The final speaker of the day at the Tiffin Conference in Lethbridge was Melanie Mainquist of Cargill Meat Solutions in Guelph. Melanie spoke about the real beef consumer, a fictitious character named Zoe. Zoe is not unusual or weird, she is real for the majority of female consumers. She eats beef once to twice a… Read More
At the Tiffin Conference in Lethbridge yesterday, Rick Paskal, Chairman of Canada Gold Beef discussed the need and benefits of a truly Canadian branded beef product. Rick passionately told the crowd how Canada Gold is trying to change the way money is distributed through the value chain. The key point being to make sure that… Read More
Larry Hicks of Cattlehedging.com was one of the keynote speakers at the Tiffin Conference yesterday in Lethbridge. Larry spoke about the necessity of risk management in the beef business. Larry very clearly outlined what hedging is and that there is much more involved than calling your broker to buy or sell futures contracts. He emphasized… Read More
Alberta Agriculture Deputy Minister, John Knapp, spoke to producers about how Alberta Agriculture is putting a strategy in place to reconnect with rural Alberta and help to enable success for members of the livestock value chain. Two examples that he gave were: Creating an irrigation department that focuses on improving the efficiency of water application… Read More
John Scott, President, Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers, spoke on the grocery market this morning in Lethbridge Alberta at the Tiffin Conference. John emphasized that grocers are trying to “be something” to the consumer. He emphasized that consumers are going to different stores to get different products. When I think my families purchasing habits we… Read More
It is sad but so true. The graph to the left not only describes what has happened to the grain markets but also mysteriously looks like a Christmas tree. I found this picture at the blog Eds World: Grain Marketing. As Ed describes in the blog, he is not sure if he should laugh or cry…. Read More
According to a press release from Tyson Foods this morning, President and CEO Dick Bond is leaving the company effective immediately. According to Reuters, Leland Tollett who was the chairman and CEO from 1995 to 1998, will resume the post until a replacement is found. By revenue Tyson is the largest processor of protein in… Read More
Last week, Mexico cut off the imports of US pork and beef from 30 US plants owned by Tyson, Smithfield Foods, JBS and Cargill. This is in addition to Mexico joining Canada on December 19th to file a complaint with the WTO regarding COOL. Reportedly, the ban had to do with technical and sanitary issues… Read More
Yesterday on Call of the Land, an Alberta Radio Show, there was an interview with the Honorable George Groeneveld, the Alberta Agriculture Minister. Known for his straight forward answers Mr. Groeneveld discusses the highlights of 2008. In the interview he discusses trade with Asia, the implementation of ALMA and ongoing issues with the WTO. This… Read More
It is official, Tom Vilsack is the new Ag Secretary in the United States. Vilsack is the former governor of Iowa and Presidential candidate. Iowa has the second largest agricultural output value in the country, second to only California. If you want to intimately get to know the new secretary, check out his My Space… Read More
Sometimes when you are trying to get a point across you stretch the fabric of reality to invoke thought. Many speakers and writers do this everyday in order to make a point. Well I think the NFU has crossed the line this week as Darrin Qualman made statements regarding Canada€™s focus on trade to better agriculture… Read More
Bill Bullard, CEO of R-Calf, was in Washington earlier this week trying to mold the future of the USDA and US trade policy. The meeting was with the Obama-Biden transition team. Based on the shenanigans that R-Calf pulls and showcases how they believe in not letting the facts distort a good story, I am concerned… Read More
IBM has developed a system to fully track a steaks movement through the supply chain. This really is the ultimate in providing information to the customer. Whether or not someone is willing to pay for that sort of information I think is still in question. I still think that this sort of information is more… Read More
I was invited by the High River Feeder Association to speak at their annual meeting last night. The meal was great and the people were very welcoming. I spoke to the fact that the beef business is under attack. No more than ever have we had to deal with such volatility and impactful variables. When… Read More
Lately there has been alot of focus on the increased need for more money to go into feed grain research in Canada. With provincial and federal funding decreasing over the past 10 years it is imperative that this change. Probably the most pressing concern is that the corn industry is focused on continuing to push… Read More
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