HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2012-07-12, Page 15THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2012. PAGE 15.
Total receipts for Brussels
Livestock for the week ending July 6
were 1,702 cattle, 716 lambs and
goats. On Tuesday fed steers and
heifers sold on a steady market.
Choice steers and heifers sold $116
to $120 to top of $131.75. Second
cut sold $112 to $115. Cows sold
steady. On Thursday veal sold on a
strong active demand at prices $1 to
$2 higher. Lambs sold under
pressure to the week’s decline, while
sheep traded $1 to $2 higher. Goats
sold steady. On Friday all
classes of cattle sold on a steady
market.
There were 34 fed steers on offer.
Henry Kanters of Elmwood,
consigned two steers averaging
1,385 lbs. selling for an average of
$120.93. A Belgium blue steer
weighing 1,295 lbs. sold for
$131.75. Alan Baker of Brussels,
consigned two limousin steers
averaging 1,350 lbs. selling for an
average of $118.91. One limousin
steer weighing 1,415 lbs. and sold
for $127. Gord South of Palmerston,
consigned four steers averaging
1,530 lbs. selling for an average of
$111.13. One red steer weighed
1,340 lbs. and sold to Horizon Meat
Packers for $118.25.
There were 63 fed heifers on offer.
George Rooney of Staffa, consigned
15 heifers averaging 1,285 lbs.
selling for an average of $118.45.
Two limousin heifers weighed 1,220
lbs. and sold for $128.25. Henry
Kanters of Elmwood, consigned two
heifers averaging 1,248 lbs. selling
for an average of $121.65. One
limousin heifer weighed 1,175 lbs.
and sold for $128. Gord South of
Palmerston, consigned seven heifers
averaging 1,410 lbs. selling for an
average of $114. A group of two
mixed heifers averaged 1,233 lbs.
and sold for $116.75. Art and
George Hinz of Monkton, consigned
six heifers averaging 1,389 lbs.
selling for an average of $114.42.
One charolais heifer weighed 1,220
lbs. and sold for $116.
There were 157 cows on offer.
Export types sold $73.50 to $80 with
sales to $94; beef cows, $75.50 to
$94; D1 and D2, $57 to $64; D3,
$52 to $57; D4, $37 to $47. Ross
Baird of Wingham, consigned one
limousin cow that sold for $94. Jim
Blake of Blyth, consigned three
cows averaging 1,620 lbs. selling for
an average of $79.93. One holstein
cow weighed 1,530 lbs. and sold for
$94. Ferme R. Bordeleau Inc. of
Clerval, consigned 28 cows
averaging 1,634 lbs. selling for an
average of $86. One black cow
weighed 1,405 lbs. and sold for
$93.
There were five bulls selling $80
to $94. Larry Rundle of Woodham,
consigned one bull weighing 1,610
lbs. selling for $94. Jim Norris of
Harriston, consigned one black bull
weighing 1,960 lbs. selling for
$92.
There were 152 head of veal on
offer. Beef sold $110 to $170 with
sales to $176.50; good holsteins, $90
to $100 with sales to $110; medium
holsteins, $80 to $90; heavy
holsteins, $85 to $95 to high of
$100. Mosie J. Shetler of Lucknow,
consigned seven veal averaging 788
lbs. selling for an average of $150.
One limousin heifer weighed 735
lbs. and sold for $177. Lamar Frey
of Listowel, consigned 10 veal
averaging 767 lbs. selling for an
average of $157.10. One charolais
heifer weighed 740 lbs. and sold for
$176.50. Owen B. Martin of
Wellesley, consigned one blonde
steer weighing 800 lbs. that sold for
$176.
Lambs under 50 lbs. sold $190 to
$240; 50 - 64 lbs., $201 to $242; 65
- 79 lbs., $136 to $197; 80 - 94 lbs.,
$132 to $162; 95 to $109 lbs., $132
to $149; 110 lbs. and over, $134 to
$148.
Sheep sold $70 to $100 with sales
to $110.
Goats: kids sold $75 to $125 with
sales to $175 per head; nannies, $60
to $110 per head; billies, $150 to
$300 per head.
Top quality stocker steers, 400 -
499 lbs. sold $166 to $204; 500 -
599 lbs., $160 to $200; 600 - 699
lbs., $139 to $188; 700 - 799 lbs.,
$140 to $158.75; 800 - 899 lbs.,
$130 to $149.50; 900 - 999 lbs.,
$127.50 to $146.50; 1,000 lbs. and
over, $120 to $135.50.
Top quality stocker heifers, 300 -
399 lbs. sold $144 to $197; 400 -
499 lbs., $156 to $172; 500 - 599
lbs., $154 to $178.25; 600 - 699 lbs.,
$144 to $164; 700 - 799 lbs.,
$131.50 to $164; 800 - 899 lbs.,
$125 to $141; 900 lbs. and over,
$123.50 to $129.50.
