoba should benefit with the feedlot industries in both the east and west wanting our calves.
The bad news: Cash injections into the industry that are not balanced across the country put those who do not receive cash at a disadvantage. Feedlot operators here in Manitoba may have a difficult time competing for calves against Alberta, hurting our feedlot industry. The possibility of trade action from the U.S. still exists because of the Alberta payment.
The optimistic view: Out-of-province feedlot operators are already booking pen space in Manitoba feedlots so there is opportunity for our feeders to do some backgrounding and custom work.

Cattle Sales

Over the past few weeks I’ve become concerned about a trend that is developing that may not be in the best interest of the Manitoba industry as a whole.

In an effort to save paying commission sales at the auction marts, some producers are selling direct off the farm. This is a practise that has always been around, but hearing some of the prices guys have been paid in the past has me concerned.

There is room for both the independent buyer and auction mart in Manitoba. Years ago, all we had were the drovers who went from yard to yard.

The establishment of auction barns across the province made selling and buying cattle both fair and competitive for everyone. Auction markets are the price setters and provide a vital service to our industry. It is your choice how you sell, but keep in mind that the auction marts need us as much as we need them.

And on a final note, fall District Meetings are right around the corner. This is your chance to come out and voice your opinions, both positive, negative and optimistic. The schedule is listed on the back page of this paper. We look forward to seeing you there.

Read more!

Alberta feels the heat in Winnipeg

by Karen Emilson

Early this summer, the Alberta government announced a $356 million strategy to assist cattle producers in their province.

That decision caused a rift in the industry that blew wide open during the CCA Domestic Ag Policy committee meeting in Winnipeg.

CCA President, Brad Wildeman was on the hot seat as Directors representing Ontario pressed him to explain what the Association is doing to help even out the playing field. Everyone there understood that ad hoc payments given to producers in one province, puts others at a competitive disadvantage - in this case more than $100 per animal.

Wildeman stressed that the Alberta government acted on its own; and that his discussions with the Federal government to provide similar funding to the rest of the provinces, were met with flat-out refusal.
Ontario pointed out that the CCA’s policy has always been to push for equality between all provinces.

“We know how unfair this is, I was just thinking if I didn’t live in Alberta, I’d be really mad,” said CCA past president, Hugh Lynch-Staunton, who sat in on the meeting. “And I am mad because not only is what Alberta done detrimental to the national industry, but it has inhibited my ability to be a credible critic of what happened.”
Discussions continued and Ontario grew more frustrated.

“Then you shouldn’t have cashed the cheque,” an Ontario delegate said to every Alberta producer around the table. It was a hit below the belt, but helped clear the air since many in the room were wondering.

Ontario’s comment rankled the Albertans but surprisingly, no one from the west asked what Ontario producers would have done if the roles were reversed.

Manitoba Director, Brian Sterling, put forward the best effort of the afternoon in trying to smooth things out between the opposing provinces.

“Around this board table we aren’t always going to agree, and things that are done are done and we have to move forward,” Sterling said. “I would like to see the CCA and the Alberta Beef Producers to make a concerted effort to find out for our producers the rules we have to play by before we begin marketing our calf crop this fall.”

After the meeting this is what John Gillespie, a feedlot operator from Ontario had to say:
“The Alberta program upsets us because we sit around the table with the Alberta producers who dominate. They have been going on and on for years, ‘let’s minimize government intervention in the industry.’ I would have thought the Alberta producers would have stood on principle, and sent those cheques back. But they fell. As soon as that cash was put in front of them, they went for it.

