MOOSE JAW, Sask. – Cattle producers could put more money in their pockets by working together to sell their animals, producers attending a recent conference here heard.Will Lowe, marketing representative for Northwest Consolidated Beef Producers, told the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association convention that targeted marketing by a group can earn more money for each member.Analysis of sales numbers for 2007 through 2009 showed that NWCBP members earned more money per head based on a comparison of the weighted average price per week for NWCBP and Canfax.Lowe said it’s not a perfect comparison but it works.NWCBP members earned $20 per heifer and $15 per steer more in 2007, while in 2008 the numbers were $18 and $19 respectively.Lowe said the numbers slipped in 2009 to $11.75 more per steer and $11.90 more per heifer because of country-of-origin labelling, lack of competitive bidding and the closure of the XL Foods plant in Moose Jaw.Last year, the non-profit company marketed 137,000 head of fat cattle.Headquartered in Strathmore, Alta., Northwest Consolidated Beef formed in September 2006.Thirteen feedlot owners and cow-calf producers in Alberta and Saskatchewan initiated the company, which is membership-based and funded by marketing fees.There are three membership levels, with different voting privileges, investment levels and marketing fees.“We want producers to have some ownership,” Lowe explained.The company now has 140 members and represents 390,000 head of one time feeding capacity. Lowe said it has grown as producers realized they gained both money and market power.The percentage of captive supply is steadily rising and fewer cash cattle are trading, he said.The company uses a bid/ask trading method rather than the traditional sealed bid, allowing it to adjust to changing market conditions.
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