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NCBA, R-CALF, COOL, USDA (No Politics!)
American group wins injunction to keep border closed to catt
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<blockquote data-quote="Bez" data-source="post: 73875" data-attributes="member: 412"><p>Dalek</p><p></p><p>Do I know you - or of you? Seems I might.</p><p></p><p>Was this the Tom Van Dusen article? Hope I spelled his name right. Or is this one written by wife and fellow board members? So many media folks!! Wife had been on radio, in print and quoted on the telly far more often than I.</p><p></p><p>I have not seen the article - if indeed it is from this place. As the poster child for broke Ontario beef operations, we are always on the phone to some reporter. Lat night it was the Ottawa Sun for over half an hour. She really wanted to know how many animals we had. Had to laugh because I said when - now or before? We have sold all the cattle that do not live on this place and trimmed here - far cry from before. We are now officially down to about 56 head total - give or take - including yearlings and bull - and I suppose that makes us hobbyists now. Far cry from the old days. I am not sure she got the story right, but she is trying - hafta' give her credit for that.</p><p></p><p>Basically the returns from our investment would have been better if we had invested 300K in the stock markets. The reason we are so popular - along with the remainder of the local farm board - we all opened our books to the public. You should have seen the eyes on the politicians and media when they were shown the no schitzen real numbers. Wife was there - I was not. She said they found it very sobering. KUDUS to those who did this - all are seriously in the hole with no relief in sight.</p><p></p><p>I suspect at least 2 dozen beef operations will cease to exist in this county - with another couple dozen that will quietly fade away. Hard to say what will happen in the province. This province is scheduled to lose almost 230 million this year in ag if you believe the latest numbers. Yet we directly affect 650,000 jobs in this province - again, if you believe the numbers</p><p></p><p>The largest operation in my immediate area is run by a multi-generation farm family. He is younger than I and he told me last week he is out. Quitting. Hopes to keep the farm if he can. Returns on cattle in good years averaged less than 100 bucks profit after all expenses factored in. Thanks to regulations and taxes and ... and ... and ... Losses have been so heavy for the past two years he is completely wiped out.</p><p></p><p>His wife provided the slush by working off farm.</p><p></p><p>Now we all fight high taxes, intrusive and expensive legislation, bankers and mortgagemen, utility costs skyrocketing and now on their way up again, subsidies that do not come to us or are so expensive and difficult to calculate that they must be completed by paying an accountant, beef prices in the grocery store at all time highs (15 bucks a pound for steak and 4 plus per pound for decent burger), low commodity pricing, debt too deep to climb out, fuel and fertilizer prices up (fert @ 400 plus per tonne), machinery prices out of line with reality and the beat goes on. </p><p></p><p>Too bad we risked improving this place at the wrong time. That is how we got hurt.</p><p></p><p>Wife has been on radio and I think television and certainly in the print media. So we never can keep up with where we are.</p><p></p><p>We are simply slowly going down. Apparently the government believes we have received about $2K in funding - do not remember it - but that will not pay anything of consequence here anyways. So family pumped in an extra $20K to keep things going long enough for us to get out this summer.</p><p></p><p>Some basic numbers based on one cow / one weaned calf:</p><p></p><p>Cost to keep per day - $1.50</p><p>Per year - 547.5</p><p></p><p>Cost per weaned calf - Buck a day</p><p></p><p>Cost to run place based on each cow - right around $675 - less if you go to 150 animals - but other expenses rise - and so on.</p><p></p><p>Price received per calf - 300. </p><p></p><p>Bred cows bought for second herd in '99/'00/'01 averaged just over $950</p><p></p><p>We were going to bring them here but thank heavens we did not.</p><p></p><p>Sold for survival at $330 average.</p><p></p><p>It is somewhat more complex that that in real life, but the numbers are close and can be born out on paper. This place lost $60K last year after all financial obligations factored in. Real dollars - not paper dollars.</p><p></p><p>Beef farming in Ontario is the low man on the totem pole. All provincial and federal numbers prove this. The only way to win is to go gigantic and win at the "subsidy games". None in this area have managed a win yet.</p><p></p><p>I was in Toronto yesterday and listened to a man tell me it was a smaller loss to let the land lie than it was for him to work it. Makes you think about things.</p><p></p><p>A fellow who lives in the local village came by today and was a bit short on feed - so I gave him the last of my soy beans (I bagged it for him - three bags) and some corn. Have a lot of corn, so it was no hardship for us. He only has 4 animals and he needed some help.