Tony Saretsky Tony Saretsky

Transcription

Alberta
BEEF
Publications Mail Agreement No. 40007805
APRIL 2013 Vol. 23 No. 4 Cover Price $4.00
Tony Saretsky
a diverse career path
• National checkoff
• Youth finance 101
CONTENTS
APRIL VOL. 23 NO. 4
7
18
Malcolm Allen
22
Youth, the new blood ........................................................................................ 7
It not as simple as NDP, MP Malcolm Allen thinks about how to keep our youth in agriculture.
All the programs designed to address keeping youth in the drivers seat of family farming
operations, are trumped by the reality of finance. Equity and the ability to repay for what is
the purchase of a business like any other will decide the fate of youth.
Tony Saretskys story of changing paths ......................................................18
Some call it happenstance and others fate. Regardless of the label, Tony Saretskys career has
weaved in and out of success and near failure - not of his own doing. Once having dreams
of being a school teacher with all its security, maybe it was the athlete in him that drove him
to greater challenges - business in the cattle industry.
Rich Smith
24
Check off debate continues .......................................................................... 22
Memorandum Of Agreement (MOA), part two. The contentious one dollar national levy
debate will stay for another couple of years. Signed by ABP and AB. Cattle Feeders
Association the MOA was encouraged by the minister of agriculture to be completed by
involved parties, rather than from his department. The Western Stock Growers however did
not sign on to the agreement and have their reasons why.
Sustainability is the newest buzz word ...................................................... 24
It's been in place for awhile now and recently CCA joined the Global Roundtable for
Sustainable Beef. A virtual who's who in the agriculture food chain. From McDonalds to big
pharma, banks and Walmart, this body works towards better managment practices. The larger
question is, can one size fit all in our diverse industry?
Alberta
BEEF
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4
ALBERTABEEF.CA | April 2013
Doug Sawyer
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Beef News
The Schmallenberg virus
A SECOND case of the
devastating livestock
disease - Schmallenberg - has been confirmed at a farm in
County Down, according to the Ulster
Farmers
Union, in Northern Ireland.
The disease that
can cause fetal abnormalities and stillbirths in
cattle and has already
wrecked havoc in many other parts
of Britain and in the Republic.
UFU President Harry Sinclair
urged farmers to remain cautious
and said, “We are disappointed that
the Schmallenberg virus has made
its way to Northern Ireland. SBV is
a non-notifiable virus, which does
not have any trade implications and
poses no threat to human health.
The real concern for farmers is the
possible losses on farm due to an increase in fetal mortality. The UFU
are appealing to all farmers to stay
vigilant and report any suspected
cases of the virus. We are also encouraging farmers to send animals
that are displaying clinical signs of
the virus to AFBI for post-mortem
testing, which will be free of
charge.”
It's been reported that in the Republic of Ireland there have been 65
cases of Schmallenberg. Sinclair
added that he expects more cases
given how its spread in Great
Britain and in Europe.
Ethanol,
the food price driver
The president of FarmEcon LLC
suggests reductions in the affordability of food resulting from increased ethanol fuel production can
be blamed for growing global political unrest.
6
A FarmEcon study using data
from the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Labor and Agriculture
which looked at food affordability
in the United States from 1950 to
2005, when the U.S. introduced its
renewable fuel mandate, shows increased ethanol production has coincided with dramatic increases in
the cost of food production and decreased food affordability.
FarmEcon president Dr. Tom Elam
says increased commodity costs have
been highly correlated with political
unrest in less developed countries
and we've seen riots and near riots
connected to higher food costs.
No to meatless Mondays
In a Australian city, there have
been thumbs down given to the
concept of a meat free week but,
thumbs up to freedom of choice for
consumers, even for vegetarians.
Animal rights group Voiceless
ran a meat free campaign last
month promoting vegetarianism,
which just happened to coincide
with a barbecue hosted by supermarket giant Woolworths. The Federal Agriculture Minister Joe
Ludwig and his Coalition counterpart John Cobb spoke briefly at the
event attended by a large gathering
of other politicians, agricultural industry representatives, media and
parliamentary staff.
Asked what he thought about
meat free week Minister Ludwig
said, “there wouldn’t be a day go by
that I wouldn’t eat meat”. In his
welcome, Minister Ludwig thanked
Woolworths for its commitment to
selling locally produced fresh food
and supporting Australian farmers.
As Mr Cobb welcomed guests to
the barbecue, he said it may be meat
free week “but I’m hoping to eat as
much of it as I can”. Mr Cobb said
veggie burgers were on the menu
from Woolworths, which was met
with a round of modest booing
from members of the gathering.
In a statement attacking the Voiceless campaign, Mr Cobb said people
should be allowed to consume meat
and meat products without the bullying and misleading tactics by animal activists who wanted to shut
down animal production.
“I'm not opposed to vegetarians.
Farmers produce fruit and vegetables too you know. But I am sick of
the preaching brigade. Those activists who aren't just content to
choose a vegetarian lifestyle for
themselves, which is their right but insist on imposing their choices
on the rest of us. That's where most
reasonable people draw the line. As
far as I'm aware, meat still plays an
important part in the food choices
recommended by nutritionist for a
balanced diet.”
Horse meat
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom
Vilsack spoke to reporters last
month saying, Congress should
come up with a better solution for
handling unwanted horses than
slaughtering the animals for meat
for human consumption.
His comments came as USDA’s
Food Safety and Inspection Service
has five at least partially completed
applications to slaughter horses for
human consumption, probably only
for export, under active review. Vilsack said there needs to be “a third
way” to deal with the nation’s horse
problem, instead of relying on just
killing the animals or slaughtering
them for human food.
Since Congress and the Obama
Administration lifted the ban on
horse slaughter for human consumption, five pending applications
have been filed and one has appealed USDA’s delay into federal
court. USDA prefers renewing the
ban instead.
Industry
How to get new blood
into the industry?
R
ecently the federal NDP party
suggested they may have
some answers to the burning
question of how to help young people enter the agricultural industry
however when called, the plan was
to say the least shy on detail.
“We believe there are two areas
the government could look at to
help in this area,” says Malcolm
Allen, MP for Westood. “We could
raise the capital gains cap from
$750,000, which would offer less tax
implication for the seller. If a family
member is involved in the purchase, then the seller might be able
to reduce the price.”
“As a government, we also have
the Farm Credit Corporation (FCC),
which was once seen as lenders
willing to take on higher risk Ag
customers. However, they have
evolved into a lender just like everyone else in the marketplace. We
think the government could direct
FCC to create more innovative programming to help with the generational changeover we’re seeing
today in agriculture.”
But, in the end, it does all come
down to money and equity, and the
ability to repay.
Scott Yule, Senior Director of
Marketing Strategy – pricing and
products for Farm Credit Canada
(FCC), says purchasing a farming
operation is no different than trying
to set up a Tim Horton’s franchise.
“It’s big business and we have to
assess whether there is a case to be
made to lend money,” he says. “The
worst thing we can do is to pump
Malcolm Allen
money into an operation that can’t
pay it back.”
“According to a 2006 Census, we
know that producers between the
April 2013 | ALBERTABEEF.CA
7
ages of 18 and 39 make up about 16
percent of Canadian producers. We
have created a loan program called
the Young Farmer Loan (YFL)
which offers qualified producers
under 40 years of age access to loans
of up to $500,000 to purchase or improve farmland and buildings. This
loan includes features and options
that address this demographic and
support their long-term success.”
The Young Farmer Loan (YFl) offers variable rates at prime plus 0.5
percent and special fixed rates with
no loan processing fees.
Introduced in April of 2012, by
November 2012, FCC had already
approved over 800 loans worth
more than $187 million. 170 loans
went to young producers in Alberta
with a total payout of $34.9 million.
330 producers in Saskatchewan
signed for $57.6 million.
Yule says he’s heard figures as
high as 97 percent of Canadian
farms are still family run.
“We hear a lot about consolida-
tion, but that doesn’t really paint the
proper picture of the Canadian agricultural industry. There aren’t a lot
of corporate farms per say which are
run from corporate office towers
somewhere. While many farms have
become incorporated, it is often
done for tax purposes,” says Yule.
“The FCC Transition loan, targets
a family member transaction.”
For the buyer, the features within
the FCC Transition Loan include
disbursements made to the seller
over time and up to five years with
interest charged only on the disbursed amount. Also, FCC will finance the down payment for a
maximum of seven years for qualifying purchasers.
For the seller, there is no risk because FCC guarantees full payment
of the sale proceeds backed by a
written Payment Schedule Guarantee. With the payments made over
time, there may also be some tax advantages.
Yule says that he’s talked to a lot
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FG13
of young farmers that don’t complain about access to capital.
They’re successful and they have a
business plan. They have money
but they can’t find land to buy.
Is it all dollars and cents?
Many of today’s farm and ranch
operators are much more sophisticated in the area of finance then
their forefathers. They have a huge
number of avenues to gain access to
more information and they’re taking advantage of it.
“We have above average viewership of our online training
videos. We have a young farmer
program and are big supporters of
the 4-H program. We are doing
different things in colleges and
working more and more with the
young and beginning farmers,”
says Yule.
Online there are interviews with
industry specialists discussing such
topics as Ask an Expert on land
rentals, imports and exports. A look
ahead: Economies and Your Farm
video talks about the drivers for the
future success in agriculture.
Key points include:
• In 40 years Earth’s population
could be 9.2 Billion and 87 percent
will be from emerging markets
• Canada’s food production will
need to increase by 60-70 percent
• Changing food preferences could
be the most important factor in
the Canadian economy
• Knowing what’s going on at the
consumer level can open up more
ways for producers and agribusinesses to run their operations
“There are some families that are
able to fund the next generation into
the family business, but we’re seeing a new group of people without
a farming background that see agriculture as a legitimate business,”
says Allen.
“They have the advantage of not
viewing the farm with an emotional
attachment. The cultural lifestyle
has become secondary.”
BY BONNIE WARNYCA
Opinion
Should you incorporate your farm?
Saving tax dollars is a goal many of us have. Although it’s not the
main source of our information making, knowing the tax
implications can play a big role when making a decision.
I
ncorporating your business operations is one idea that comes
up frequently when discussing
tax savings opportunities. Having
your business operation in a corporation can provide a tax advantage,
given the right facts. But that is not
always the case. When deciding
whether or not to incorporate it is
important to weigh the advantages
and disadvantages.
