His sale prices are down 20 percent but Danny Willows is happy to find a new life for horses that once produced pregnant mare’s urine.
The equine rancher from Buck Lake, Alta., had planned to ship 25 Quarter horse and Paint mares to Kentucky and Texas in March. The three- to eight-year-old horses were to be used for embryo transplants at veterinary clinics.
“It’s an excellent opportunity for someone else to use them,” Willows said.
He was able to cover his transportation and veterinary costs by tapping into a $3.7 million Equine Placement Trust Fund program established by Wyeth Organics last October.
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Wyeth reduced the number of ranchers on contract by one-third to 164 from 409 because of market changes and lower-dose products for post-menopausal therapies.
Only 130 equine ranchers in Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and North Dakota are expected to receive contracts for the 2004-05 collection season.
The North American Equine Ranching Information Council, a non-profit association representing PMU ranchers, is helping link producers with potential buyers.
“Our objective is to move as many out of the local market as possible and get them to markets where they’re seen by large numbers,” said NAERIC executive director Norm Luba of Louisville, Kentucky.
About 187 ranchers are involved in the program, which has already paid more than $1 million.
He said 6,500 PMU horses, principally mares, have been moved from PMU operations to British Columbia, Ontario and 38 states.
Luba said buyers will use them as recipient mares and in mule breeding programs. He said NAERIC is screening potential buyers to prevent animals from ending up in slaughterhouses.
“We can’t guarantee a 100 percent success rate but we make every effort to eliminate that from the scenario,” he said, noting 10 percent of buyers have already been denied.
NAERIC said prices paid for former PMU horses range between $500 and $3,500. Up to 13,000 PMU horses could be sold because of downsizing of PMU ranches.
Carrie Allen of NAERIC said an onslaught of PMU horses onto the market initially drove down horse prices, which have now largely stabilized.
Smaller horses are easier to place than heavy ones, with prices holding up well for registered Quarter horses and draft horses.
Many equine ranches have kept a herd of horses or have diversified into hay or cattle production operations.
Willows, with 96 mares on line, looks ahead to upgrading his stock and remaining in the PMU business for now.
“We’re just taking it one year at a time,” he said.
Wyeth offered compensation programs to producers without horses in production in the 2003-04 season that amounted to 167 percent of their contracts.
HACCP clarified
As an agricultural Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points auditor, it was with great interest that I read the (Feb. 5, 2004) article regarding on-farm HACCP programs. After reading the article, I felt compelled to clarify some of the statements made by those interviewed.
Firstly, HACCP is not “just writing down what you’re supposed to do,” as stated by organic inspector Mr. Popoff. While it is true that records are a very important component of a HACCP system verification audit, they are not the only component.
A competent auditor would also tour the farm/processing site, examine written procedures… would observe and interview operators to confirm understanding and adherence to written procedures, and would examine the documented HACCP plan for conformance to HACCP principles.
HACCP is a “say what you do,” “do what you say” and “prove it” system. Only by performing the activities described above can an auditor determine with confidence whether or not a producer or processor meets the prescribed standards.
While it is reality that an auditee could and sometimes does complete records after the fact, certification is not granted on the basis of record keeping alone. There are clues that indicate possible record-keeping inconsistencies…
On-farm food safety programs currently being developed are HACCP-based, not pure HACCP. This is a vital distinction. …
No food/feed safety system is completely failsafe. HACCP and HACCP-based programs are proactive during the process, not relying on random end-product testing once the product has left the warehouse or passed through the farm gate.
Mr. Popoff requests “proof that it does protect anyone.” I can point to the fact that the CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) has established a mandatory HACCP framework for federally registered food plants. I can point to the fact that in 1993 the UN Codex Alimentarius Commission adopted the Guidelines for the Application of the HACCP System (strengthened in 1997). …
HACCP may not be the panacea but there must be some merit to it when you consider the industries and companies embracing it. HACCP is here to stay.
– Cory Rybuck,
Winnipeg, Man.
CWB report
Where is the Canadian Wheat Board’s 2003 annual report? I am looking forward to seeing the changes that were made to the report in the area of disclosures of netted out numbers in the statement of operations. This will be a very positive step forward in the area of transparency in their operations.
My concern now is with the timeliness of the release of that report. The fact that the annual report is not going to be available until the end of February is a dilemma.
Add time for mailing and most farmers will not receive the report until the end of March.
The accountability meetings (began) on Feb. 10. How can the yearly meetings be held before farmers receive solid data on the CWB operations?
The information in the annual report provides the basis for the questions posed at the accountability meetings. Without this information, farmers do not have the tools to evaluate the board’s performance. …
The auditor general made note in her special report on the CWB in 2002 that the delay in issuing the corporation’s 1999-2000 annual report diminished its effectiveness as a report on performance and I believe that the same holds true in this instance. I look forward to a reply from the board.
– Lynda Swanson,
Elnora, Alta.
