Carlos D.
Well-known member
where's oldtimer --he used to make me mad ---sometimes-- but I miss him now -- What's the word on cool now --Hope nothing happened to him
carl
carl
oldtimer
- Thread starter Carlos D.
- Start date
Alberta farmer
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2008
- Messages
- 376
He might be growling because the final ruling came down on MCOOL and it was a compromise that probably Canada and the USA can both work with? I think he is busy writing to all his political buddies trying to turn a workable situation into another gong show. I think he hates Canadians.
hillsdown
Well-known member
I am pretty sure OT does NOT hate Canadians ...in fact one of his 4 legged family members is Canadian :lol2: He is however a member of RCALF and that should say it all. Carlos, if you want to argue with him go over to Ranchers net . OT is quite outspoken on the Bull forum. If you do make sure you wear your big boy pants as they can all be quite brutal and anything goes... :tiphat:
Oldtimer
Well-known member
Oh- I don't think anything on M-COOL is finalized yet...Remember in 4 days- a whole new administration moves into D.C.- and hopefully the direction returns toward the producers rather than the multinational corporations and importers..Remember Senator Obama was one of the 40 some Senators from both parties that signed on to a letter that told the USDA not to do what they did- and to write up the final rule the way Congress intended it to.....
Wed. night C-SPAN replayed Vilsacks confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Ag committee that was held that day.
During the whole hearing he talked little or none of the corporate farms or multinationals..He did talk of the importance of the family farms- and small producers...
I hope the impressions I got were right....He made numerous references to the importance of PRODUCERS at all levels-- from the 50 cow seedstock man- to the 100 cow "organic" direct marketer and the roadside vegetable/truck farm seller , to the 2,000+ acre wheat farmer in Kansas--as to the importance of them to agriculture-- but no word of the mulitnational corporations or Packer conglomerates- or importers....
He commented more than once about having been an attorney in Ag country and doing the taxes for producers- and how little producers actually bring in- in comparison to the cost that ends up to the consumer- and how US producers need to be given every opportunity and advantage to make a fair living....
This is the first Ag Secretary in years that I have heard talk of the PRODUCERS- and their importance-- and not all about the multinational corporates....
Vilsack will be easily confirmed- as I never heard any opposition from either party-- and nothing but praise...Some of the Repub Senators were sharing Minnesota/Iowa jokes with him...I think most of them too are tired of the fiasco of the Bush regimes rule of USDA--especially when they talked about the Administration not implementing the farm bill as Congress intended- after all their hard work and compromise....
He, to me, is still one of Obama's questionable picks- mainly because I know little about the man....It was quite clear that he intends to use Agriculture as an alternative fuel source- and clean air/enviro tool- which may not be good for the feeders relying on cheap grains for feeding out cattle- but could be a boon for grain producers and folks that have the genetics or position to grass fatten/fast finish their cattle...
Makes me thankful I stayed diversified-grain and cattle- and have headed toward the easier to finish genetics with cattle- rather than the old "bigger, better, faster high performance cattle pushed by the semen pimps and some of the big breeders the last few years...
One thing that became very apparent is the committee- both Repubs and Dems are very upset at the Bush Administration and its interpretation and implementation of the 2008 Farm Bill...It was brought up that the committee members spent too many hours working on compromises and wording--to just have the Bush crew/Schafer throw it all out and reinterpret/rewrite the law the way they want it...(Nothing new
)
Vilsack assured all the members that he would work with the committee to get the Farm Bill implemented the way Congress intended it to...
Altho I never heard him speak directly to M-COOL (I missed the first part of the hearing) I did hear him speak to such terms as "organic" and "all natural" and said he opposed letting the Packers/Factory Farm types water down the definition...
He commented that "he wanted to get back to when USDA puts its stamp or label on a product- people can be assured that whatever the stamp/label says is exactly what they are getting--not a watered down version."
Wed. night C-SPAN replayed Vilsacks confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Ag committee that was held that day.
During the whole hearing he talked little or none of the corporate farms or multinationals..He did talk of the importance of the family farms- and small producers...
I hope the impressions I got were right....He made numerous references to the importance of PRODUCERS at all levels-- from the 50 cow seedstock man- to the 100 cow "organic" direct marketer and the roadside vegetable/truck farm seller , to the 2,000+ acre wheat farmer in Kansas--as to the importance of them to agriculture-- but no word of the mulitnational corporations or Packer conglomerates- or importers....
He commented more than once about having been an attorney in Ag country and doing the taxes for producers- and how little producers actually bring in- in comparison to the cost that ends up to the consumer- and how US producers need to be given every opportunity and advantage to make a fair living....
This is the first Ag Secretary in years that I have heard talk of the PRODUCERS- and their importance-- and not all about the multinational corporates....
Vilsack will be easily confirmed- as I never heard any opposition from either party-- and nothing but praise...Some of the Repub Senators were sharing Minnesota/Iowa jokes with him...I think most of them too are tired of the fiasco of the Bush regimes rule of USDA--especially when they talked about the Administration not implementing the farm bill as Congress intended- after all their hard work and compromise....
He, to me, is still one of Obama's questionable picks- mainly because I know little about the man....It was quite clear that he intends to use Agriculture as an alternative fuel source- and clean air/enviro tool- which may not be good for the feeders relying on cheap grains for feeding out cattle- but could be a boon for grain producers and folks that have the genetics or position to grass fatten/fast finish their cattle...
