The Rural Voice, 2000-02, Page 38suggested earlier in the meeting)
there will be less corn and more
beans."
If there were glimmers of hope for
corn, there were few for soybeans
where carryout is 15 per cent (and
could have been worse without a
drought in parts of the U.S. last
summer) and needs to get down to
about eight per cent to make prices
move significantly. The oil market is
low because La Nina rains have
boosted palm oil production in
Indonesia and the market for oils is
being flooded. It means soybean
meal is driving the market and at
least there's a hot demand for that at
the moment.
The good news for Ontario
growers is that, though they are a
small part of the global market, they
consistently have the highest yields,
higher than the U.S. or Brazil.
Ontario's good land and climate
mean growers will switch to other
crops if they can't grow soybeans
well, so they have to have top yields.
By comparison, total production is
dropping in South America because
some of the land where beans were
being grown is marginal. If prices
improve, however, this land will
come back into use, Reesor said.
Until the U.S. farm program
changes there will likely be no big
increase in soybean prices, Reesor
said. "There's just no economic
signal (to U.S. farmers) to stop
growing soybeans."
Wheat has a huge carryout of 42.5
per cent and when wheat is cheap
enough it replaces corn as a feed
component. The good news with
wheat, however, is that it could right
itself in just one year, Reesor said.
Early January the midwestern U.S.
was still dry and there are concerns
for the winter wheat crop but since
the crop hasn't started spring growth,
this isn't a problem yet. It will be a
few weeks before it's known if there
could be a problem with the crop.
The other factor in pricing is
currency fluctuations, he said. Asian
currencies have been recovering
which makes Canadian commodities
look cheaper to them. Still, Asian
buyers have been holding back from
buying because every day their
currency goes up makes the product
34 THE RURAL VOICE
News
cheaper. "When their currencies
stabilize there may be more buying. I
think this is good news."
On the other hand the Canadian
dollar is gaining strength and "we are
now in a whole new era" which will
change the basis price for
commodities quoted in U.S.
currency.0
Cattle identification
system on the way
The Canadian beef industry is
quickly moving toward a trace -back
system, Stan Eby, first vice-president
of the Ontario Cattlemen's
Association told producers at the beef
day of Grey -Bruce Farmers' Week,
January 5.
The Canadian Cattle Identification
Initiative (CCIA) was initiated by the
Canadian Cattlemen's Association
(CCA) to create a traceback system
similar to those being developed in
poultry and pork, Eby said.
"It's a food safety issue. There's a
lack of confidence in food safety,"
Eby said, even though there's fewer
problems with food safety today than
in the past.
But Canadian cattle producers
depend on exports (50 per cent of our
total production) and trace -back is a
key to market access in many
countries. If there is a problem, these
buyers want to be able to trace back a
problem and they need to do it fast.
The outbreak of "mad cow
disease" in Britain shows how
quickly damage can be done, Eby
said. Not only did British farmers
lose their export market overnight,
but they also saw their domestic
market drop by 40 per cent.
Similarly, Canadian farmers saw a
devastating reduction in prices when
foot and mouth disease broke out in
1952.
Ironically, Eby said, Canada has
slid backward in identification of
cattle . In 1985, when brucellosis was
declared tamed, 85-90 per cent of
cattle had identifying ear tags. Today
about 10 per cent have identification.
CCA wanted a simple inexpensive
system that is still reliable, Eby said.
The system will make use of CCIA
tags and an agency to keep a
computerized record of numbers. A
distributor sells the tag to a farmer
and reports the number to the central
data base. The tag is inserted and
stays with the animal up to the time
of meat inspection. If there is any
problem, the meat inspectors start the
trace back. If there's not a problem,
the numbers are reported back to the
central database and are cancelled.
It's hoped the cost will be less
than $1 per tag. The program will be
financed from the sale of the tags.
The tags must have 95 per cent
lifetime retention, be tamper -proof
and will have a unique appearance.
There will be a visual identification
and an automated identification,
perhaps a bar code, though that could
cause a problem because bar codes
can get dirty and the tags must be
read rapidly because of the speed of
the line in packing plants. There's
been interest in radio frequency tags,
Eby said, but these were initially
thought too expensive at over $8
each. Lately, however, the price has
come down to $2 each.
The system will be compatible
with the U.S. traceback system as
will their system with our food
inspection system.
Only the Canadian Food
Inspection Agency will have access
to cattle registration numbers and
only then when they need to trace a
problem. Producers won't need to
keep records at all, however they
may. want to use the tags as part of
their own management system.
The initial goal of the tags is
simply to provide an ability to trace
back the cattlebeast to the farm of
origin but eventually it's hoped the
tags will also be able to provide
feedback to producers and breeders
who want it on how the cattle graded
and yielded so that genetics can be
improved.
Trials are still taking place but it's
anticipated the system will be
compulsory by January 1, 2001, Eby
said. Though not a HACCP (Hazard
Analysis Critical Control Points)
system, that's an area cattle
producers will be hearing more
about, Eby said.
"There are things we can't control
but we can improve the things we can
control."0
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