The Rural Voice, 1985-09, Page 29herd are being sold this year to allow
Shaver to concentrate on the develop-
ment of the Shaver Beefplan herd.
Shaver recently sold 21 cattle to
Columbia. This number could have
helped build up his herd here, but ex-
port is also a crucial part of his
business. Export sales help provide
money to continue his research. "Our
ability to expand (the Shaver
Beefplan) depends on our exports,"
Shaver says. Similarly, the money
generated in the Holstein business by
selling semen internationally has
helped breeders to finance research
on that breed.
In developing his export business,
Shaver spends about 20 days in South
American annually. The Shavers have
a partner in Columbia who handles a
large number of cattle. It is that part-
ner's dream to make a major impact
on agriculture in Columbia. The plan
is to pasture 2,000 cattle on 1,400
acres in Columbia and thus merchan-
dise 500 Shaver Beefplan annually.
The royalties the Shavers will receive
from this ranch will go back into
research here.
Shaver, who has seen seven and
eight-year-old children begging for
food on South American streets,
believes that by exporting technology
he can help the people there. He
studied history and political science at
the University of Waterloo with an
eye towards law, and prides himself
on his ability to work with people in
Latin America. His experience and
education have allowed him to get ex-
port deals others perhaps couldn't.
People in South America seek
Shaver's advice about cattle. They
ask some tough questions and are
prepared to spend money on his ad-
vice. "It's as important as my work
here. If I make a mistake there will be
tremendous effects here."
Although Shaver considers himself
to be a representative of Canada dur-
ing his export endeavours, he con-
siders himself an Ontario cattleman
at home. He would like to see Ontario
beef producers raise cattle from start
to finish rather than depend on the
western provinces for stockers. Some
cattle move 5,000 miles in their lives
and have several different homes.
Each time steers and cows travel,
their rate of gain is interrupted. "We
are assuming that the west will always
have calves," he says, but that may
not always be the case. The west, he
notes, may find other markets. It may
be a smart hedge to build up cow
herds in Ontario to meet the demand
for calves, he suggests. Shaver
recognizes that this suggestion is not a
popular idea with some cattlemen.
He quotes others who have likened
the cattle industry to a leaky bucket
with marketing being the biggest
hole. "Bad press against cholesterol
hurts cattlemen. Already 30 per cent
of the population in some Scandina-
vian countries is vegetarian. Shaver
believes the place to start promoting
beef is with the children. He cites
McDonalds as an example. Their pro-
motion brings kids. Kids bring their
families. "Maybe we should have
busloads of children coming to our
farms. They will be consumers some-
day," he says.
Another trend that Shaver believes
threatens the beef industry as much as
vegetarianism is the loss of talented
farmers. As farming skill is replaced
by technology, union labourers may
do more of the work. But will they
have the same commitment? Will
they race with the rain clouds until 3
a.m. to plant the crop?
Although Shaver believes in
talented farmers with commitment
doing the farm work, he doesn't
necessarily believe the "North
American myth" of pride of owner-
ship. He says some European coun-
tries have proven you don't have to
own the land to have pride in your
work. Even when he farmed 700 acres
plus caring for the cattle, Shaver
never felt the need for ownership of a
combine, for example. Instead, he
preferred to hire the equipment and a
"talented employee" for the day.
Labour trends, consumption
trends, marketing strategy, and
genetic planning are all part of the
research and development in the beef
industry. Shaver emphasizes that the
beef industry today must be thinking
about the beef consumers of tomor-
row. For that reason, Shaver has been
working since 1972 to join genetically
the best of eleven cattle breeds in a
utility beef animal suited for markets
now and in the future. The consumer
will be the final judge of the success
or failure of the Shaver Beefplan
breed. ❑
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