</p><p></p><p>I'll look for the article - likely someone or three will be calling us about it.</p><p></p><p>Some day I will learn to be short in my writings. Stay well,</p><p></p><p>Bez</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Bez, post: 73875, member: 412"] Dalek Do I know you - or of you? Seems I might. Was this the Tom Van Dusen article? Hope I spelled his name right. Or is this one written by wife and fellow board members? So many media folks!! Wife had been on radio, in print and quoted on the telly far more often than I. I have not seen the article - if indeed it is from this place. As the poster child for broke Ontario beef operations, we are always on the phone to some reporter. Lat night it was the Ottawa Sun for over half an hour. She really wanted to know how many animals we had. Had to laugh because I said when - now or before? We have sold all the cattle that do not live on this place and trimmed here - far cry from before. We are now officially down to about 56 head total - give or take - including yearlings and bull - and I suppose that makes us hobbyists now. Far cry from the old days. I am not sure she got the story right, but she is trying - hafta' give her credit for that. Basically the returns from our investment would have been better if we had invested 300K in the stock markets. The reason we are so popular - along with the remainder of the local farm board - we all opened our books to the public. You should have seen the eyes on the politicians and media when they were shown the no schitzen real numbers. Wife was there - I was not. She said they found it very sobering. KUDUS to those who did this - all are seriously in the hole with no relief in sight. I suspect at least 2 dozen beef operations will cease to exist in this county - with another couple dozen that will quietly fade away. Hard to say what will happen in the province. This province is scheduled to lose almost 230 million this year in ag if you believe the latest numbers. Yet we directly affect 650,000 jobs in this province - again, if you believe the numbers The largest operation in my immediate area is run by a multi-generation farm family. He is younger than I and he told me last week he is out. Quitting. Hopes to keep the farm if he can. Returns on cattle in good years averaged less than 100 bucks profit after all expenses factored in. Thanks to regulations and taxes and ... and ... and ... Losses have been so heavy for the past two years he is completely wiped out. His wife provided the slush by working off farm. Now we all fight high taxes, intrusive and expensive legislation, bankers and mortgagemen, utility costs skyrocketing and now on their way up again, subsidies that do not come to us or are so expensive and difficult to calculate that they must be completed by paying an accountant, beef prices in the grocery store at all time highs (15 bucks a pound for steak and 4 plus per pound for decent burger), low commodity pricing, debt too deep to climb out, fuel and fertilizer prices up (fert @ 400 plus per tonne), machinery prices out of line with reality and the beat goes on. Too bad we risked improving this place at the wrong time. That is how we got hurt. Wife has been on radio and I think television and certainly in the print media. So we never can keep up with where we are. We are simply slowly going down. Apparently the government believes we have received about $2K in funding - do not remember it - but that will not pay anything of consequence here anyways. So family pumped in an extra $20K to keep things going long enough for us to get out this summer. Some basic numbers based on one cow / one weaned calf: Cost to keep per day - $1.50 Per year - 547.5 Cost per weaned calf - Buck a day Cost to run place based on each cow - right around $675 - less if you go to 150 animals - but other expenses rise - and so on. Price received per calf - 300. Bred cows bought for second herd in '99/'00/'01 averaged just over $950 We were going to bring them here but thank heavens we did not. Sold for survival at $330 average. It is somewhat more complex that that in real life, but the numbers are close and can be born out on paper. This place lost $60K last year after all financial obligations factored in. Real dollars - not paper dollars. Beef farming in Ontario is the low man on the totem pole. All provincial and federal numbers prove this. The only way to win is to go gigantic and win at the "subsidy games". None in this area have managed a win yet. I was in Toronto yesterday and listened to a man tell me it was a smaller loss to let the land lie than it was for him to work it. Makes you think about things. A fellow who lives in the local village came by today and was a bit short on feed - so I gave him the last of my soy beans (I bagged it for him - three bags) and some corn. Have a lot of corn, so it was no hardship for us. He only has 4 animals and he needed some help. I'll look for the article - likely someone or three will be calling us about it. Some day I will learn to be short in my writings. Stay well, Bez [/QUOTE]
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NCBA, R-CALF, COOL, USDA (No Politics!)
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