I would say the feedlots in Ontario are suffering more and not just because of the government inequities, the Ontario market place has not had it’s traditional basis premium over Alberta, but this last two years we have been par or a few pennies under, so as a result we haven’t made as much money. We buy western prices plus transportation so we already have a higher cost for our calves than in Alberta. We usually compensate for that because we get more money for our fed animals, but for the last two years we have worked on a negative basis relative to Alberta and that hurts. Equity has been eroded to the point that a lot of feedlots in Ontario are having a hard time with their financial institutions. Most banks like to see you have 20 percent cash in those cattle at any one time, well, it doesn’t take long to erode that. We’ve all been working with losses as high as $100 - $400 a piece. The Canadian dollar caused a lot of it and grain prices were at a low last year at this time, but doubled in value by spring.”

A struggling feedlot sector in Ontario is bad news for Manitoba cow-calf operators.
“Between Alberta pushing on Manitoba calves and us pushing, I think we create the value for those calves. We like the genetics here. Twenty years ago Manitoba calves were considered second class, but producers here did something about that, in both genetics and herd health protocols. We like your big, exotic-cross calves and want them.”

His final note on the day:
“I think a lot of the guys were interpreting that we won’t be happy unless they write us a cheque. What we want is for the government to come to the table and recognize we have an issue here. We just want them on side and stand up to Alberta and say they won’t tolerate it any longer, that there will be consequences if they do it again. Alberta can’t keep buying the industry.”

Alberta Beef Producers Chairman, Erik Butters from Cochrane and Vice Chairman, Rick Burton from near Claresholme are on the CCA Board. Both are cow-calf producers.

Erik: “The Alberta government’s strategy involves a lot of regulatory burden that falls mostly on the cow-calf industry. There is a feeling in Alberta that most of the money went to the feedlot sector and we got most of the grief.

“The government was heavily lobbied by certain people in the industry to do this. A lot of the rural MLAs who are also cabinet ministers, got a lot of heat in their home ridings from producers who said, ‘I’m dying here. You’ve got more money than you know how to count, what are you going to do for me?’

“We were expecting a little bit of money tied to certain things, then we found out it’s a lot of money. We had 300 mad producers at a meeting recently, and the more they learned about it the madder they get.

And there are aspects of the strategy we like, such as the research aspect, but as a whole, it’s causing divisiveness between sectors. ABP did a survey last fall and came up with a figure of $60-$75 of regulatory burden our industry bears. The strategy recognizes that, and said we need to address it, but then added more regulatory burdens.

Some of the concerns here today are very valid, others are over the top. As this unrolls some concerns may be addressed.

Rick: “One of the difficulties of the Alberta announcement is that we were immediately alienated from every other province in the nation, we recognized that right out of the gate. It wears heavily on everyone and continues to, and that’s not a comfortable position to be in.

I find it’s disappointing that we need to keep having these discussions. We’ve had them already. We’re trying to move on.

The Manitoba directors are very thoughtful, capable people and a credit to their industry and association.”

Erik: “It’s difficult because we’ve been beating the drum for a market driven industry and then our province is the one that does otherwise.

Rick: “As for what will happen with your calves this fall, there will be an announcement to clarify the government’s position soon. It is unrealistic to think Alberta can enforce the regulations in another province, but if calves come in from Saskatchewan or Manitoba of the same weight and quality, and they aren’t age verified, I suspect those will be discounted, so it only makes sense to age verify. But we’ll know more on that soon.”

Erik: “Alberta has long been a champion of breaking down inter-provincial trade barriers, so they can’t enforce it without ending up with egg on their faces.”

Rick: “What they are going to say is let the market determine the value of age verification on the price of out of province calves.”

Erik: “This whole situation has strained relations between ABP and the provincial government, to the point it is the lowest it’s been in my memory, simply because we didn’t embrace their whole strategy.

Rick: “The minister thinks this strategy is the right solution. He’s not trying to destroy the industry. We think he has overlooked some key issues, but in his heart, he thinks he’s doing the right thing. We can’t fault his enthusiasm - he takes his job seriously. And he wants to do the right thing. We just have some difficulty agreeing.

And there are a significant number of primary producers who have pause for concern. This is going to be a controvesial issue for quite some time.”