Makes me thankful I stayed diversified-grain and cattle- and have headed toward the easier to finish genetics with cattle- rather than the old "bigger, better, faster high performance cattle pushed by the semen pimps and some of the big breeders the last few years...
One thing that became very apparent is the committee- both Repubs and Dems are very upset at the Bush Administration and its interpretation and implementation of the 2008 Farm Bill...It was brought up that the committee members spent too many hours working on compromises and wording--to just have the Bush crew/Schafer throw it all out and reinterpret/rewrite the law the way they want it...(Nothing new
)Vilsack assured all the members that he would work with the committee to get the Farm Bill implemented the way Congress intended it to...
Altho I never heard him speak directly to M-COOL (I missed the first part of the hearing) I did hear him speak to such terms as "organic" and "all natural" and said he opposed letting the Packers/Factory Farm types water down the definition...
He commented that "he wanted to get back to when USDA puts its stamp or label on a product- people can be assured that whatever the stamp/label says is exactly what they are getting--not a watered down version."
TexasBred
Well-known member
Oldtimer
Well-known member
One of the reasons we need M-COOL- for both countries- and the ability to promote our own product instead of generic beef- is so vital...
The handwriting is on the wall....
The handwriting is on the wall....
Alberta farmer
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2008
- Messages
- 376
I don't have a crystal ball or something to tell how Barrack Obama will handle trade with Canada. Often what a candidate says and what he actually does are two different things? Bill Clinton sounded pretty protectionist...until he got into the White House and then he turned into a real free trader...much better than Bush!
Maybe you guys in America didn't hear about the big scandal this summer when BO was talking pretty tough about tearing up NAFTA in Michigan? Canada was a little concerned and Prime minister Harper made a statement about how that was an irresponsible thing to say and if he proceeded there was a few things we might need to renegotiate?
The "scandal" was because some Canadian aide leaked the fact that a representative for Obama assured the Canadian government that this was just campaign rhetoric for the peasants!
The fact is trade between Canada and USA is huge and an advantage for both countries. There is no way either country is going to risk losing this agreement over a bunch of cows! There is a dispute mechanism for trade issues. Now obviously our government caved on the soft wood lumber thing and that was a result of a weak Canadian government.
I suspect the ruling Canadian government will get the boot within the next year(might be as soon as Jan 27/09) and we will have a new government...probably a lot tougher on trade issues!
In Canada we are reducing the cowherd in a big way. By next year we could be approaching domestic use only...no need to export. I guess we won't need to worry about MCOOL then?
I wonder how the American feedlots feel about MCOOL? How about those Texas feed lots that relied on Mexican cattle? How about those Washington packers that need Canadian cattle? How about those mid west hog barns that imported Canadian weaner pigs?
Somebody always loses with protectionism. Maybe the American cattleman is winning now that you've got Canadian cattle out of your country? Are you getting rich in the cattle business?
I don't know how close any of you guys follow what we are doing up here in Alberta, but on Jan. 1st/2009 it became mandatory to have premise ID, a fully traceable RFID ear tag, and age verification. Only in Alberta though, but this will mean that any cattle coming here to be grassed, fed, or slaughtered will have to be able to comply. The writing is on the wall...eventually this will become a Canada wide requirement.
Now under NAFTA we don't have to accept any product that is below our standards from our trading partners, so effectively we can block all US beef. We might need to use this if we go to all domestic consumption?
Bottom line do you see how silly this whole trade game is? We should be tearing down trade walls, not building new ones.
Maybe you guys in America didn't hear about the big scandal this summer when BO was talking pretty tough about tearing up NAFTA in Michigan? Canada was a little concerned and Prime minister Harper made a statement about how that was an irresponsible thing to say and if he proceeded there was a few things we might need to renegotiate?
The "scandal" was because some Canadian aide leaked the fact that a representative for Obama assured the Canadian government that this was just campaign rhetoric for the peasants!
The fact is trade between Canada and USA is huge and an advantage for both countries. There is no way either country is going to risk losing this agreement over a bunch of cows! There is a dispute mechanism for trade issues. Now obviously our government caved on the soft wood lumber thing and that was a result of a weak Canadian government.
I suspect the ruling Canadian government will get the boot within the next year(might be as soon as Jan 27/09) and we will have a new government...probably a lot tougher on trade issues!
In Canada we are reducing the cowherd in a big way. By next year we could be approaching domestic use only...no need to export. I guess we won't need to worry about MCOOL then?
I wonder how the American feedlots feel about MCOOL? How about those Texas feed lots that relied on Mexican cattle? How about those Washington packers that need Canadian cattle? How about those mid west hog barns that imported Canadian weaner pigs?
Somebody always loses with protectionism. Maybe the American cattleman is winning now that you've got Canadian cattle out of your country? Are you getting rich in the cattle business?
I don't know how close any of you guys follow what we are doing up here in Alberta, but on Jan. 1st/2009 it became mandatory to have premise ID, a fully traceable RFID ear tag, and age verification. Only in Alberta though, but this will mean that any cattle coming here to be grassed, fed, or slaughtered will have to be able to comply. The writing is on the wall...eventually this will become a Canada wide requirement.
Now under NAFTA we don't have to accept any product that is below our standards from our trading partners, so effectively we can block all US beef. We might need to use this if we go to all domestic consumption?
Bottom line do you see how silly this whole trade game is? We should be tearing down trade walls, not building new ones.