To start, let’s discuss the difference between an incorporated business vs. operating as a sole
proprietor (or as an individual). A
corporation is considered a separate
legal entity. Essentially it is the
equivalent of another person.
Therefore, a corporation can become involved in contracts, open
accounts and obtain debt. Also, like
an individual, it is required to pay
income taxes on profits.
However, a corporation has tax
rules and rates that apply which are
different than those that apply to a
sole proprietor. Some of these differences are described below.
Small business deduction
One of the main tax benefits of
incorporating your farm business is
the potential for lower tax rates
through a corporate tax rule referred to as the small business deduction.
The small business
deduction reduces both federal and
provincial tax for many owner
managed businesses on business
profits up to $500,000. If your Alberta farm corporation qualifies it
will pay 14% tax on any farm profits up to $500,000.
But how does this compare to the
rates you pay personally? For a sole
proprietor during 2012 in Alberta
that earns income in excess of
$132,500 the tax rate is 39%. When
you compare, that sounds like significant savings. However, everything
may not be as clear cut as it appears.
The tax system is set up in such a
way, that when net earnings are
taken out of a corporation and put
into the shareholders’ hands, the tax
paid both in the corporation and
personally will be the same as tax
that would have been paid had the
income been earned entirely in your
personal hands.
So why incorporate? A great example of when the lower tax rates
play in your favor is when you do
not require all of the income your
operation generates to fund your
personal lifestyle. Say for example
your company earns $300,000, but
you only need $100,000 of those
funds to pay for personal expenses.
That leaves $200,000 behind in the
company which would be taxed at
the lower 14% rate. That leaves
more after tax dollars behind in the
company. These extra dollars could
be used to pay down debt, finance
additional capital purchases or assist with an expansion.
Capital gains exemption
As a sole proprietor, any gains resulting from the sale of qualifying
farm assets can be reduced by the
personal capital gains exemption.
This exemption eliminates the tax
on up to $750,000 in gains resulting
from the sale of farm assets. Usually
this exemption is used on the sale of
farmland.
Corporations do not have the
capital gains exemption. Therefore,
if your corporation owns farm assets (for example land), and the cor-
Kevin Keith
poration sells the land, none of the
gain would be sheltered by the capital gains exemptions.
That being said, there is still
plenty of opportunity for you to use
your capital gains exemption even
if all your farm assets are in your
corporation. The shares you own in
the farm corporation could qualify
for the exemption. Another option
would be to leave some of your
farm assets in your personal name
outside of the corporation to utilize
the exemption at a future date.
There are many different plans
that can be used for the purposes of
utilizing your exemption when you
farm within a corporation, so be
sure to discuss with your advisor to
see what options are available.
Farm losses
Another great example of the tax
differences between a farm operation that is incorporated and one
that is not is the ability to utilize
farm losses. If you operate as a sole
proprietor and your business is generating losses, depending on the
facts, these losses could be used to
reduce your other sources of personal income.
9
Since a corporation is considered a separate legal entity and
can enter into contracts etc., the risk is absorbed by the company
for any liabilities that are assumed by the business.
Once incorporated, any farm
losses incurred cannot be used to
offset any personal income earned.
The losses will carry forward in the
farm corporation but must be used
when the farm becomes profitable.
This could mean leaving behind
precious tax dollars due to unutilized losses.
In addition to the tax differences discussed above, there are
other considerations when determining whether a corporation is
rightfor you;
Limited liability
Since a corporation is considered
a separate legal entity and can enter
into contracts etc., the risk is absorbed by the company for any lia-
bilities that are assumed by the
business. The shareholders of the
corporation are not normally considered to be liable for the debts of
the corporation.
As such, corporations can provide asset protection by keeping
your personal and corporate assets
separate. Since banks often ask
small business owners for personal
guarantees before they will provide
financing, incorporation may not
protect you from all creditors.
Additional costs
Incorporation creates several
additional annual costs. There is a
requirement for increased record
keeping, the filing of corporate
tax returns and other government
filings such as corporation’s annual
return.
As you can see there are many
different aspects to consider when
deciding whether or not to incorporate. This article just discusses a few
of the concepts but is not a complete
list. You should consult with your
advisor regarding incorporation
and how it will specifically apply to
your operation.
Kevin Keith is a Chartered Accountant and tax partner in KPMG’s agribusiness industry practice in Lethbridge.
He can be reached at (403) 380-5704 or
by E-mail at kkeith@kpmg.ca. He would
like to thank Ebony Verbonac and Lieke
Rupert of KPMG for their assistance
with writing this article.
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Opinion
USDA to intensify mCOOL
N
ot satisfied with a law that
punished the entire domestic meat industry chain and
our best trading partners and did
nothing for consumer/taxpayers,
USDA has proposed ratcheting up
the punishment, in defiance of the
World Trading Organization (WTO)
rules it chooses sometimes to ignore.
The mandatory Country-ofOrigin law was passed by Congress in 2008, in spite of warnings
by the majority of meat industry
participants that it was anti-trade,
would be ruled illegal by the WTO,
would cost the industry hundreds
of millions of dollars, severely disturb trade relations with Canada
and Mexico and cost consumers
money for little or no benefit to
them. USDA regulations written to
interpret the law did nothing to
soften the impact on livestock and
meat industries reeling from soaring fuel prices -- partially a result
of other government interference
(ethanol) in the energy market -unprecedented corn price increases
(related to the same government
interference), a plummeting economy and resulting depressed consumer demand.
From agriculture, the only organizations that cheered the law and
regulations were those that want
government to hinder or stop imports or exports; that want to break
up larger packers, retailers, ranches
and feedyards and repeal the laws
of economics and abandon free
markets. Consumer activist groups
who allied with the populist farm
groups favored the law and regulations because they always favor bigger government, more stringent
oversight and believe most busi-
Steve Dittmer
nesses are corrupt, untrustworthy
and are able to bear any cost serving their mantra of "information" or
"transparency."
The law has been in effect for
three years. The costs and burdens
Doesn’t take
breaks or
call in sick:
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on the meat production chain and
on our trading partners have been
amply demonstrated. The WTO rulings and appeals have held the law
illegal according to agreed upon
trade rules. The lack of any worthwhile benefit to consumers has been
shown as predicted by the law's opponents. So USDA and the Administration had a perfect opportunity
to back off and admit the law and
regulations were a bad, expensive,
pointless experiment and comply
gracefully with the WTO rulings.
Alas, they didn't see it that way.
Rather than scrap a bad law and
boost a struggling economy with increased two-way trade, the administration has chosen to do the
opposite. The WTO ruled that the
law didn't conform to WTO rules
because imported meat had to meet
more discriminatory rules than domestic meat. Rather than remove or
ease those rules on imported meat,
USDA has instead proposed to further embed the damaging and ex-
pensive rules by inflicting them
upon all domestic meat. That way,
the government further increases
costs to segregate livestock and
meat, increases labeling restrictions
and categories -- all to provide information consumers aren't really
interested in but will have to pay for
during bad economic times.
In its proposed rule, USDA said
2,808 slaughtering and processing
firms, 38 chicken processors and
4,335 retailers, totaling over 7,000
companies, would need to "augment" the information tracked and
labeled. The agency estimates the
midpoint of the costs for these
changes would be over $32 million,
with a high estimate of over $47 million. We ask you, when has the government ever estimated costs
wherein actual costs were anything
but much higher than their estimates? Mind you, this is the government that can't afford the relatively
minor costs of White House tours,
that is planning to cut back meat in-
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spection, and therefore, all slaughter
and processing activity, to four days
a week by midsummer. But its okay
to foist another $30 million or $50
million or who knows how many
more millions on the meat industry
and consumers because...well, because government can.
Additionally, we assume USDA's
cost figures only count actual segregation and recordkeeping costs at
slaughter, processing and retailing.
We doubt they account for costs invisible to the agency, in terms of lost
packing plant efficiencies, lower
throughput and resulting higher
costs of processing per head. Those
higher costs leave less free cash flow
to use in bidding for livestock.
These types of cost increases are
even harder for smaller and border
region plants to manage, because
they had been operating with cattle
or hogs from feeders on both sides
of the border. Shortages of supply
and plant inefficiencies ripple down
faster to area feedlots and ranchers
in border areas.
The cost of losing a plant in those
situations can be of survival level
importance, when access is limited
to a plant now 500 miles away, with
attendant freight costs and stress
losses. Both domestic feeders and
ranchers as well as those from
Canada or ranchers from Mexico
lose out when plants close, slaughter days are limited or bids suffer
from higher packer costs. Canada's
feeders have lost hundreds of millions of dollars a year ($4060/head) because packers discount
their cattle due to added processing, segregating, tracking and labeling costs forced by mCOOL.
University of California-Davis research also documented thousands
of U.S. packing industry jobs at risk
because of this law.
USDA's figures also do not include the costs to livestock feeders
to tracking and documenting the
origin and subsequent location at
multiple life stages.
BY STEVE DITTMER
14
Opinion
Spring trips north once more
S
pring didn't boldly walk North
this March 21. Instead, she
stumbled and fell a few times
and with that, brought blizzards,
closed roads and impacted quite a
few bull sales. Bar3R Limousin had
to reschedule at Oyen; LLB Angus
dodged the bullet yet had a wonderful sale; and Ben and Carol Tams had
Saskatchewan buyers affected when
a storm swept from the North and
paralyzed the north east of Alberta
and Saskatchewan.
The Tams had an excellent offering March 22 at Taber. A big crowd
was on hand to take home their
rugged, nicely fed Charolais and
Angus bulls. Met a lot of folks from
all over Alberta there. They have an
extremely loyal core of supporters
for their program which has slowly
developed over the past decade. Repeat buyers, great condition on the
bulls, a nicely presented sale catalogue and an excellent indoor sale
facility at Taber all helped. Rob
Holowaychuk, once again as usual,
did a pretty good job in his presentation of these cattle.
Cindy Conley just called the
other day from Castor, things are
pretty bad up there with the deep
snow, drifts, school closures and the
rest of the problems that come with
a deep winter. It's the worst one she
Carol and Ben Tams of Taber.
16
can remember; and it summons up
memories of my life at Hardisty in
the 1950's with drifts so big we
couldn't get to town; locked in at the
ranch with no hope of emergency
travel or getting supplies. We had a
wood stove; our own gas, food and
supplies and just had to suffer out
till the drifts melted and prayed
nothing serious happened in the interim. Home medical remedies were
all we had.
