Jay Fox

The Manitoba Livestock Marketing Association is raising money for Jay Fox and Sheldon Nicholson Family funds.  Both of these cattle industry leaders passed away recently and left young families behind.  The proceeds from both the Man/Sask auctioneering Championship and the Cattlemen’s Golf tournament will be split between the two families. Both Jay and Sheldon put a lot of volunteer time into their communities and the cattle industry.

The auctioneering championships will be held in Virden on May 4 at Heartland Livestock Services. This event will bring auctioneers from Manitoba and Saskatchewan to compete to represent Man/Sask at the national competition in June in Stavely, Alberta.

The Cattlemen’s Classic Golf tournament will be held in July at Oak Island resort. This event will bring over 120 cattle producers and industry personnel together.

Jay Fox was past president of the Manitoba Beef Producers association. He was a cattle rancher, dedicated family man and active in a number of organizations as a volunteer. In his mid-thirties at the time of his death, he had made many contributions to the livestock industry throughout his life.

Sheldon Nicholson

Sheldon Nicholson was a well-known auctioneer and market manager. He was a past Man/Sask auctioneering champion and a finalist at the national level a number of times. He was in his mid-forties and was a leader in the livestock marketing business.

You can read more about the lives of these cattle industry leaders and how to donate to help support their young families by clicking the links below.

Major Jay Fox obituary

Sheldon Nicholson obituary

R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard was quoted by AgWeek in September, 2011 saying that the disproportionate control over the sector by the five major beef and pork packers is creating a system that is “inherently more vulnerable to failures that could adversely affect the food safety and food security for millions” of consumers.

His comments followed a massive July, 2011 recall of meat products. Recalls are growing in size and can carry serious risks to human health. “When a problem at one major packing plant can disrupt the food safety and food security for millions of consumers, it’s time to reengineer our meatpacking sector,” he said.

Bullard said that the industry’s concentration gives the few remaining large packers “superior market power to lower livestock prices they pay to U.S. farmers and ranchers, which has forced hundreds of thousands of farmers and ranchers out of business.”

“R-CALF has highlighted a problem that is even more extreme in Canada where we have only two packing companies serving the beef industry,” said David Wiens, MCEC member. “Beef producers and government and other industry players need to do what they can to support a new regional plant in Manitoba. We should focus on creating an
environment where we have more diversity and more competition. That’s always a good thing.”

The 2011 annual report is available for viewing and downloading here. You can view past annual reports here.

The beef market in China has been soaring in recent years as the country’s economy surges ahead, boosting millions of its citizens into a new middle class that desires better food and nutrition options.

“This is potentially great news for our beef industry here in Manitoba,” said MCEC vice-chair Gaylene Dutchyshen. “We recognize we have to create new beef slaughter capacity here in Manitoba and have it export products to targeted international buyers.”

Last year, MCEC took part in a trade mission to China led by CentrePort Winnipeg. There is considerable interest from mainland China to find reliable, consistent sources of high quality protein such as Manitoba beef.

“It’s too early to celebrate, but this latest trade agreement is yet another sign that things are moving in the right direction for Manitoba beef producers,” said Dutchyshen. “We have excellent beef. We have CentrePort. And we have advanced plans for new federally-inspected beef plants to come on stream in the next two years. With all these elements coming together, I’d like to think we’re close to a very positive tipping point.”

That fact was recently confirmed by Canfax market analyst Brian Perillat, who told MCEC: “One of the main reasons why Manitoba’s prices are lower is because they are the furthest distance away from any federally-inspected slaughter plants.”

The analysis shows the average price differential over the first 10 months of 2011 between Alberta and Manitoba on fed steers was $10.16/100lbs. On an average fed steer of 1,300 lbs, that works out to about $130 per animal. We also know that the minimum price differential on other cattle is $50/head for transportation alone.

Click here to read more in our Winter 2012 newsletter.

Beef and Forage Days are organized by the Manitoba Forage Council. Plant management will review its plans for the federally-inspected beef plant proposed for Marion Street in Winnipeg. Plans call for a facility that will be capable of accepting up to 62,500 head per year.

The sessions are a chance for producers to learn more about the plant and about on-farm protocols the plant will expect.

Beef and Forage Days schedule:

• January 9 – Vita
• January 10 – Interlake
• January 11 – Ste. Rose du Lac
• January 12 – Holland
• January 13 – Teulon

MCEC administers an investment fund that is fed by a refundable $2 per head levy on every head of cattle sold in the province. That money is then matched by the province turning every $2 into $4. MCEC’s mandate is to use that fund to invest in projects to strengthen the Manitoba beef industry, with a special focus on bringing federally-inspected beef slaughter and processing capacity back to the province.

Fully 85 per cent, or 7,400 out of 8,700, of Manitoba’s cattle farms decided on their own against applying for a refund in 2010, according to data from MCEC.

“We talk to producers all the time and they tell us that they know the risk to our industry if we don’t get new federally-inspected beef plant capacity back in the province,” said Gaylene Dutchyshen, vice-chair of MCEC. “It’s a positive sign that so many cattle producers are voting with their wallets on this very important issue.”

Another significant reason for cattle producers to support MCEC’s initiative is that they know having a local beef plant will mean more profitability and sustainability for individual farms and the whole sector. Manitoba beef producers earn substantially less for their livestock than their Alberta counterparts. In the first 10 months of 2011, the difference was as high as $130 per fed steer (avg weight 1,300 lbs).

“When you’re looking at trading a $2 levy for the chance to earn up to $130, the math is pretty simple,” said Dutchyshen. “We pay high prices for transportation and other costs to get our animals across the country or into the US. It makes perfect sense for producers here to continue to pull together towards building a beef plant here at home.”

MCEC was born in the wake of the 2003 BSE crisis that closed the US border to Canadian beef exports. While Alberta and Ontario producers still had access to local slaughter facilities, Manitoba producers were faced with surging herds and plummeting prices.

MCEC has invested in the plant project to be built at 663 Marion St. in Winnipeg’s historic St. Boniface meat packing district. Plant plans call for it to receive 250 head per day and up to 62,500 head per year.

MCEC along with the management team behind the proposed new Winnipeg-based beef plant crunched the numbers and discovered that Manitoba producers are losing out on more than $5 million a year compared to their Alberta counterparts. The reason is simple: Alberta is home to federally-inspected beef plants and Manitoba is not.

The analysis shows the price differential over the first 10 months of 2011 between Alberta and Manitoba on fed steers was $10.16/100lbs. On an average fed steer of 1,300 lbs, that works out to $130 per animal.

We also know that the minimum differential on other cattle for transportation alone is $50/head.

The proposed new Winnipeg plant is expected to take 62,500 head/year.

• 40 % to be fed cattle: 25,000 x $130 = $3.25 million
• 60 % to be non-fed: 37,500 x $50 = 1.88 million
• Total: $5.13 million

The St. Boniface beef plant’s business plan is based on this philosophy. It has been proven to be a profitable business model around the world though this will be the first example of it in Canada.

Read more in our summer 2011 newsletter.