The Rural Voice, 1987-05, Page 14WALLOHER
BEV3: Powerful,
Reliable, Affordable
And it's effective - like a
brick wall. CSA approved
and dealer serviceable
too.
The BEV3 is part of our
complete Power Fencing
System to keep stock in
and predators out. It's
way ahead of ordinary
fencing.
Gallagher Power Fencing
Box 576, Owen Sound
Ontario N4K 5R1
1-800-265-3150
Make every dollar of investment work —
and work hard! Zetor invites you to com-
pare model for model, feature for feature
before you buy!
Zetor tractors are available in two or four
wheel drive from 50 to 160 horsepower.
Model
5211, 50 H.P., 611,580
7245.4WD. 65 H.P., 619.170
8145, 4WD. 80 H.P., 627,410
See Dealers for Cash Discounts
G & B Farm Equipment
R R 1, Ayton 519-799-5584
Chatsworth 519-794-2181
Scone Service Centre
R.R. 3, Chesley 519-363-2431
2 THE RURAL VOICE
TALES OF THE
PACKER/BUYER
I was up to the Innisfail Auction
Market last week, where Jack Daines
always has a good sale. And cattle
have been selling like the dickens
lately: heavy gross cattle, steers go-
ing for $1.20 to $1.50 a pound, heifers
for $1.05 to $1.25 — and drop calves
(right out of the feedlot) for $280!
There was an old advertisement
nailed to one of the stockyard walls:
"If you include Tylan feed additive
in your ration you'll have less liver
abscesses. Fewer livers will be con-
demned; the carcass more valuable.
Therefore the packer will pay you more
for your steers."
Trouble is, this particular selling
point ignored one of the basic truths of
the livestock industry. Rule number
one: The packer never pays you more!
Each packer/buyer memorizes the
old Swift Discount Guide Book which
lists all the possible reasons why he
can't give you full market price. The
reasons include: too fat, too thin, too
old, too many crossbreds, too many
straightbreds, too many tags, too
calvy, too many bulls, too light, too
heavy, too much fill, too many horns,
too many days on feed, not enough
days on feed, too many Conservatives
in the House, too many weeks in the
year, too many left-handed relievers in
the Blue Jays bull pen, a negative hor-
oscope, the wrong phase of the moon.
Remember last fall when the pack-
er told you he needed fat heifers weigh-
ing 950? You had them ready in
March, but now he's looking for a
heavier carcass. He was out two weeks
ago and looked at a pen of your steers —
he said they hadn't had enough days on
feed. Today he's going to have to dock
you because they're too wasty.
Remember the days without end
when you called every packer you
knew to show your cattle? They
acted like you had leprosy! They'd
only take a pen if they could sort.
They'd take all the black baldys and
cull the rest for poor posture, bad
colouring, loss of memory, two left
feet, or deafness.
But there were times, good times
when the market was on your side.
Buyers had to make an appointment
to take you to lunch. No sort, two
per cent shrink — each load included
a water -belly, three pregnant heifers,
two foot -rots, a hardware, and a six-
year-old Scottish Highlander bull.
I'm reminded of the prospective
bridegroom who wrote: "Dear Ann
Landers, I have a sister in prison, a
cousin who's gay, and an uncle who's
a cattle buyer. Should I tell my
fiancee about my uncle?"0
Mervyn Erb, agrologist, recently
moved to the Three Hills, Alberta
area to become director of sales
for Green Leaf Farm Supply Ltd.
The Write Stuff?
People with an agricultural orientation who can write
features or cover news stories, or simply send in reports
of local meetings or community activities.
Write: The Rural Voice
Box 37
Goderich, Ontario
N7A 3Y5