So really, 55 years later; not much
has changed.
Methinks we will continue to see
more cold and snow; though we do
not need it. Roy Rutledge called to report the deepest snow pack in
Saskatchewan history. Naturally we
worry now about spring flooding
and when green grass will come for
the cows and calves. Every season,
every year, brings a fresh change of
troubles. But I am sure more changes
are to come; we can handle them and
adapt, or perish. We just don't need
to lose any more calves to April
storms when those calves' value is
pretty dear right now and our herd is
in the rebuilding mode once again.
I shared some time with Ed Miller
of Acme and Bob Perlich at the Tams
sale. There are some interesting developments taking place in our livestock
industry. What we think we see hap-
Lee Gunderson
pening and read and hear about; is
very different from what is really happening. The weather; the global economy and North American economics
are going to morph everything we
know and have planned in the next
two years. So: travel light; keep what
extra feed on hand that you can
gather; and remember that generally
storms (of different sorts) often come
in bunches. Cast your eyes to Australia; Mongolia; the US mid-west; and
don't forget the hard lessons of 2002
and 2009. We aren't coasting downhill
yet. As Peter Adams said last fall to
me, “Is that a light at the end of the
tunnel or a locomotive?”
Ed Miller of Highway 21 Feeders.
BY LEE GUNDERSON
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Profile
Swimming upstream in
international waters
The why and how Tony Saretsky became involved in the cattle industry could be explained by
happenstance. While his grandparents farmed in the Viscount area of Saskatchewan, the family farm
was lost during the depression.
18
PHOTO BY LEE GUNDERSON
S
aretsky’s own parents, a WWII
veteran and an English war
bride, chose to settle in the
City of Saskatoon.
For Saretsky, a stellar athlete, the
city offered a smorgasbord of sports
to choose from. “In high school I
played competitive hockey and
football and baseball,” he says. “I
played defense up to junior hockey,
and was a defensive lineman on the
Saskatoon Hilltops football club the
farm team at the time for the
Saskatchewan Roughriders. I also
helped coach high school midget
hockey and high school football. As
a Canadian champion, I am in the
Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame.”
“I once thought I would become a
high school teacher, but a friend’s
family had invested in a local cattle
operation and I took a part time job as
a hired hand. It not only helped to pay
my university tuition, but provided a
close up view of the cattle industry."
It was the early 1970’s, and the
exotics had just appeared on the
scene. The farm imported some
high-priced Charolais genetics and
Saretsky travelled with the cattle to
shows such as the Toronto Royal
and Agribition. He had a ringside
seat during the transformative years
in the Canadian beef cattle industry.
“I became passionate about the
cattle industry and changed my degree to a Commerce Degree. But, I
also wanted to take some agricultural economics classes,” remembers Saretsky.
“I had to get special permission
from the Dean and faculty and approval from the College of Agriculture. It proved to be one of many
uphill battles I would fight to be in
this industry. In the end, I was
Tony Saretsky with George McGaffin and Dough Henderson (right).
granted leave to take the classes and
count them towards my degree.”
Following university, the young
graduate went to work for Burns
Foods in their corporate office working in Calgary, Winnipeg and Kitchener. But, a year later he was recruited
as the Marketing Manager for the
Canadian Charolais Association.
It felt a little like coming home
and he took on his new role
which included international travel
with gusto.
“I soon realized that all international livestock deals were handled
by a few companies located in eastern Canada. I saw the opportunity
to start an international livestock
marketing company here in the
west - in the heart of cattle country,”
says Saretsky.
“Well known Calgary area
rancher Ken Copithorne and I
formed an organization called Alberta Canada All Breeds. We sold a
little of everything. Dairy cattle
“We cheer when we sell something in another country,
but the reality is that for every animal we sell into some countries,
the Australians probably sell 100 and the Americans 50.”
were a hot commodity in Japan and
South Korea. We sold thousands of
commercial Charolais heifers to
South Korea and purebred cattle of
almost every breed into Mexico as
well as some sheep. We also had orders for various types of horses
from thoroughbreds to saddle
horses to go into Southeast Asia.”
It was and is a complex business.
All the health requirements had to
be met; humane and reliable transportation booked and above all –
get payment before the animals
leave the country.
“We utilized both cargo plane
and boat transportation. There was
a lot of competition for air travel
and it was a lot less expensive and
more available than it is today,”
says Saretsky.
“We sent partial shipments all
THE SPIRIT OF
THE WEST
over the world from Miami,
Chicago, Los Angeles, New York
and booked charters out of Calgary,
Edmonton, Toronto and Seattle.”
The “getting paid” part of the
deal proved difficult because there
were only a few banks in western
Canada that dealt with foreign currency and letters of credit. Those
banks were based in Vancouver. It
was yet another uphill battle for
this livestock trader to work with
various banks to educate them
about dealing with overseas customers.
By 1982 it was time for a new
direction
Tony and his wife Marilyn
formed Cantriex Livestock International Inc. and continued to market
Canadian livestock from their Calgary office. But international sales
began to slow and Saretsky looked
to the U.S. to market Canadian
slaughter and feeder cattle.
There were years when Saretsky
sold as many as a 250,000 head of
cattle into American feedlots, farms
and packing houses.
“Selling volumes of feeders and
fed cattle into the States, helped to
kick-start the feeding industry here
in Alberta,” says Saretsky.
“Big players began appearing on
the scene such as IBP, the Miller
family and the Monforts. In those
days, Canada sold more livestock o
the U.S. packing industry than we
did here at home.”
As the family became more successful, they began to build a hard
asset base and purchased farm land
and a home near Lacombe. They also
purchased a 9,000 head feedlot at
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19
PHOTO BY LEE GUNDERSON
David Saretsky with Lee Brown and and Tony Saretsky at Erskie.
Ponoka to feed mostly owned-cattle.
The feedlot and farmland were
sold about four years ago, but the
family continues to run a 400 head
black cow/calf operation and
owns and leases about 3,000 acres
of pasture.
Cantriex Livestock International
Inc. is still very much in business.
The Saretsky’s son David is now
doing most of the international
travel and deal making.
“We’re still rebuilding after the
crash of 2003. One day we had an
export business with a $350 Million
dollar handle and the next day, it
was down to zero,” says Saretsky.
“We were one of the few groups
that didn’t receive any compensation
for the border closures. Yet during
the BSE years, many of the companies we dealt with changed hands
and some more than once. We’re still
rebuilding the lost network.”
If you’re not in front you’re behind
“The export business is once
again building, but Canadians are
far behind other countries,” suggests Saretsky.
“BSE proved how dependant our
industry was on exports particularly to the U.S.”
“We cheer when we sell something
in another country, but the reality is
that for every animal we sell into
some countries, the Australians probably sell 100 and the Americans 50.”
“Last year one Australian company, for instance, sold 40,000 head
of beef cattle to Kazakhstan while
Canada probably sold 1,000 all
tolled. The U.S. sold another 40,000
cattle into Turkey and 12,000 head
of registered dairy cattle to Saudi
Arabia. Canada doesn’t even have
protocols with those countries.”
29th Annual
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Monday, April 22nd 2013
Upcoming
April Sales
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APRIL 24
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APRIL 26
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Rod MacLean
403-793-3060
General Manager
Ross Annett
403-793-4715
Auctioneer
Lachie McKinnon
403-362-1825
Field Rep.
Lowell Johnston
403-820-0516
Field Rep.
“Serving Alberta’s Livestock Industry Since 1940”
BROOKS, ALBERTA (403) 362-5521
P.O. Box 1299, Brooks Alberta T1R 1C2
“Serving Alberta’s Livestock Industry Since 1940”
bowslope@eidnet.org | www.bowslope.com
20
ALBERTABEEF.CA | March 2013
Call for a sale catalog or email: kimrobertson@xplornet.com
Saretsky suggests that our competitors are more organized and
certainly better funded. He points
to Australia which collects a checkoff of $9 a head for roughly 120 million cattle, yet some of our industry
members want to reduce the
amount of check-off dollars for international sales.
Cantriex customer base has
changed. While they have standing
orders on slaughter and feeder cattle year-round, they are now receiving more and more orders for
naturally-raised beef and EU certified cattle, from new clients developed by David.
But, again it’s an upstream swim
trying to get more veterinarians EU
accredited in order to be able to certify more Canadian herds.
“It’s sometimes tough for guys
of my vintage to accept the changes
that have come about,” he admits.
“There are larger cow/calf operations and larger feedlots. With
more consolidation it takes more
money, more organization and
more management to run an Agri
business. Operators must not only
manage the futures market, but
manage all the other inputs from
feed to traceability and environmental concerns. We need more
Canadian herds to embrace genomics and identify superior cattle,
something the Americans have
been doing for years.”
“As a livestock exporting country – we need to look in the
mirror and see how we can adapt
and change to meet these new realities and realize that exports
account for roughly 50 percent of
our production.”
BY BONNIE WARNYCA
Tony Saretsky has served on many beef-related boards and committees over the years which include: Director CCA, ABP and CCIA; industry rep and executive member for the Industry Advisor Committee on
Traceability; Director – Alberta Livestock Dealers and Order Buyers
Assoc.; Chair of the Cattle industry Council, Alberta Beef Industry Council, Canadian Livestock Exporters Association, the Patron’s Insurance
Fund and the Livestock Claims Review Tribunal; served as an advisor for
the Alberta BSE Recovery; beef and cattle producer advisor on CFIA; and
member of the beef and cattle producer advisory committee on trade.
He also sat on many ad hoc committees dealing with brand inspection,
check-off and others.
Saretsky was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal for his
years of industry participation.
21
Industry
Non-refundable dollar under attack
I
n mid-February, the Alberta Beef
Producers (ABP) and the Alberta
Cattle Feeders Assoc. signed a
Memorandum
of
Agreement
(MOA) to have the non-refundable
one dollar national levy remain
non-refundable until June 30, 2015.
An earlier agreement was due to
expire March 31, 2013 and both parties worked hard to obtain an agreement before the expiry date.
“In the fall of 2010 we signed a
MOA with Cattle Feeders to make
the one dollar levy non-refundable,” explains Rich Smith, ABP’s
Executive Director.
“Even though it’s up to the Alberta minister of agriculture to put in
place the regulations to extend the
non-refundable levy, he encouraged
the industry players to work together
to obtain a new agreement. We received a clear direction from our
membership and delegates to maintain the status quo on the dollar.”
