The Rural Voice, 1998-09, Page 38Anew voice in beef
Feedlot owners form a new association to
give feeders more say in beef industry
Story and photos by Keith Roulston
Ontario's feedlot industry has
taken a terrible beating in the
past 20 years but the
survivors are planning for a brighter
future with a new organization, the
Ontario Cattle Feeders' Association,
set to fight on their behalf.
The new organization, headed by
Dave Gardiner who operates a large
feedlot operation with his brother
Ben, straddling the Perth -Huron
border east of Exeter, sees a bright
future for cattle finishing here in
Ontario if conditions can be
improved, and that's exactly what it's
setting out to do.
The seeds of the Cattle Feeders'
Association lie in the United
Managers, an informal group of the
larger feedlot operators who got
together a few times a year over the
last 10 years to exchange
information. The Gardner brothers
became involved with the group a
couple of years ago. Discussions
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began at meetings of that group about
the need for a voice for the feedlot
operators.
The feeders organized, Gardiner
feels, because their voice was lost in
the larger Ontario Cattlemen's
Association (OCA). "I don't think
it's their fault, anymore than it's our
fault, but I think that's probably why
the organization got started. I stand
to be corrected but I don't think
there's one person who's finishing
cattle on the executive of OCA right
now." OCA admits this has been a
problem and has been co-operative in
working with the new group,
Gardiner says.
Ron Bennett of Gorrie, vice-
president of the group, told the first
general meeting of the association in
Brussels, August 19 that the steering
committee of the Feeders Association
had met with the executive of the
OCA and a motion was passed at the
July OCA meeting of country
Dave Gardiner who heads the
Ontario Cattle Feeders' Association
puts 5500 head a year through this
feedlot on the lluron-Perth border,
operated with his brother Ben.
directors to allow a representative of
the new group to sit on three key
OCA committees: the feedlot,
marketing and grading, and health
and environment committees.
While the feeders see a bright
future for their industry, they realize
the realities they face.
"Where we're coming from is a
good old industry," Bennett said at
Brussels. "At one time we imported
as many as 600,000 calves from the
West (and we're) to the point now
where we imported only 65,000 in
1997. There once was a feedlot on
most concessions in Ontario.
"Today we only produce half the
beef sold in Ontario. We have fewer
feedlots — some are bigger some are
smaller but we are getting more
consolidated.
"The Canadian consumption of
beef is 10 pounds per capita Tess that
the States."
To improve the situation for cattle
feeders the new group adopted as its
mission statement: "To improve and
maintain a more competitive, viable
beef feeding industry in Ontario."