Guelph MP, Liberal Party
Agriculture and Agri-Food Critic
and Rural Affairs Critic Frank
Valeriote visited the Huron-Bruce
riding recently to talk to farmers and
chatted with the Bruce County
Federation of Agriculture regarding
their concerns for the future.
He met with several local media
outlets at The Blyth Inn on July 5 to
discuss what he learned through the
meeting.
“We talked a lot with the Bruce
Federation,” Valeriote said
following his meeting, “There are a
lot of concerns that the Bruce
community has, but they aren’t
unique to them.”
Bruce County, which has over
870,000 acres of farming land, is a
significant player in agriculture
production according to Valeriote
and they have some serious issues
with the way agriculture is heading
in Canada.
While Valeriote mentioned several
issues including business risk
management, sustainable farming
and the cost of being a farmer, the
major concern he kept coming back
to was connectivity.
“The number of farms in rural
Canada has gone down, as has the
number of people working on them,”
he said. “The rural population of
Canada is down from 20 per cent in
previous years to 18 per cent so
we’re definitely seeing a decline.
“The change is due to larger,
industrial farms taking over smaller
farms and due to a decline in the
rural economy,” he said. “The lack
of infrastructure is a huge issue.”
He said that the lack of stable
internet connectivity and cellular
phone service has been paired up
with the Federal Conservative
Government’s decision to close rural
post offices and government service
sites to create a situation where
farmers just can’t get the services
they need.
“The lack of connectivity, of
infrastructure, creates less incentive
for people to build value-added
industries to capitalize on the
existing businesses in Canada’s rural
areas,” he said. “The government
can’t expect people to stay in these
areas, or move to them, if the
infrastructures to be successful
aren’t there.”
Examples of value added
industries are using raw crop
material such as wheat and soya and,
through local industries, turning it
into products that people need and
can use locally, like making plastics.
He went on to say that farms
themselves are no longer a man
working the land and raising crops
and livestock, but that they too need
to be connected to make their
business work.
“Computers are as vital as tractors
to modern farming,” he said. “You
can’t incentivize farmers to innovate
without connecting them.”
A serious hurdle, according to the
Bruce Federation and Valeriote, is
creating an environment that
welcomes young people to stay in
areas.
“The primary thing we need to
keep young people is jobs,” he said.
“More people are wanting the rural
lifestyle, and we can promote it and
sell it to the youth, but it only works
with jobs and connectivity.”
Another major concern, according
to Valeriote, is the lack of local food
terminals where farmers can sell
their own goods locally and make a
better cut of the final profit.
“The University of Guelph and St.
Joseph’s Hospital in Guelph try to
buy local,” he said. “They have a
problem with the quantity of food
they can get though, because we
need more depots operational so
people can buy local.”
Valeriote said that the same could
be said across the country.
“We need to connect the farm gate
to the consumer and all along the
food chain we need to make farmers
sustainable,” he said.
The national food plan focuses on
bringing food grown locally to
consumers.
“We want the consumers to be
able to consume healthy, local fresh
food, and if we follow the three S’s
and an H system, they can.” he said.
The three S’s are sovereignty,
meaning Canadians should feed
themselves; security, meaning the
food is accessible and edible and
sustainable; safety, meaning the
food is known to be safe and
healthy, which will alleviate some of
the burden on the country’s
healthcare system according to
Valeriote.
“The safety part is hard though,”
he said. “The federal government
recently cut 56 million from food
safety programs resulting in
hundreds of frontline inspectors lost.
It’s hard to know the food is safe
under those conditions.”
One of the tenets of the Liberal’s
national food plan is to invest money
back in the safety program to fight
those losses.
Aside from infrastructure,
connectivity and local food
terminals, Valeriote said that the
major concerns from the Bruce
Federation fell under several
different categories:
• Funding cuts from agricultural
research need to be undone.
• Farmers becoming “price
takers” instead of “price setters”
• A lack of local food processors,
like abattoirs, due to standards from
larger processors being forced on
smaller ones
• A steady Risk Management
Program
• Supply management program
options.
Agriculture critic meets with Federation
Looking at the issues
Guelph MP, Liberal Party Agriculture and Agri-Food Critic
and Rural Affairs Critic Frank Valeriote was in Blyth last
week to meet with Liberal supporters and to have some
lunch at the Blyth Inn. Earlier in the week, Valeriote met
with the Bruce Federation of Agriculture to discuss issues
facing farmers today. (Denny Scott photo)
TUESDAYS
9:00 a.m.
Fed Cattle, Bulls & Cows
THURSDAYS
8:00 a.m.Drop Calves
10:00 a.m.Veal
11:30 a.m. Lambs, Goats & Sheep
FRIDAYS
10:00 a.m. Stockers
Call us 519-887-6461
Visit our webpage at:
www.brusselslivestock.ca
email us at:
info@brusselslivestock.ca
BRUSSELS LIVESTOCK
Division of Gamble & Rogers Ltd.
UPCOMING SALES
AgricultureBrussels Livestock report
Fed steers, heifers sell on steady market
By Denny Scott
The Citizen