In the end, while ABP wanted a
longer length of time and the Alberta Cattle Feeders wanted a
shorter length of time, they finally
agreed on the March 2015 date.
It’s a common misconception
that this levy goes to the Canadian
Cattlemen’s Association, but it goes
to support Canada Beef and the
Beef Cattle Research Council.
In last month’s Alberta Beef Magazine, Canada Beef’s chair Chuck
MacLean cautioned the industry
about messing with the non-refundable dollar. He is concerned
that a refundable dollar would impact the ability of the industry to
impose a beef import levy. He said
that if we don’t put a levy on our
own beef, we can’t put a levy on imported beef.
MacLean also suggested that a
Canadian import levy could bring
in as much as three quarters of a
million dollars and by leveraging
those dollars against industry development funds, it could grow to
22
ALBERTABEEF.CA | March 2013
as much as $4 million dollars.
But the non-refundable agreement still doesn’t sit too well with
the Western Stock Growers.
“We’ve been asking for the dollar
to be refundable to ensure full accountability for its use,” says Aaron
Brower, new chair of the Western
Stock Growers.
“We operate our own organization with money from our membership and we don’t get per
diems for travel or money for attending meetings.”
“By making the national levy of
one dollar refundable, it allows us
to reward those organizations that
are doing a good job.”
The Western Stock Growers are
still a little disgruntled with the reorganization of the Canada Beef
Export Federation and the Beef Information Centre into Canada Beef.
“In my eyes, they’ve been moving furniture around the room and
not totally tending to business,”
says Brower, a 550 head cow/calf
producer near the Canadian/Montana border.
“If an organization is sustainable
then it doesn’t matter if they have
mandated money.”
But still, Smith agrees with
MacLean that Alberta needs to be
on board with the non-refundable
national levy or we won’t get equal
treatment across the country. About
the same time the last two provincial holdouts Prince Edward Island
and Quebec came on board with a
non-refundable levy, Alberta went
the other way to make it refundable.
“Canada Beef Inc. is moving aggressively forward with the federal
government to be able to start
charging a one dollar levy on imported cattle and equivalent beef.
We expect that to happen this year,”
says Smith.
But, the Stock Growers think that
having the dollar refundable won’t
impact the industry’s ability to
Rich Smith
charge a levy on imported cattle.
“No one is saying don’t have a
check-off,” says Brower, “we just
want to make sure that that funds
can be reallocated to where they do
the most good or that we can be
more nimble with our commitment
in some areas.”
According to ABP’s accounts,
after three years with a refundable
two dollar service charge, they’ve
lost roughly 30 percent of funding.
While ABP continues to maintain
their operations, the loss in revenue has severely reduced their
ability to put larger amounts
of money towards research
projects and impacted their marketing budget.
“The original argument for a refundable levy was so producers
would have more control of how
their money was spent. Many
pledged that the money would stay
in the industry, but we’re not seeing
that,” says Smith.
He says that refunds show that
11 operations are pulling out almost
half of the total check-off dollars
while 80 producers are clawing
back about 85 percent of the money.
ABP sees no evidence that the funds
have been re-allocated back to work
for the good of the industry.
BY BONNIE WARNYCA
Advertorial
Working together around
power lines
A
s the spring planting season
draws closer, ATCO Electric is urging farmers to plan ahead and select the safest routes for the movement of
large farm equipment near power lines.
ATCO Electric is available to help.
Upon request the company will arrange
for local staff to measure line heights near
the farm to help with the planning of
equipment moves. To take advantage of
this service, farm customers should call 1800-668-2248 and ask to be connected to
their local ATCO Electric office.
“We place a very high priority on the
safety of our workers and our customers,”
said Bobbi Lambright, ATCO Electric President, Operations Division. “Big farm
equipment and power lines can be a very
dangerous mix and we want to do our part
to keep everyone safe.”
In situations where farm equipment is
too tall to pass safely under a power line,
ATCO Electric will provide up to four
hours of free labour per move to lift the
lines to a safe height. This service is available to ATCO Electric’s farm customers
and to customers of Rural Electrification
Associations operated by ATCO Electric.
ATCO Electric’s farm safety incentive
program is having an impact and the
number of incidents involving farm
equipment contacting power poles and
lines has dropped. In 2012, there were 48
recorded incidents. Working together,
ATCO Electric and farm customers can
further reduce this risk.
For more information on ATCO Electric’s farm safety incentive program, call
the Customer Assistance Center at 1-800668-2248 or visit atcoelectric.com. Always
ask yourself: Where’s the Line?
23
Industry
A new international organization
focuses on “Sustainability”
T
he Canadian Cattlemen’s AsRoundtable. He believes this new
sociation (CCA) recently
entity will help bring the members
joined the Global Roundof the value chain much closer totable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB).
gether and help to better align fuIt was developed out of the Global
ture actions in such areas as animal
Conference on Sustainable Beef
welfare and transparency.
held in Denver, Colorado in De“As an industry, we have to be
cember of 2012.
careful that retailers and wholeThe GRSB is organized as an insalers don’t take the lead on how
dependent non-profit organization
we produce our beef product,”
in Switzerland. Current membersays Sawyer.
ship includes the National Cattle“I’m not convinced that some of the
men’s Beef Association, Cargill, JBS,
proposed management changes are
Marfrig, McDonald’s, Walmart,
actually coming from the consumer.”
Elanco, Merck, GTPS (Brazilian
“This new roundtable will allow
Roundtable for sustainable livethe industry to feed information upstock) the Roundtable for Sustainwards in the value chain as opposed
able beef Australia, Dow Agro
to having directives come from the
Chemicals, Darden, the World
top down.”
Wildlife Fund, Solidaridad, The
Sawyer says that the U.S. has hired
Nature
Conseran outside company
vancy, and the Na“This new roundtable to research their sustional
Wildlife
tainability informawill allow the industry tion. He fears that a
Federation.
In Canada, susthird party may put
to feed information
tainability is alrigid a national
upwards in the value too
ready a key pillar
system in play with
chain as opposed to
of the Beef Cattle
little input from the
Research Council
having directives come American cattle(BCRC), a division
producing States. If
from
the
top
down.”
of the CCA. Rethat happens, maksearch funded by
ing changes after the
the BCRC has led to improvements
fact is much more difficult. And, how
in productivity and efficiency
would it hog tie producers on this
which clearly impact on environside of the border?
mental sustainability.
Sawyer says that when you look
In order to augment the Canaat the national sustainability files
dian side of the discussion, the
which include environment and
CCA has begun to gather together
animal welfare, there are things
industry representatives to form a
that fall under provincial jurisdicCanadian roundtable to funnel
tion and may be handled differtheir ideas into this new internaently among the provinces. He says
tional body.
we need to build a system that
Doug Sawyer, a cow/calf proworks for everyone. He is also conducer from Pine Lake and chair of
cerned that non-competitive issues
the Alberta Beef Producers (ABP),
such as animal welfare should not
is set to become a new member of
be held up as competitive issues
the
Canadian
Sustainability
between members of the wholesale
24
Doug Sawyer
and retail sector.
“Good husbandry practices are
good for animals and good for us
collectively. We shouldn’t be competing with them,” says Sawyer.
Sawyer is fine with value chains
promoting their differences in the
production of their animals but not
at the expense of the industry by inferring that other animals are not
raised humanely and safely.
“It puts a negative spin on the
whole industry and it’s not an uplifting process,” he explains.
“We already have a good working relationship with the packers
at the federal roundtable and
through Canada Beef Inc. We need
to extend that to the wholesalers
and retailers.”
“I don’t want to make something different. I want to make
what we have better and rely on
good science and common sense to
move the industry forward. Contrary to some opinions, we are not
raising cats and dogs, we are raising food animals and there is a
marked difference.”
BY BONNIE WARNYCA
UCVM
BEEF CATTLE CONFERENCE
Pushing the Frontiers of Beef Cattle Health
June 20th – 21st, 2013
Coast Plaza Hotel & Conference Centre, Calgary
Update on Current Bovine Disease Issues:
Animal Welfare:
Dr. Edouard Timsit, UCVM
Dr. Frank van der Meer, UCVM
Dr. Jordan Holt, Highview Animal Clinic
Dr. Joyce Van Donkersgoed, Alberta Beef Health Solutions
Dr. Heather MacQuarrie, Calgary North Veterinary Hospital
Officer Lyle Lester, Alberta Fish & Wildlife
Dr. Aaron Gibbons, Lethbridge Animal Clinic
Dr. Ed Pajor, UCVM
Bruce Feinberg, McDonald’s Corporation
Christy Goldhawk, UCVM
Dr. Joseph Stookey, Western College of Veterinary Medicine
Dr. Nathan Erickson, Veterinary Agri-Health Services
Dr. Reynold Bergen, Canadian Cattlemen’s Association
Nutrition and Health:
NEW this year….
Optional interactive workshop and seminar on
mineral feeding with Dr. John McKinnon at our
Spy Hill facility
@UCVMbeef
Dr. John Campbell, Western College of Veterinary Medicine
Dr. Eric Behlke, Feedlot Health Management Services
Dr. Greg Penner, University of Saskatchewan
Dr. John McKinnon, University of Saskatchewan
UCVM Beef Cattle Conference
Registration information online at vet.ucalgary.ca/beef r Phone: 403.210.7309 rEmail: beef@ucalgary.ca
Photo by Lee Gunderson
AUCTION MARKETS
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Dryland Cattle Trading Corp.
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Mr.Graham Schetzsle
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111 - 2116 - 27 Ave NE
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Reg. Sales Weds. 8:30 a.m.
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(780) 336-2209
Mr. Clifford Grinde
(780) 336-6333
Box 100
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Regular Sales Every Thursday at 9 am
Sekura Livestock/Triple J
780-349-3153
Westlock
Regular Sales Every Friday at 9 am
Sekura Livestock/Rimbey
403-843-2439
Rimbey
Regular Sales Every Tuesday at 8:30 am
FG13
Opinion
They shoot horses, don't they?
T
he American horse slaughter
industry could be up and
running within weeks after
Congress finally lifted the five-year
ban on funding USDA horse meat
inspections. This is a major victory
that transcends our shared border.
When the U.S. effectively prohibited horse slaughter for meat in
2007, I was working for a newspaper in Maple Creek, Saskatchewan.
Now, Maple Creek is not a large
town, but it’s more of a cow town
than any I’ve seen in Alberta, and
that translates into a high rate of per
capita common sense. I learned a lot
about the ranching and livestock industry there, and I followed the
horse slaughter issue closely.
