The Citizen, 2011-05-26, Page 11THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2011. PAGE 11.
Farming is changing. And it’s not
just changing in the scale of
operations we now have, or the
increasingly diverse markets we now
supply. It’s also changing in how we
view the vocation of farming and
how it connects to rural
communities and our fellow farmers.
Simply put, our emphasis on the
business of farming now often
overshadows other dimensions to
farming that we used to take for
granted.
At the core of this change is
predominately the continuing
pressure for farmers to adapt to
large-scale production, marketing
and distribution systems that create
an overall context for on-farm
decision-making and planning.
Agricultural policies for Canada
have increasingly worked out to be
trade policies, plus societal pressure
is ratcheting up both standards and
expectations regarding food. All
these factors combine to create
continued pressure on farmers to
either increase their production
capacities, or seek out niche,
alternative or value-added
opportunities.
It’s against this background of
change that key questions arise
regarding our most basic
assumptions about farming. It used
to be that how the business of
farming was conducted was as big a
discussion topic as the business of
farming itself. Co-operation and
community used to rank a little
higher in the overall context of how
farming was conducted and were
seen as important dimensions to be
built into the agricultural
infrastructure. Given the continual
change in both agriculture and our
perceptions about it, I recently posed
some “values based” questions at
one of our Christian Farmers
Federation of Ontario district
association meetings. They include:
• What role does our fellow farmer
have, at home and abroad, in our
approaches to the bigger questions
and challenges? Are we colleagues
or competitors?
• Should our marketing systems
for farm products continue to reflect
the “greater good” of the industry, or
should we start slanting them
towards maximizing the benefits for
individual businesses?
• Are we food producers or are our
products destined for industrial
purposes? And are we okay with
that? Is there something different
about food?
• How are we treating the Creation
in our pursuit of profitable
businesses? Are we just okay with
our practices, or could we be doing
better than we are?
• Does it matter if each county
only has one or two large-scale
farmers, with the rest being part-
timers? Do we care about the
“missing middle” in farm scale?
My own answer to some of those
questions is that some of our
traditional assumptions about
farming and how it’s conducted need
to be revisited in light of the
relentless pressure to adapt to
business realities. I’m not saying
that some of our assumptions about
the value of community and co-
operation need to be abandoned. But
I do think we need to be more
intentional about giving our values
concrete expression and not expect
that they will easily survive in
today’s business environment
without giving them due attention.
Total receipts for Brussels
Livestock for the week ending May
20 were 2,207 cattle, 834 lambs and
goats. On Tuesday fed steers and
heifers sold on a good active trade at
prices $1 higher. Choice steers and
heifers sold $109 to $116 with sales
to $117.25. Second cut sold $100 to
$108. Cows sold steady to last
week’s heavy trade. On Thursday
holstein veal calves sold $1 to $2
lower, while beef veal traded $2 to
$5 higher. All classes of lambs sold
under pressure at prices $5 to $10
lower. Sheep and goats sold steady.
On Friday calves sold on a good
strong active trade at prices $2
higher, while yearlings sold on a
strong trade.
There were 102 steers on offer.
Jim and John Bennett of Goderich,
consigned two steers averaging
1,543 lbs. selling for an average of
$115.25 with one limousin steer
weighing 1,550 lbs. selling to
Norwich Packers for $115.75. Chris
Smith of Brussels, consigned thirty-
two steers averaging 1,572 lbs.
selling for an average of $110.84
with eight charolais steers averaging
1,574 lbs. selling to Dominion Meat
Packers for $112.75. John Wiersma
of Blyth, consigned five steers
averaging 1,380 lbs. selling for an
average of $103.94 with one black
steer weighing 1,335 lbs. selling to
Holly Park Meat Packers for
$110.75.
Terry Murray of Clifford,
consigned four steers averaging
1,450 lbs. selling for an average of
$108.73 with two charolais steers
averaging 1,380 lbs. selling for
$109.25. Enid Schmidt of Baden,
consigned six charolais steers
averaging 1,567 lbs. selling to
Ryding Regency for $109.10. Karen
Konecny of Formosa, consigned
four steers averaging 1,331 lbs.
selling for an average of $105.89
with two red steers averaging 1,435
lbs. selling to Holly Park Meat
Packers for $109. Dan Saunders of
Arthur, consigned five steers
averaging 1,412 lbs. selling for an
average of $105.60 with two black
steers averaging 1,483 lbs. selling
for $108.75.
Noah Weppler of Ayton,
consigned seven black steers
averaging 1,271 lbs. selling to
Dominion Meat Packers for
$107.25. Doug Martin of
Moorefield, consigned one black
steer weighing 1,470 lbs. selling to
Holly Park Meat Packers for $106.
Gordon Rayburn of Orangeville,
consigned eight steers averaging
1,331 lbs. selling for an average of
$101.53 with seven red steers
averaging 1,337 lbs. selling for
$104.
There were 234 heifers on offer.