Erik: “I got elected in December 2002 - I had five months of bliss. But you know what, I’ve met and been able to spend time with some of the finest people I’ve ever met and I’ve got no regrets . . . and I’m also done in December,” he laughed.

“But seriously, the market is turning. I sold a cow and a bull the other day that brought me the highest dollars I’ve ever seen, taking into account the currency exchange. I got 68 cents for the bull, and that’s what I used to get before BSE with a 65 cent dollar.

The futures are up strongly and while we still have the issues of the dollar and the ethanol industry, the light is starting to come around after five bloody years. You’ve got a strong industry here in Manitoba and it’s strong all across Western Canada. We’re going to survive.” Read more!

Opinions in the west

BOB SWITZER, Aneroid, Saskatchewan
Cow-calf operator and shareholder in Red Coat Feeders

“Every provincial government can do whatever they want. The only hang up I have is that they call it Alberta beef when cattle care coming from the other provinces. We have to promote this as Canadian beef.” Switzer said the Alberta program distorts the market but is hesitant to criticize too heavily, saying producers never know when the shoe might be on the other foot.

ED DALKE, Morden, Manitoba
Feedlot operator

“Programs always distort the market. We get one program out of the way and we ask for another one.” Dalke is concerned the industry will become dependent on government money and that it would be better if economics dictated the market.

BILL FREELING, British Columbia
Feedlot operator

“It’s going to act like a big vacuum and suck all the cattle out of B.C. and leave nothing for our feedlot operators.
We probably background 50,00 - 60,000 head within our group. We feed 20 percent to finish and the rest are backgrounded prior to going to the U.S. Even our American customers can’t afford to compete with Alberta money. Because of the $100 a head to finish these cattle, Americans won’t be able to compete with that. I can’t see any positives in this for B.C. unless we get matching funds or some enhancement, but our government is completely ignoring us.” Read more!

COLUMN - The Doctor is In

by Dr. Allan Preston

It's Your Choice

Driving down the road in the early dawn hours, heading for the Winnipeg office after a week down on the ranch doing real work, I had lots of time to think about life in general, about farming and the cattle business in particular.We had just come through a frantic weekend of pulling together a program to assist producers hit hard by excess moisture, others hit hard by drought. The tour of the Interlake area left everyone feeling pretty down about farming, cattle, life.

As I headed down the Brookdale Road with the sun still below the eastern horizon, I saw a couple of images that lifted my spirits. The first was a striking silhouette of two combines, two semi’s, a tractor and a grain cart, alongside a grain auger up against a row of steel bins – a priceless picture of a farmer harvesting the soil’s bounty. The second, equally poignant picture just a couple of miles further was another silhouette – this time the old Oberon elevator, doorways on the driveway long since gone, and one open window at the top of the elevator with the eastern sky peaking through. A lonely reminder, for sure, of years gone by when a train ran down that now-abandoned track but a testament to the prairie pioneer spirit. My mind started to churn with the choices we face in our industry.In the last little while, I have come across three bits of information that have given me a great deal of cause to stop, think, maybe smell the roses a little more, and be thankful for what we have in our hands as cattle producers.

The first was a little motivational slide show entitled “Two Choices,” hence the title for this article. The essence of the show is that you awake every day to two choices: you can choose to enjoy life or you can choose to hate it; you can choose to be in a good mood or in a bad mood; the only thing you have that is truly yours, that no one can take away from you is your attitude. Life becomes a whole lot easier if you simply take that positive attitude with you everywhere.
The second item was a new book, “The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die” by John Izzo. It is an exceptional read, and it makes one stop and think about one’s own mortality, and destiny. I’ll tell you the secrets, but you need to read the whole book to get the full meaning.

• Be true to yourself and follow your heart.
• Become love.
• Leave no regrets.
• Live for the moment, and;
• Give back more than you take.

Simple messages with very deep meanings that have lots of applications in our industry.