I wrote an opinion editorial lambasting the anti-slaughter “dogooders” and the legislators who
allowed an invalid, emotion-based
opinion to usurp sound science and
economic reality. It blew my mind
that the most militarily and monetarily powerful country in the world
could succumb to such extremist
lobbying. Within hours, the emails
started pouring in from all over the
U.S., and from within Canada. This
was a small weekly newspaper, but
word got out and the column went
viral. I was called names I wouldn’t
repeat in a room full of angry sailors
and I received several threats of
bodily harm or death. So the next
week, I wrote another pro-slaughter
column, and then another one and
the hate mail eventually stopped. I
learned you can’t give an inch to
these people, and you can’t get
emotional. You need to stay steadfast in sound science to support
your position.
Another thing I learned from
this business is that nothing is ever
black and white, and morality is
subjective. I know a cowboy who
wept like a baby when he had to
put his best working horse down,
but that same cowboy would send
his canners to town without a second thought. This duality is the
very essence of what it means to
work in and truly understand the
livestock industry, and it’s nearly
impossible to explain to someone
that hasn’t lived it.
It’s not just horses either – how
many of us smile in delight at the
sight of two spring calves playing
together in fresh, green grass? Who
hasn’t been at a 4-H auction and
had their eyes water in sympathy
with the bawling youngsters as they
part from the animals they’ve handraised? How many ranchers will
keep an old crock around for years
after she’s gone dry, because she
was an easy calver and owes the
ranch nothing? These are the truths
that exist in our business – right
alongside the truth that in the end,
most of these animals are eaten.
Sheri Monk
The extremist organizations out
there do not allow for these complicated truths. There is no room for
reasoning or negotiating. We face an
unrelenting tide of pressure lobbying for nothing less than the total
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27
abolishment of the meat trade. And
while many of the anti-horse
slaughter people are not opposed to
the cattle trade, their position still
weakens us all.
Another truth is that slaughter
and death isn’t pretty. It’s bloody
business, and most people don’t
have the stomach for it until it’s on
styrofoam and wrapped in plastic.
The anti-hunting lobby is a terrifying example of what happens
when do-gooders go mad. This
past fall, I shot my first deer, and I
was proud of my achievement. I’d
never been hunting before, and as
Cantriex Livestock
International Inc.
Tony R. Saretsky
Cell: 403.391.3985
David Saretsky
Cell: 403.896.9616
Competitive bids on fat cattle 52 weeks a year
P.O. Box 4638, Ponoka, AB. T4J 1S4
Bus: 403.782.5583
Fax: 403.782.9224
ALBERTA BEEF
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Westway Feed Products
Westway produces animal feeds including Mol-Mix Range
Supplements, Promolas Feedlot Suspensions and other
molasses based feed products. 1-800-563-6371
www.westway.com
Greg Cripps - Farm & Ranch Sales
Re/Max Real Estate
Central Alberta
Farms & Ranches For Sale in Alberta that are located from the
USA border to north of Edmonton, and to the Sask. border.
403-391-2648 www.canadiancattleranches.com
Don Laing Trailers
Don Laing Trailers, is a family run business since 1981. We have built
our business on quality product, integrity and affordable competitive
prices. Ph: 1-888-210-8400 www.donlaingtrailers.com
Norbert’s Manufacturing
Norbert’s Manufacturing has been building the strongest most
aerodynamic steel trailers in the industry for over 25 years. We build
a full line of Stock, Horse, Flatdeck and Utility trailers for your needs.
PH: 1-204-827-2015 www.norberts.com
28
far as I know, I’m the first one to
own a rifle on both sides of my
family since they left the Old
World. And so, I sent my meat-eating mother a photo of myself and
my son posing with my buck. To
me, it represented self-reliance, capable feminism, and a deeper connection to the land on which I live.
My normally rational, steak-loving
mother called me a murderer.
As a result of these external
pressures on our business, we tend
to recoil in fear when we start talking about things like our social licence to operate, or what our best
industry practises should be as it
pertains to humane handling and
treatment. But there’s more than
fear among us – there’s a growing
anger that’s starting to scare me.
Back in science class we all
learned that for every action, there
is an equal and opposite reaction
and when it comes to the livestock
industry, that reaction could be
pretty damaging.
Tom Sappington, a contractor
working for the Valley packing
facility in New Mexico which is
hoping to be the first facility to
begin slaughtering horses again,
filmed and uploaded his rage
onto Youtube. At his private
property, he walking toward the
camera with a horse in tow, pistol
on his hip. He looks at the camera
and says, “All you animal activists, f*ck you!” Then he shoots
the animal, which has a very fast
death as the video ends.
As an industry, we need to be our
own advocates, and our own police.
Loose canons like this have to be
alienated from our culture – we
simply can’t afford to tolerate behaviour like this. We have to be as
transparent as we can – even about
the messy, bloody part of the business, but without being exploitive.
You see, a big part of the problem is that most people are so disconnected from animal production
that they have no ability to differentiate between humane and incontinued on page 37
Deer River Ranching
Black Angus Bull Sale
Saturday April 27 – 1 p.m.
At Bow Slope Shipping Assoc. Brooks AB.
Featuring 125
Photo Lee Gunderson
• Yearling & 2 Year Old Black Angus Bulls
• Unmatched Calving ease • Longevity
• Low Maintenance
Bruce
(403) 501-4416
bruce@deerriverranching.com
Lane or Jean
(403) 566-2010
beasley@eidnet.org
www.bowslope.com (click on sale day)
deerriverranching.com
A summer internship helps
to promote agriculture
Karla Ness is in her third year of a four-year Communications degree at Mount Royal
University in Calgary. While university seems to be a long way from the family farm at
Lougheed, a summer internship is taking her back to her roots.
“
I
landed a summer job with the
Canadian Angus Association and
I will be working with their junior program,” says Ness.
“I will be billeted with the
woman that heads the Junior Angus
program in Regina and spend May
and June talking to Saskatchewan
high school students about 4-H,
Angus cattle and agriculture.”
“The rest of the summer I will attend Angus summer shows and
work at the Calgary Stampede
Angus beef booth. In addition, I am
an active member of the 4-H committee for the stampede and volunteer for 4-H on Parade and the
4-H Rodeo in Alberta.”
As excited about her first internship as she is, Ness has had no reservations
about
promoting
agriculture and the cattle industry
to her city classmates.
“My email address begins with
wilmacow so that’s always a conversation opener,” she laughs.
“Wilma was the first Hereford
heifer I had in 4-H when I was nine
years old in the Iron Creek 4-H beef
club at Sedgewick. Wilma and I won
showmanship our very first year and
I took her back and showed her
again as a two-year old and threeyear old. She is still on the farm and
calving out good progeny.”
Ness has added more numbers
to her Wilma cow with a mix of
Hereford/Angus cross commercial
cows and some purebred Red
Angus cows.
Ness and Wilma.
“4-H projects helped me to increase my cow numbers and although I really enjoyed the fitting
and showing, my main interest was
in the leadership opportunities offered in the 4-H program,” she says.
Ness sat on several executive
boards over the years and served as
Great Expectations - spotlight on young achievers
president of her beef club for three
years. Since the club met in a
church in Sedgewick, the club
members helped clean the church
and volunteered for several other
projects both for the church and
the community.
“Our club had up to 30 members
Ness with brothers Kyle and Justin during harvest.
Wilma and Ness win showmanship.
at times and we did things like play the elves during
Santa Days held in the community. We also held mock
show days for other 4-H kids in the district which
helped them improve their fitting and showing skills.”
Ness took a year off from high school and through
the Agriventure program, travelled to New Zealand
where she milked cows for seven months.
Ness says that helping to host and work at community events has helped to shape her direction in
public relations.
“I’d like to have a career working in community relations or investor relations with a small community business or a corporate company,” she says. “My preference
is to be out in the communities and do event planning.”
BY BONNIE WARNYCA
Fred, the dog, helped Ness bring in the cows for milking in New
Zealand.
Every Ralgro implant has the potential
to add up to 23 extra pounds* to a suckling calf.
The profitable weigh.
*Data on file. **Rate of return may vary depending on market conditions.
® Registered trademark of Schering-Plough Animal Health Corporation. Used under license.
Merck Animal Health, operating in Canada as Intervet Canada Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA.
MERCK is a trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA.
Copyright © 2011 Intervet International B.V., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA. All rights reserved.