Darren Johnston Farms Ltd. of
Bluevale, consigned fifty-eight
heifers averaging 1,328 lbs. selling
for an average of $107.04 with one
grey heifer weighing 1,255 lbs.
selling for $117.25. Southlore
Farms of Palmerston, consigned
seven heifers averaging 1,236 lbs.
selling for an average of $107.83
with one gold heifer weighing 1,390
lbs. selling to Dominion Meat
Packers for $117. Lyle Kinsman of
Kippen, consigned five heifers
averaging 1,260 lbs. selling for an
average of $112.56 with two
limousin heifers averaging 1,308 lbs.
selling to Norwich Packers for
$114.75. Scott Geisel of West
Montrose, consigned fourteen
heifers averaging 1,315 lbs. selling
for an average of $111.42 with two
charolais heifers averaging 1,308
lbs. selling to Dominion Meat
Packers for $114.25.
David Bowles of Brussels,
consigned four heifers averaging
1,370 lbs. selling for an average of
$111.46 with one crossbred heifer
weighing 1,400 lbs. selling to
Norwich Packers for $113.75. Bruce
Dale of Centralia, consigned ten
heifers averaging 1,407 lbs. selling
for an average of $111.14 with one
limousin heifer weighing 1,445 lbs.
selling to Norwich Packers or
$113.25. Bill Frank of Listowel,
consigned thirteen heifers averaging
1,273 lbs. selling for an average of
$109.39 with one charolais heifer
weighing 1,375 lbs. selling to
Norwich Packers for $113.25.
Corgercrest Farms of Seaforth,
consigned six heifers averaging
1,388 lbs. selling for an average of
$109.07 with two charolais heifers
averaging 1,513 lbs. selling to
Dominion Meat Packers for
$112.75. Laverne Gordner of
Mitchell, consigned one limousin
heifer weighing 1,285 lbs. selling to
Norwich Packers for $112.25. Art
and George Hinz of Monkton,
consigned seven heifers averaging
1,352 lbs. selling for an average of
$109.63 with three limousin heifers
averaging 1,373 lbs. selling
to Norwich Packers for
$111.75.
There were 193 cows on offer.
Export types sold $71.50 to $77;
beef cows, $75 to $82 with sales to
$88; D1 and D2, $50 to $55; D3, $46
to $50; D4, $35 to $40. Fred Riehl of
Gadshill, consigned two cows
averaging 1,473 lbs. selling for an
average of $83.69 with one limousin
cow weighing 1,360 lbs. selling for
$88. Don Walter of Mildmay,
consigned five cows averaging 1,250
lbs. selling for an average of $76.94
with one limousin cow weighing
1,450 lbs. selling for $84.50. Jacob
A. Yoder of Lucknow, consigned
three cows averaging 1,417 lbs.
selling for an average of $66.61 with
one red cow weighing 1,440 lbs.
selling for $84.
There were 16 bulls on offer
selling $76.50 to $85.20 with sales
to $94.50. Mel-Matt Livestock of
Kincardine, consigned one black
bull weighing 1,845 lbs. selling for
$94.50. Adolf Hostettler of
Monkton, consigned one simmental
bull weighing 2,745 lbs. selling for
$87.50.
There were 194 head of veal on
offer. Beef sold $100 to $145 with
sales to $154; good holstein, $85 to
$95 with sales to $100; medium
holstein, $80 to $85; heavy holstein,
$75 to $85. Lamar Frey of Listowel,
consigned seven veal averaging 713
lbs. selling for an average of $132.59
with one limousin heifer weighing
750 lbs. selling for $154. Soloman
Bauman of Bluevale, consigned
three veal averaging 705 lbs. selling
for an average of $119.51 with one
grey steer weighing 730 lbs. selling
for $139. AJK Waechter of
Walkerton, consigned ten veal
averaging 703 lbs. selling for an
average of $92.07 with one black
steer weighing 754 lbs. selling for
$117.
Lambs under 50 lbs. sold $197 to
$215; 50 - 64 lbs., $200 to $221; 65
- 79 lbs., $200 to $231; 80 - 94 lbs.,
$195 to $221; 95 - 109 lbs., $202 to
$222; 110 lbs. and over, $186 to
$219.
Sheep sold $45 to $82 with sales
to $100.
Goats: kids sold $60 to $140 per
head; nannies, $50 to $120 per head;
billies, $150 to $250 to $300 per
head.
Top quality stocker steers under
400 lbs. sold $100 to $170.50; 400 -
499 lbs., $100 to $168; 500 - 599
lbs., $100 to $159; 600 - 699 lbs.,
$100 to $145; 700 - 799 lbs.,
$115.50 to $138.50; 800 - 899 lbs.,
$109 to $125.50; 900 - 999 lbs.,
$102 to $122.75; 1,000 lbs. and over,
$103.50 to $117.25.
Top quality stocker heifers under
300 lbs. sold $110 to $160; 300 -
399 lbs., $141 to $158; 400 - 499
lbs., $125 to $153; 500 - 599 lbs.,
$126 to $149; 600 - 699 lbs., $116 to
$135; 700 - 799 lbs., $107 to
$129.50; 800 - 899 lbs., $103 to
$116; 900 lbs. and over, $104 to
$112.25.
Changes in farming highlighted
AgricultureBrussels Livestock report
Fed steers, heifers sell on active trade
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