And the third item was another book, Randy Pausch’s “Final Lecture” a gut-wrenching story of the 47 year-old Carnegie Melon professor, dying from pancreatic cancer, yet needing to leave a very clear and beautiful message for his three young children. It is a message about the hope and faith of really achieving your childhood dreams. Randy died this summer, but his message and his legacy is being read and heard around the world.

And you are saying to yourself, what has all of this got to do with the cattle business? With the issues we are facing, and the question marks about the viability of our industry heading into the fall run? Well, the choices we make and the attitude we have can make each of us much more successful, much more content and happy. In the big picture, over the long haul, those five secrets can help us live more productive and motivated lives. And, when faced with adversity, think of what Randy faced, how he dealt with it and left a positive legacy, not just for his wife and family but for the multitude of readers, viewers and listeners who have shared his story.

I strongly believe that a positive attitude about the cattle business is the right approach, the realistic approach. The COOL issue still is challenging us, but we are starting to see the lay of the land – getting fats slaughtered in the States is going to continue to be a challenge, but the door is pretty wide open for the movement of feeder cattle and short keeps into the U.S. so that they can meet the requirements for the Label B­­—Multiple Country/Mixed Origin—Product of U.S. or Canada.

A choice for sure: you can feed to slaughter weights in Canada and be somewhat limited in your marketing options, or you can team up with some American customers and get into the Label B category. Either way, there is ample opportunity to find a home for your critters at a pretty decent price.

Speaking of a decent price, you can choose to take yourself out of the Alberta market by not age verifying your calves, thus generating a significant discount, or you can choose to go through the age verification process, get the documentation in place, and receive the same market premium that the Alberta producer will get if he follows the rules.

You can choose (at least for a short time longer) to either register your premise information with CCIA to access that Alberta market, or you can remain anonymous and take the discounts.
On the health side, you can choose to run a good herd health program, including a cow vaccination program that protects the unborn fetus, a pre-pasture vaccination program for your calves, and a fall booster program to get those calves ready for the feedlot. You won’t necessarily need all that information this fall, but you most assuredly will for next fall. You can choose to dehorn and castrate properly. Or you can do none of the above, market into a very competitive market place without any plan, and take a beating on the prices.

Sure there are going to be shortages of good quality hay in many areas, but there will be an abundance of lower quality hay and straw, lots of fusarium infested barley, and people just eager and waiting to help you do feed tests, formulate least cost, balanced rations, and get you and your cows through the winter with management systems such as bale and swath grazing. Your choice. Do what it takes to maintain a healthy, well nourished herd, or cull aggressively and sell cows into what looks like a pretty decent market.

Speaking of markets, a colleague of mine in the Simmental fraternity had some interesting observations about the breed, and about the cattle business after returning from the World Simmental Fleckvieh Congress in the UK this past June. More choices. Beef production in Europe take a poor second place compared to the diary industry. As a result, there is no premium for a quality beef product, and genetics that would encourage progress in marbling and eating quality of the beef are slow to evolve.

In Canada by contrast, we have an affluent and educated consumer, as do many of our continental and off shore beef customers, that are more than happy to buy our top end Canadian beef. The choice is ours to use the most up to date genetics, feeding strategies, health programs and processing techniques to produce that top quality product that will always be in demand. And we must continue to emphasize the health and safety of our product to encourage ever increasing consumption. Or we can stand still and be left behind as other animal protein sources take over a larger share of our market place.

So, with the right attitude and the right choices, the short term future for we cattle people this fall is at least a bit on the positive side. The longer term future as the dollar continues to correct, the U.S. COOL issue gets sorted out, and the costs of feed moderate a bit, looks maybe a little closer to rosy.
Call me an optimist, or a fool—it’s your choice!!
Until next time . . .

- Allan Preston is a worn out former country vet, masquerading as a senior provincial bureaucrat dabbling in the cow-calf and feedlot business near Hamiota.

Randy Pausch's "The Last Lecture" on UTube
The Five Secrets you must Discover before you die, by John Izzo

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