4-H ALBERTA 2013 LIVESTOCK SHOW AND SALE
DATE
LOCATION
SOUTH REGION
27-May Silver Sage Community Corral
SHOW TIME
HEAD SALE TIME CLUBS PARTICIPATING
9:00 AM
57
27-May Pincher Creek Horseshoe Pavillion
27-May Vulcan Fairground
11:30 AM
11:00 AM
19
53
4-Jun
4-Jun
5-Jun
31-May
Claresholm Agri-Plex
Cardston Agridome
Diamond City arena
Taber Agri-Plex Show
01:00 PM
01:00 PM
01:30 PM
01:00 PM
45
50
21
75
1-Jun
3-Jun
14-Jun
7-Jun
Taber Agri-Plex Sale
Show May 31
Bassano Arena
12:00 PM
Foremost Rodeo Grounds
10:00 AM
Lethbridge Exhibition Grounds Show 01:00 PM
8-Jun
8-Jun
Lethbridge Exhibition Grounds Sale Show June 7
Medicine Hat Exhibition Fieldhouse 09:00 AM
COMMITTEE CONTACT
10:00 AM
16
South Slope 4-H Beef, John Ware 4-H Beef
Dusty Plains 4-H Multi , Tilley 4-H
Brooks & Area 4-H Beef, Jenner 4-H Beef
07:30 PM Timber Trails 4-H, Foothills 4-H Beef
06:30 PM Arrowwood 4-H Beef, Champion 4-H Multi
Lomond 4-H Multi
06:00 PM Fort Macleod, Stavely-Parkland, Claresholm
07:00 PM Mountain Springs, Cardston Chinook
06:00 PM Lethbridge Northern
Sale June 1 Readymade 4-H Beef, Raymond 4-H Beef
Milk River 4-H Beef, Lethbridge-Coaldale 4-H Beef
Warner 4-H Beef, Del Bonita 4-H Beef
02:00 PM (as above)
06:00 PM Gem 4-H Beef, Bassano 4-H, Rosemary 4-H
02:00 PM Shortgrass 4-H Beef
Sale June 8 Readymade 4-H Beef , Raymond 4-H Beef,
(following Milk River 4-H Beef, Lethbridge-Coaldale 4-H Beef
sheep )
Warner 4-H Beef, Del Bonita 4-H Beef
02:00 PM (as above)
02:00 PM Medicine Hat 4-H Beef, Seven Persons 4-H Beef
Irvine 4-H Beef, Bindloss Multi, Borderline Multi
02:00 PM North Forty Mile 4-H Beef
01:00 PM
11:30 AM
10:00 AM
11:00 AM
10:00 AM
18
45
21
15
115
06:00 PM
06:30 PM
03:00 PM
06:00 PM
after sheep
11:00 AM
11:00 AM
10:00 AM
80
13
45
06:00 PM
01:00 PM
02:00 PM
12:00 PM
12:30 PM
9:00 AM
01:00 PM
30
14
80
43
07:00 PM
07:00 PM
04:00 PM
06:00 PM
9:00 AM
9:30 AM
TBA
67
42
98
07:00 PM
07:00 PM
05:00 PM
6-Jun
8-Jun
4-H Pavillion at Shorncliff, Near Czar 10:00 AM
Hanna Arena
10:00 AM
40
45
06:00 PM
07:00 PM
3-Jun
TBA
50
07:00 PM
15-Jun Burdett Arena
CALGARY REGION
20-May Highwood Auction Mart
21-May Carstairs Arena
26-May Hussar Arena
27-May Sundre Arena
2-Jun
Calgary Stampede Grounds
4-Jun
Trochu Arena
8-Jun
Beiseker Arena
8-Jun
Rockyford Arena
WEST CENTRAL REGION
23-May Rocky Mountain House Arena
27-May Innisfail Auction Mart
3-Jun
Western Park
5-Jun
Eckville Arena
EAST CENTRAL REGION
21-May Stettler
3-Jun
Delia Arena
5-Jun
Coronation
NORTHEAST REGION
27-May Vermilion Ag Grounds
17-Jun Irma, AB
9:00 AM
9:30a.m
12:00 p.m
75
36
15
80
70
40
18
06:00 PM
2:00 p.m.
3:30 p.m.
Longview Beef
West Didsbury, West Carstairs, Cremona
Hussar
Bergen Multi, Sundre
Airdrie, Balzac, Bow Valley, Crossfield/Madden
Irricana, Jumping Pound, Millarville/Stockland
Swalwell, Huxley, Elnora, Three Hills/Ghost Pine
Central Beiseker Beef & Multi
Cheadle, Crowfoot Livestock, Rockyford Beef
Rocky North, Rocky South
Garth Fisk 403-501-8070
Jim Welsch 403-632-8173
Bev Flitton 403-897-2145
Darcy Blair 403-687-2095
Jenny Nish 403-653-2956
Arend Pelleboer 403-824-3029
Merrill Harris 403-223-2841
Tracy Hall 403-641-4980
Lee Finstad 403-868-2088
Audrey Taylor 403 642 3381
Terry Elliott 403 928 7981
Andrew Crooymans
Stephen Hughes 403.558.2363
Keith Evans 403 337 2162
Wendy Kaiser 403.787.2240
Shelly Peppard 403 396 2123
Tyler McLean 587 435 5304
Bruce Jensen 403 442 2052
Cameron Schmaltz
Paul Kathol 403 533 2297
Calvin Hogberg 403-729-3324
Eric Blake 403-227-1767
Randy Radau 403-227-2259
Dallas Mannix 403-704-0418
Red Deer West, Delburne Beef
Rangeland, Hazel Dell, Gilby
Big Valley, Erskine, Byemoor, Big Knife
Delia 4-H Bf Club, Hesketh Orkney, Rumsey Rowley
Altario, Consort, Coronation, Brownfield
Castor Beef Clubs
Amisk, Czar/Metiskow, Stainsleigh, Cadogan
East Sounding Creek, Dryland Multi
Hanna Rangeland Multi
Battle River, Hastings Coulee, Iron Creek
Wavy Lake
Vermilion 4-H Beef Club and Clandonald 4-H Multi
Irma 4-H Beef Club
Not Known
Brad McDougald 403 575-4048
Marsha Tkach 403 575 2089
Wilma Halvorson 780 753 6370
Janice Storch 403 854 3081
David Hayes 780 888 2141
Randy Lamport 780 853-4969
Shannon Archibald
780 754-2850
A proud supporter of 4-H Alberta and
proud to be a part of your community.
How are you *UʝʨʖQɒ"
1-877-899-AFSC
www.AFSC.ca
(2372)
4-H ALBERTA 2013 LIVESTOCK SHOW AND SALE
DATE
LOCATION
29-May Minburn Ag. Grounds
SHOW TIME
2:00 p.m.
HEAD SALE TIME CLUBS PARTICIPATING
22
6:00 p.m. Innisfree - Minburn 4-H Beef Club
29-Apr
Viking Carena
51
7:00 p.m.
Holden 4-H Beef, Tofield 4-H Beef, Viking 4-H Beef
10-Jun
Shandero Ranch Arena
11a.m. Hfr.
1 p.m.-Steer
1:00 p.m.
13
7:00 p.m.
Lac La Biche Club & Lakeland club
27-May Vegreville Agriculture Grounds
3-Jun
Two Hills
2:00 p.m.
8:00 a.m.
9
TBA
7:00 p.m.
2:30 p.m.
27-May Western Pride Auction Bonnyville
11:00 a.m.
40
7:00 p.m.
TBA
71
TBA
TBA
9:00 a.m.
9:30 AM
TBA
13
40
TBA
7:00 p.m.
05:00 PM
Vegreville 4-H Beef
Myrnam 4-H Beef/Multi Club, Two Hills 4-H Beef
& Multi Club, Willingdon 4-H Beef Club
Bonnyville 4-H beef Club, Ardmore 4-H Beef Club
Beaver 4-H Beef Club
(St. Paul District Show and Sale)Goodridge 4-H Beef
St. Paul Multi Club, Elk Point Beef Club, St. Lina Beef
St. Paul 4-H Multi Club
Kitscoty 4-H Beef Club
Greenshields 4-H Club, Edgerton 4-H Multi
Chauvin 4-H Beef
3-Jun
St. Paul Ag Corral
3-Jun
8-Jun
5-Jun
St. Paul Ag Corral
Kitscoty Arena
Wainwright Communiplex
NORTHWEST REGION
27-May Barrhead, Ag. Barn
10:00 AM
33
07:00 PM
27-May Drayton Valley Omniplex
9:00 AM
49
07:00 PM
29-May Cardiff Agriplex
12:00 PM
35
06:00 PM
3-Jun
3-Jun
Boyle Ag. Grounds
Nilsson Brothers, Clyde AB
11:00 AM
8:30 AM
TBA
TBA
03:00 PM
01:00 PM
3-Jun
Mayerthorpe Ag Barn
9:00 AM
40
07:00 PM
4-Jun
4-Jun
8-Jun
LRC in Leduc
Stony Plain Pavillion
Thorhild Agriplex
PEACE REGION
27-May Pioneer Museum
4-Jun
Ag Pavillion
Battle River Ag Society Grounds
3-Jun
Valleyview Ag-Plex
Freedom Naples 4-H Multi, T&M 4-H Club
Camp Creek 4-H Multi, Meadowview 4-H Multi
Two Rivers Beef Club, Lobstick Beef & Multi Club
Lin-Berry Buck 4-H Beef
Bon Accord 4-H, Belle Valley 4-H Explorers
COMMITTEE CONTACT
Leanne Hlus 780 592-2125
Tracy Rudolf 780 592-2081
Sydney Sware - 780 662-3080
Katherine Benson
780 798-2743
Sharmon Holyk 780 632-2703
Darrell Logozar 780) 645-5895
Lori Davediuk 780 826-3435
Gisele Kotowich 780 645-5119
Wanda Labiuk 780 846-2622
Roxanne Amal 780 842 401
Lee McKain 780 674-6481
Jesse Emery 780 674-4410
Tanya Hines 780 542-6906
Colleen Prefontaine
780 961-2403
Les Botten 780 689-5393
01:00 PM
10:30 AM
9:00 AM
15
28
18
07:00 PM
07:00 PM
06:00 PM
Boyle Beef, athabasca beef, Colinton Multi
Flatbush 4-H Beef, Golden Sunset 4-H Beef,
Pembina West 4-H Beef, Sunniebend 4-H Beef
Cherhill 4-H Multi, Anselmo Willing Workers 4-H Multi
Roydale 4-H Multi Club, Whitecourt Multi 4-H Club
Mayerthorpe 4-H Beef
Leudc 4-H Beef Club
Duffield 4-H, Lakemere 4-H Beef
Newbrooke Beef Builders, Radway Beef Club
01:00 PM
12:30 PM
19
11
06:00 PM
07:30 PM
Dixionville Multi Club
Three Rivers 4-H Beef Club
12:30 PM
TBA
07:00 PM
Da-She-Be 4-H Multi Club, Wildrose 4-H Multi Club,
DCC Ridgevalley 4-H Beef Club
Gary Havell, 780-524-4495
Dixonville 4-H Multi Club, Strong Creek 4-H Beef
Lori Vance, 780-971-3964
27-May Lac Cardinal Pioneer Museum
Grimshaw AB
1-Jun
High Prairie Ag Plex
3-Jun
Pavillion, Fairview College
9-Jun
Evergreen Park
01:00 PM
21
07:00 PM
01:00 PM
10:00 AM
9:00 AM
44
31
05:00 PM
7:00PM
N/A
10-Jun
Evergreen Park
9:00 AM
31
07:00 PM
27-May
22-Jun
15-Jun
5-Jun
Beaverlodge Ag Barn
La Crete
Rocky Lane Agricultural Grounds
MRC Spirit River Arena
11:00 AM
TBA
TBA
12:00 PM
61
12
TBA
34
07:00 PM
04:30 PM
TBA
7:00PM
Fred Vandeligt 780 954-2199
ShellyAnn Dodgson
780 785-3205 780 305-4306
Tracy Wrubleski 780 235-8775
Sid Livingstone 780 967-4133
Jocelyn Toronchuk
780 576-2294
Gilbert Wasieczko 780 618 1621
Nora Paulovich 780-836-2337
Kinuso Lakeside 4-H Club, Coyote Acres 4-H Club,
Leslie Smith, 780-523-3636
Montagneuse 4-H Multi, Fairview 4-H Livestock Club Lynne Wilson, 780-494-3330
Bezanson Beef Club, Grande Prairie Multi Club
Evan Binks, 780-539-7919
Horizon 4-H Multi Club, Kleskun 4-H Multi Club,
or Alex Paley 780-882-5220
Bezanson 4-H Beef Club, Grande Prairie Multi Club Evan Binks, 780-539-7919
Horizon 4-H Multi Club, Kleskun 4-H Multi Club,
or Alex Paley 780-882-5220
Beaverlodge 4-H Beef, Valhalla 4-H Beef
Lexi Balisky, 780- 567-2346
Northern Region 4-H Club
Trudy Bergen, 780-841-9012
Great North 4-H Club
Cindy Batt. 780-927-4528
East West Woking 4-H Club, Eaglesham 4-H Beef Club
Savanna 4-H Beef Club
Ken Dolen, 780-351-2223
Beef News
The debate
A
s the international debate
continues on the use of the
feed additive ractopamine,
Neogen Corporation has launched
easy 10 minute tests to detect ractopamine in animal and animal
feed samples.
