WINNIPEG – A group of ranchers from the Northern Plains region of the United States feel they’ve been dependent on the feedlot and packing industry of the Midwest for too long.
They’re tired of low prices that don’t recognize meat quality, and sick of seeing profits drained from the region.
So they’re taking control and they want Manitoba and Saskatchewan cattle producers to join them. The group wants to form a beef slaughtering co-operative and build a mid-sized plant to handle 300,000 head a year.
“As a rancher, like most guys I’m kind of frustrated with the current system, just kind of tired of working the long days for the low pay and wondering where’s the money at in the industry,” said Ryan
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Taylor, a rancher from Towner, N.D.
Skeptical at first
Bill Patrie, a rural development officer in Bismarck, N.D., said a couple of North Dakota ranchers proposed the idea to him a couple of years ago. “I was pretty skeptical,” he said, recalling feasibility studies for beef slaughter plants had been done in the past.
However, the ranchers proved him wrong. They raised money for a new study, which pointed to a high-quality, customer-driven niche market that could be served by a mid-sized plant.
The plant would not compete with what Taylor calls “commodity beef” from the major packers. Although this beef is graded, Taylor said because the packers are driven by volume, they can’t maintain consistency.
Concentrate on consumer
Taylor said the proposed Northern Plains Premium Beef Co-operative would focus on giving retailers and consumers the quality, consistency and cuts they want. It would draw cattle from ranchers who would also be shareholders.
Taylor said a group of ranchers visited four potential retail partners in the eastern U.S. and were well received.
The steering committee must raise about $300,000 to start a business plan and prospectus in the fall.
Taylor said the group hopes to be selling shares by January. They’ll likely cost $50 each and will give holders the right and obligation to deliver animals to the plant within a certain time.
The plant would likely cost between $35-$45 million to build. Shareholders would decide on location.