Malt case
I read with interest all the letters about the Canadian Wheat Board. … I used to grow malt barley, never had a reject, but at times got paid less than feedlot price.
About 1963 or 1964 I shipped a carload of barley. The price of beer had gone up 20 cents a bottle (and) barley down from 83.5 to 63.5 (cents per bushel)….
And that was it. No final payment, yet the wheat board sold my malt barley to Canada Malt for just under $5 a bushel.
How do I know? I have a letter here somewhere around the house from Canada Malt stating so.
– John Pokorney,
Tilley, Alta.
Tough times
Just who … is going to feed this country if we allow all of the producers, whether they be livestock or grain producers, to go broke?
I was once a one-half section farmer with a good job in the city and now everything is gone …
I rented out my farm for just enough to cover the taxes, and everyone in the city wants you to work for next to nothing. What a wonderful country.
If those mad cows would have had a Bombardier logo branded on them, we would have seen a flood of money come from Ottawa.
– Gordon Gherasim,
Regina, Sask.
No gloating
The Canadian Wheat Board should not gloat over the recent decision at the World Trade Organization in the ongoing dispute over Canadian wheat entering the U.S.
The fact of the matter is that western Canadian wheat growers have lost a market for over one million tonnes of high protein spring wheat, our top quality and highest priced wheat.
The blame rests solely on the ministry responsible for the CWB and the former minister responsible. Their intransigent attitude toward change and placing government bureaucratic policy, supply management, ahead of the wishes of Western Canadians is the root of the problem.
It is now costing western wheat growers $200 to $250 million yearly to preserve this archaic piece of legislation called the CWB Act. That minister responsible did nothing for the western Canadian grain trade during his whole tenure, three terms, under the Chrétien government.
And that minister’s reward? A patronage appointment by the eastern power brokers who run Canada to be minister of finance in the new Martin government. Puppetry lives on.
Do not be fooled by the rhetoric from Mr. Martin. Go by his actions. There is no change. Twice, in the last two federal elections, westerners have voted for change. Remember, three strikes and you are out….
– George Powell,
Port Coquitlam, B.C.
Auction fees
In reference to “Cattle fees,” WP, March 4 issue: Auctioneering is the world’s second oldest profession. One would hope we could get almost as much respect as those practicing the world’s oldest profession.
When the BSE crisis arrived, it hit all sectors of the livestock industry, not just farmers. We all took a beating – auction markets, order buyers, cattle feeders, cattle haulers, veterinarians, supply companies, tire shops, truck and equipment dealers and everyone else.
I would like to invite anyone who thinks that we should cut our fees to our next staff meeting. Good luck convincing our employees, most of whom are farmers and ranchers trying to supplement their income, to take a cut in wages.
While you are at it, call the radio stations and newspapers, get them to cut the advertising rates too. Don’t forget our light truck dealers, fuel agents, skid steer dealers and so on. Get real.
When it comes to charity, auctioneers raise more money (charity auctions) than any other profession I know of.
I am a rancher too. We sold our yearlings last September by auction. We had hundreds of them.
They sold for at least 10 cents a pound more than anyone thought they would. On 900 lb. cattle that was $90 extra. But it cost us $15 in commission to do it.
There is no doubt in my mind that the auction staff and competitive bidding cut my losses by $75 per head.
Everyone who has cattle should work at their closest auction market for at least one season. They would get to see first-hand what all is involved.
(Canadian Cattlemen’s Association president) Neil Jahnke cautioned us several times at the meeting in Minton, Sask., to stick together and quit fragmenting and pointing the finger at everyone else in the industry.
Good advice.
– Roy Rutledge,
Assiniboia, Sask.
Internet use
The analysis by David Bruce “Stats on rural internet use give surprises” (WP, Feb. 5, 2004) is superficial and downright silly.
Mr. Bruce states that people use the internet less because they live in rural areas. Actually, people use the internet less in rural areas because they do not have access to high-speed internet service or because the service they have is expensive.
The explosion of internet use in urban areas occurred because people had easy access to high-speed services. Access in rural areas is severely limited, although the federal government’s BRAND program is helping change this. Internet use will grow, if not explode, when high-speed services become available in rural areas.
The simplistic article by Mr. Bruce suggests that we should invest in “young persons.” This condescending policy advice presumes that the existing rural population will not use the internet even if high-speed services become available.
To be fair, the Statistics Canada survey fits with the research of the rural high-speed company that I work with.
Our analysis runs deeper then Mr. Bruce’s analysis, because we asked real people real questions about their real activity.
We did not perform a casual statistical correlation of demographics, income categories and number of hours on the internet.
We completed a more detailed and respectful review of rural needs. We have real people investing real money in rural high-speed internet service.
We have also received generous support from Industry Canada’s BRAND program (BRAND.gc.ca) to build some of the infrastructure.
Industry Canada seems to have a significantly better grasp of public policy for rural areas than does Mr. Bruce.
– Tom Porter,
Bogend Broadband Inc.,
Saskatoon, Sask.