Ractopamine is a beta-agonist
drug added to feed to promote lean
muscle in animals raised for meat.
While many countries allow the use
of ractopamine within specified
limits, regulatory agencies in other
countries have banned residues of
the drug, including those in the European Union, Russia, and China.
"China recently followed Russia
by imposing import restrictions on
certain U.S. meat products, which require documentation that the products are free of ractopamine," said Ed
Bradley , Neogen's vice president of
Food Safety. "While top trade officials in the U.S. view the new restrictions as unnecessary trade barriers,
markets in which ractopamine
residues are banned are worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually
to U.S. meat producers. Until these
trade issues can be resolved, companies seeking access to these markets
may have no choice but to comply
with the new regulations."
To ensure compliance with the
new regulations, animal samples
can be easily screened for the presence of ractopamine. In addition,
feed manufacturers can use simple
screening tests to verify the effectiveness of their cleanup procedures
when switching production from
ractopamine-medicated feed to feed
intended to be ractopamine-free.
Neogen's Ractopamine Lateral
Flow Device (LFD) tests are intended
to screen cattle for the presence of
ractopamine. The tests are one-step
screening tests that easily detect the
presence of ractopamine at set levels.
The ractopamine screening test for
cattle screens at 1 ppb.
Black Angus Do it Naturally.
Call a Angus producer today and get it done, "naturally."
BELVIN ANGUS
Gavin, Mabel, Colton
& Quinn Hamilton
Innisfail, AB
belvinangus@xplornet.com
403 224 2353
Cell 403 556 5246
Colton 403-507-5416,
BENCHMARK ANGUS
Doug & Michael Munton
Lethbridge, AB
Ph: 403-328-6966
Michael Cell: 403-394-4903
www.benchmarkangus.com
MINBURN ANGUS
Danny & Conna Warrilow
Devin, Luke & April
Minburn, AB
780-593-2205
PAHL LIVESTOCK
Medicine Hat, AB
Dan: 403-548-1614
Scott: 403-548-2356
LeRay: 403-548-6626
SCOTT STOCK FARM
Earl & Jonathan Scott
Crossfield, AB
403-946-5378
ssfangus@xplornet.com
www.scottstockfarm.com
SPRUCE VIEW ANGUS
Wayne Grant & Family
Killam, AB
Ph: 780-385-2216
ARDA FARMS
Jay Davis
Acme, AB
Ph: 403-546-2299
Cell: 403-888-2524
REMITALL FARMS
Gary & Jacci , Richard
& Kelly Latimer
Olds, AB
Office: 403-556-2742
Richard Cell: 403-507-1122
Gary Cell: 403-507-1123
www.remitall.ca
RONAN R FARM
Ralph & Lorree Erdell
Mayerthorpe, AB
780-786-2961
BAR DOUBLE M
ANGUS RANCH
Mark & Rachel Merrill
Hillspring, AB
403-626-3369
Mitch & Karen Merrill
403-626-3463
35
Business Directory
FEEDLOTS
COMMODITIES
Jim Beusekom, Gerald Snip, Allen Pirness,
David Lea and Vera Buziak
Commodity Traders
403-394-1711 Or 1-866-512-1711
jim@marketplacecommodities.com
gerald@marketplacecommodities.com
allen@marketplacecommodities.com
david@marketplacecommodities.com
vera@marketplacecommodities.com
www.marketplacecommodities.com
14C
CONCRETE
FEEDLOTS
JUBILEE FEEDLOT
Highway 21
Feeders
13I
20,000 head capacity
Complete range of services
Specializing in Risk Management
6,500 Head Capacity
Livestock Buying - Custom Feeding
780-349-2476
13J
Rob Denman, Manager
Shelter Valley Custom Feeding
Contact:
Ed Miller or Lyle Miller
13FG
Lethbridge, AB
Box 60, Acme, Alberta T0M 0A0
Our new custom feed yard located 15 min. N. of Lethbridge.
• 10,000 head capacity • Complete range of services
(403)546-2278
Fax: (403)546-3709
Sam McQuaid 780-209-2373 | Cory Conan 403-894-1020
svlc@telus.net
hwy21@wildroseinternet.ca
“Custom
Feeding With
Personal Care”
13K
Box 5510 Westlock, AB T7P 2P5
Rod, Carol & Jason Calhoun
13H
Box 72 Swalwell, AB, T0M 1Y0
Ph:(403) 546-2655 • Fax:(403) 546-3831
Cell:(403) 333-5440 • Jason/Cell:(403) 333-5438
LTD
DRI-LANDFEEDERS
Warner, AB
www.drilandfeeders.com
8,000 Capacity • Corn and Barley Silage
Backgrounding and Finishing
13FG
Call us for ALL your custom feeding needs!
JAKOB BUECKERT - Ph: 403-642-3732
FEED SEEDS
EDUCATION
w w w. g p r c . a b . c a
COMMERCIAL
BEEKEEPING
8QLTXHZHHNFHUWL¿FDWH
Study bees & the business of
EHHNHHSLQJ3DLGZRUNSUDFWLFXP
beekeeping@gprc.ab.ca
1.888.999.7882
Fairview, Alberta
14C
Ryan Kasko
Dwight Morhart
Box 1250, Raymond, AB, T0K 2S0
Ph: (403) 752-2333
Fax: (403) 756-3434
Beef Producers email: hwy52@shockware.com
PARRISH & HEIMBECKER LTD.
Serving the Agriculture Community
Since 1909
ALBERTA LOCATIONS
Head Office: 480-220 4th St.S. Lethbridge, AB T1J 4J7
Phone: 320-9440 Fax: 328-8561
13K
LIVESTOCK MARKETING
Shelter Valley Land & Cattle
Czar, AB
14A
EQUIPMENT
13FG
12,000 head custom feedlot offering a complete range
of services from a professional and caring team.
Sam McQuaid 780-209-2373 | Calvin Sayer 780-209-2387
780-857-2720 | svlc@telus.net
HIGHLAND FEEDERS
PREMIUM ALBERTA BEEF
Bern or Mike Kotelko
• 100% Hydraulic Drive • Truck Mount Manure Beds
• Trailer Style Manure/Silage • Hydraulic Tilt Out Beaters
Building Spreaders Since 1953
Box 400, Vegreville AB T9C 1R4
Tel: (780) 768-2466 Fax: (780) 768-3888
36,000 Head Capacity - Custom Feeders
highland@highlandbeef.com
13J
FEED SUPPLEMENTS
`
13H
Anne Dunford5604-64th Street
13FG
General Manager
Taber, Alberta T1G 1Y8
Ph: 403-223-8872 | Fax: 403-223-8272
Jeff Smith
Anne Wasko
Ph: (403) 223-5741
Fax: (403) 223-8272
Market
Cell: (403)
560-1235Analyst
5604-64 St.
Manager
Taber,General
AB T1G 1Y8
Cell: 403-560-1235
14A
Cell: 403-380-0039
Email: anne@gatewaylivestock.com
Web Site: www.gatewaylivestockexchange.com
www.gatewaylivestock.com
LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS
14A
A Better Bull
1-800-668-1529
info@beefbooster.com | www.beefbooster.com
Stauffer Farm Feedlot
Division of Stauffer Farms Ltd.
Custom Feedlot Feeding All Breeds and Classes of Cattle
3315-2nd Avenue North, Lethbridge, Alberta T1H 0C7
Phone 403-320-2598 • Fax 403-320-0978
Toll Free 800-563-6371
www.westway.com
Don F. Mann 403-660-4416
Fred Keys 780-690-2728 • Ron Manness 306-861-0516
Capcity 5,000 head - Pen sizes 80-300 head
Calves-Yearlings-Background to finish
13FG
Competitive Finished cattle bids
Computer data on Feed, Health and closeout info.
Share pens. Flexible sizes. Rations balanced by nutritionist.
For info contact: Murray Stauffer
Phone 403-746-5737 Fax 403-746-5739
R R 3 Eckville AB TOM OXO
FEEDLOTS
14C
Jeff Ball
Box 127
Brant AB TOL OLO
403-684-3540 • Fax: 684-3345
email: jeff@ballco.ca
Lot capacity/16,000Custom Feeder
36
GREG APPLEYARD
Box 2265 Strathmore AB T1P 1K2
14C
403-934-4030 • Fax 934-4594
Lot capacity: 25,000 Custom bull test/custom cattle feeder
e-mail: catland@telus.net • www.cattlelandfeedyards.com
Your source for Braunvieh & Braunvieh-Hybrid (Black) Cattle
THE SCIENCE: SWISS-BROWN COW TESTED HIGHER IN CLA
Bruce and Lori Anderson & Sons – since 1973
PO Box 97 Cowley, Alberta T0K 0P0
13GF
Phone/Fax: 403-628-2210
LIVESTOCK SUPPLIES
MORE THAN JUST A
DAIRY SUPPLY STORE
Biotal Silage Inoculants
"Koster" Silage Testers • Johnson Waterers
HOME OF THE ANIMAL-PRO PRODUCTS 13FG
STOCKMAN'S CHOICE PROBIOTICS
HEALTHIER ANIMALS / IMPROVED PERFORMANCE
LETHBRIDGE DAIRY MART LTD.
403-329-6234 or 1-888-329-6202
Business Directory
continued from page 28
SERVICES
REAL ESTATE
)$506$1'5$1&+(6)256$/(
Grant Ellefson
RING SERVICE
ZZZFDQDGDIDUPDQGUDQFKFRP
14A
Farm, Ranch, Cattle, Horse - Sales
403-362-4992•Cell: 43-501-9707
14C
Brooks, AB
SCALES - LIVESTOCK
The
Cattleman’s
CHOICE
Livestock Scales
Electronic ID Compatible
Bluetooth Available
humane treatment. Like my meateating, anti-hunting mother, the
public live in a state of cognitive
dissonance. Humans intrinsically
respond emotionally to what they
don’t understand intellectually,
and that’s why they react so viscerally to issues like horse slaughter, or even the E. coli recall.
We need to get in front of this
before we’re steamrolled by it, and
getting the horse slaughter reinstated in the U.S. is a good start.
BY SHERI MONK
sherimonk@gmail.com
13J
™
Made and Serviced in Canada :
1-800-419-1189
info@reliablescale.com
SERVICES
13L
Serving You Since 1963
ting
Celebra of
50 Years
in
Service
Alberta
13D
Events
APRIL
SOLAR PUMPS
20
Water More Cows
For Less Dollars
Spring Classic Jackpot Steer & Heifer
Show, OAS Cow Palace, Olds, AB
22
Rancher's Choice 29th Annual Black
Angus Bull Sale, Medicine Hat
Feeding, Medicine Hat, AB
www.capsolar.com
27
Deer River Ranching Black Angus Bull
Sale, Blow Slope Shipping, Brooks, AB
14C
JUNE
TRAILERS
7-8
Find Us Located At:
Unit 1 213 Main Street NW
Airdrie, Alberta
14C
Phone: 403-948-5411
AB Toll Free: 1-888-948-5411
Canadian Charolais Annual General
Meeting, Moose Jaw, SK
7-9
TRUCKING
GAFantin Services
Independently offering advertising services for
beef producers & associations, advertising sales
representation, writing services & distribution.
Gloria Fantin
403.289.3836 | www.gafantinservices.ca
Grace Cattle
Carriers Inc.
Box 2161 Brooks, Alberta Canada T1R 1C8
Tel: (403) 362-8366 • Fax: (403) 362-8607 13K
Toll-Free 1(877) 362-8366
graceinc@telusplanet.net | www.gracecattlecarriers.com
SK Charolais Association 50th
Anniversary Celebration & AGM, in
conjunction with
Lakeland College-Vermilion 2013
Alumni Homecoming and Rose Ball,
100th Anniversary, Lakeland College,
Vermilion, AB
9-11 Saskatchewan Stock Growers 100th
Convention and Annual General
Meeting, Heritage Inn, Moose Jaw, SK
17-18 ALMA's Future Fare, Sheraton Hotel,
Red Deer, AB
18-19 Saskatchewan Pasture School,
Weyburn/Muddy Valley, SK
It’s True!
Advertising in Alberta Beef
really does catch your eye.
Call for your opportunity to
catch a few eyes now!
1-800-387-BEEF
19
Saskatchewan Hereford Association
Annual General Meeting, Saskatoon, SK
20-21 UCVM Beef Cattle Conference, Coast
Plaza Hotel & Conference Centre,
Calgary, AB
21-23 Alberta Hereford Association Annual
General Meeting, Rycroft, AB
25
Western Beef Development Centre
Annual Summer Field Day, Termuende
Research Ranch, Lanigan, SK
25-26 T Bar Invitational Golf Tournament,
Dakota Dunes Golf Links, Saskatoon,
SK
37
Opinion
People versus livestock
H
ere's a picture. People
working long hours in the
hot sun, only lunch and
water breaks, disrupting the back
breaking work. It doesn't pay well,
likely minimum wage with possible bonus but very few people want
the work. It's the kind of work that
for some reason, low risk prisoners
don't, won't or can't do. This daily
ritual is harvesting crops from the
fields and orchards across North
America. Who does this work? For
the most part, immigrants young
and old. No doubt they're thankful
for the work and the owners are
equally thankful for the workers.
What's curious to me is there doesn't seem to be any concern by mainstream society for their working
conditions, compensation or physical hardship. I'm not saying they
are mistreated, rather I'm saying it's
a hardship that very few are willing
to endure. Ergo having to tap poor
and needy immigrants.
Now let’s juxtapose this scene of
human toil, against a picture of
high stocking density chicken operations or gestation pens. Now we
have vocal lift off and the media hyperbole is engaged. The point being
animals seem to trump people
when it comes to the appearance of
hardship, appearance being the operative word.
Now I like to stay in touch with
my social conscience and the medicine I take for this is CBC. Recently a program called DOC
Zone aired a program about our
society’s relationship with their
pets. Seriously these relationships
are getting weird and is illustrated
in the Ipsos Reid survey where
83% of pet owners said, they consider their pets part of the family.
38
Not surprising really, but in this
group, there are some very obsessive people. For instance, one
woman is going to be buried with
her two cats and dog? Others
think nothing of sending their fifi
to a doggy day care, complete
with a doggy day care bus. Some
even have camera monitors online
so their owners can watch them
play. Exception or the norm? I
don't know but suspect becoming
the norm?
Besides being a sad statement of
how lonely people are today, the
human/pet relationship is spilling
over into a growing concern about
how our livestock is raised. People
today are more likely to worry
about the feelings of all animals
and ask, can we make them more
comfortable? Of course, pain is a
real no no and any video footage of
an animal being mistreated or the
impression there's pain, the video
goes viral. Sadly too, this urban animal love-in is fueling and/or giving more fodder to the many
NGO's out there that would have
everyone stop eating meat. These
two fronts are brewing the conditions for a perfect storm. Which
brings to mind this little gem by an
author unknown to me. It goes,
"It's ironic that even as the vast majority of the population becomes
increasingly disconnected with
how livestock production actually
works, people are becoming more
interested in the ethics involved."
It's true and given all of the information our livestock industry produces, it seems that the void
between urban and rural is NOT
narrowing. Something you'll read
more about in coming issues.
With emotions overriding logic
Garth McClintock
the point I made about immigrants
working the fields and the conditions they have to work in brought
this to mind. It's a declaration by the
British government. It's about five
freedoms set as policy back in 1979.
Freedom from Hunger and Thirst by ready access to fresh water and a
diet to maintain full health and
vigour. Freedom from Discomfort by providing an appropriate environment including shelter and a
comfortable resting area. Freedom
from Pain, Injury or Disease - by
prevention or rapid diagnosis and
treatment. Freedom to Express Normal Behaviour - by providing sufficient space, proper facilities and
company of its own kind. Freedom
from Fear and Distress - by ensuring conditions and treatment which
avoid mental suffering.
No this isn't a human rights
declaration, it's about animals and
their environment as set by the
Farm Animal Welfare Council, an
independent advisor on animal
welfare. Based on this standard, is
there anything to really concern
ourselves with?
Until next month.
BY GARTH MCCLINTOCK
A LITTLE COUNTRY.
When you’ve got cleaning, feeding or
property maintenance in front of you,
the liquid-cooled hum of your Bobcat®
loader is music to your ears. Climb into
the heated, air-conditioned cab. Turn
upsome tunes if you’d like... and
fire through ugly jobs with serious
comfort, ample horsepower and
2-speed efficiency.
Bobcat ® and the Bobcat logo are registered trademarks of Bobcat Company in the United States and various other countries.
©2013 Bobcat Company. All Rights Reserved. | 0313762
A L B E R T A
Agland
A
gland C
Corporation
orporation
Bobcat
Bo
bcat ooff Ed
Edmonton
monton
Brooks
B
rooks FFarm
ar m C
Centre
entre LLtd
td
Lloydminster
Lloydminster
780-875-4471
780-875-4 471
Edmonton
Edmonton
7780-447-4441
80-447-4441
Brooks
Br
o ok s
4403-362-8222
03-362-8222
aaglandcorp.com
glandcorp.com
bbobcatofedmonton.com
obc atofedmonton.com
Ag-Plus
A
g-Plus Mecha
Mechanical
nical Ltd.
Lt d.
Bobcat
Bo
bcat ooff Fo
Fort
rt Mc
McMurray
Murray
Medicine
Me
dicine Ha
Hatt
4403-504-1111
03-504-1111
For t M
Fort
McMurray
cMurray
7780-714-9200
80-714-9200
Bobcat
Bo
bcat ooff Ca
Calgary
lgary
Bobcat
Bo
bcat ooff R
Red
ed Dee
Deerr
Calgar y
Calgary
403-243-2011
403-24 3-2011
Red D
Red
Deer
eer C
County
ount y
4403-346-9011
03-346-9011
agdealer.com/agplusmechanical
agd
ealer.com / agplusmechanic al
bbobcat.cervusce.com
obc at.cer vusce.com
Drumheller
D
rumheller Equip.
Equip. Sales
Sales
Drumheller
Dr
umheller
4403-823-8383
03-823-8 383
bbobcatofthebadlands.com
obc atof thebadlands.com
bbobcat.cervusce.com
obc at.cer vusce.com
bbobcatofreddeer.com
obc atofreddeer.com
EEvcon
vcon FFarm
arm Eq
Equipment
uipment LLtd
td
LLethbridge
ethbridge
403-329-6011
403-329-6011
eevconequipment.com
vconequipment.com
THE TROPHY WEIGHS 32 POUNDS.
HAD THE POWER TO HAUL IT.
MOTOR TREND’S 2013 TRUCK OF THE YEAR®
ALL-NEW 2013 RAM 1500
Meet Motor Trend’s 2013 Truck of the Year.® The all-new 2013 Ram 1500 achieves
best-in-class fuel economy,* up to 7.8 L/100 km (36 MPG) HWY thanks to
innovations like a segment-first 8-speed automatic transmission* and best-in-class
aerodynamics.* Add a class-exclusive four-corner air suspension* and an all-new
premium interior, and it’s no wonder Motor Trend picked
p
Ram to be their trophy truck.
RAMTRUCK.CA
*Based on Automotive News full-size pickup classification. 11.4 L/100 km (25 MPG) city and 7.8 L/100 km (36 MPG) highway on HFE model with 3.6 L V6 4x2 and 8-speed transmission. 2013 EnerGuide highway
fuel consumption ratings. Government of Canada test methods used. Your actual fuel consumption will vary based on driving habits and other factors. Ask your retailer for complete EnerGuide information.

Tony Saretsky Tony Saretsky

Transcription

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