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The Citizen, 2002-12-04, Page 17Gift Baskets Stocking Stuffer IDEAS! * Honey-filled Novelty Jars * Christmas Novelty Candles & Holders * Our own BBQ SAUCE - made w/honey - hickory, honey mustard, X rated * Honey Spreads, Maple Syrup, Honey Butter * Soups, Skin Food, Lip Balm, Emu Products SAO c '7,te. en Sett. joir cum, eideetua 'ecutteet FERGUSON APIARIES Hwy. #84 (between Hensall & Zurich) 236-4979 NOTICE MUNICIPALITY OF MORRIS-TURNBERRY The Municipality of Morris-Turnberry Council requests the co- operation of the ratepayers regarding the parking of cars and other vehicles and the depositing of snow on the Municipal Roads during the period in which snow clearing operations are necessary. It is an offence under the Highway Traffic Act, Section 17 (12) to: "PARK OR STAND A VEHICLE ON A HIGHWAY IN SUCH A MANNER AS TO'INTERFERE WITH THE MOVEMENT OF TRAFFIC OR THE CLEARING OF SNOW FROM THE HIGHWAY". and also Section 181 states: "NO PERSON SHALL DEPOSIT SNOW OR ICE ON A ROADWAY WITHOUT PERMISSION IN WRITING SO TO DO FROM THE MINISTRY OR THE ROAD AUTHORITY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF THE ROAD". Neither the "Municipality of Morris-Turnberry" or its snowplow operators will be held responsible for damage done to vehicles or mailboxes on the Municipal Road Allowances. YOUR CO-OPERATION IN THIS MATTER WOULD BE APPRECIATED. Lloyd Michie, C.R.S.-S Public Works Co-ordinator • Colour Printing • Posters • Letterheads • Envelopes • Business Cards • Business Forms • Brochures • Flyers • Carbonless Forms • Labels WE CAN DO IT ALL! THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2002. PAGE 17. Market analyst speaks of beef trends at symposium By Janice Becker Citizen staff -The past year, beef producers have witnessed a devastating drought in the prairies, high feed costs as availability slid and record meat supplies in North America. Anne Dunford, a market analyst with Canfax, reviewed 2002 data when she spoke at -a cow/calf symposium in Brussels fast Thursday. Using graphs and charts, she detailed how the industry had responded. to changing environmental and market, conditions. The cow/calf sector was greatly affected in the west, she said, as the worst of the drought hit the area with the highest density of cow/calf operations. Though beef production was up in the first half of the year, largely due to increased carcass weights, Dunford said the tonnage numbers dropped as the year progressed because of the drought. Many animals were being sold into the United States, The culling rate • stood at 13 per cent for 2002, said Dunford, but this did not differ greatly from the 11 per cent average in drought years. "We see cow/calf numbers go up when moisture is up and heifers on feedlots have been up. for six years." The total beef cow numbers for the country were slightly less than in 2001 (after a revision upward), but still higher than in 1999, she said. In Ontario, the numbers continue to drop, down to 375,000 head from a 1995 high of about 460,000 head. American herds numbers had been falling since 1995, but have now held steady at approximately 34 million head. By Keith Roulston Publisher Many of the problems cattle producers have with animals infected with mycoplasma come from animals infected before they are born. Rob Tremblay, a veterinarian with the drug company Boehringer- Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd. told the Beef Symposium 2002 in Brussels Thursday that there's nothing a feedlot operator can do with these animals except to protect other animals from the mycoplasma they shed. The sick animals are infected by their mothers in the womb before their immune systems develop he said, creating what is termed persistently infected (PI) calves which no medication can cure. The In spite of the lower head count, production of beef continues to rise as there has been an average of eight pounds added to the carcass weight per year since 1975, said Dunford. She does not expect to see lower individual carcass weights for 2002 because she believes the cattle were fed Longer to keep weights to the grid. With the heavy sell off of animals, Dunford said the prices for feeder cattle dropped. "It was a record year for Canadian feeder cattle exports with 92 per cent of the western sales going to the States. That accounts for 400,000 to 420,000 head. In the last week of October alone, 20,000 went south. In the past, we have seer: imports. This year there was just 10,000 compared to 200,000 the year before," she said. There was also an increased movement of cow/calves from Alberta to Ontario. Alberta and Saskatchewan have realized a 25 per ce'it drop in the number of cattle on feedlots. Dunford said that only recently has the price broken back into profit areas. It had been sitting below the break-even point since last spring. On the outlook for the industry, Dunford said there are several factors which will impact profi tab i I i ty. "The loss of equity has affected the buyer's ability to purchase animals," she said. The drought may cause producers to place animals on the market earlier and at-lighter weights. Spring had always been the preferred time to market if the weight is up. Summer cattle tend to lose money, as a 1979 to 2001. trend analysis showed. The drought has also caused uncertainty for the availability of animals will 4ep sliding no matter what, and though one cow managed to live 12 years, providing infected offspring to infect other herds, the majority of cattle die by 18 months. But a vaccination for BVD of all cattle arriving at a feedlot may actually help because it may cause some of the PI calves to die earlier, meaning at least they didn't add to their feed costs, Tremblay said. Mycoplasma is also often a factor in deaths of cattle in feedlots that are diagnosed with other diseases, Tremblay said. It seems - like mycoplasma plays a role in the deaths of cattle from chronic pneumonia, polyarthritis syndrome (CPPS) with 44 per cent of deaths from CPPS in one test group being found to have been infected by mycoplasma. It seems mycoplasma feed crops and costs could be higher. Dunford has a "bullish" outlook for feed prices in 2003. "At some point, there will be heifer retention and that will mean further need for feed supplies," she said. There were problems in the beef industry prior to the most recent drought with consumer demand falling through the 1980s and 1990s, with the lowest between 1996 and 1998, she said, noting that there is a great difference between consumption and demand. "There was a nine per cent increase in demand last year," she said, but that was because the price per pound went up. Consumers have been paying more since 2000. "The feed steer and packer price trends are similar, but retailers run their own trend and in 2002 there was a huge difference (in the price)," said Dunford. ' "The goal of the meat manager is to move meat. He doesn't care what (meat) or how much of each." Realizing that beef consumption in Canada has stayed somewhat the same for 15 years, producers had to start looking at where the product was going. "In 1990, 88 per cent of Canadian beef was sold to Canadians and 12 per cent to Americans. Last year, just 53 per cent stayed at home and 35 per cent went to the U.S. Mexico has become our number two customer, in just three years. Our customer base has changed." Dunford said the industry is now marketing the product with the export markets in mind. The growing U.S market is significant because, while Canadian eat an average of 47 pounds of beef per year, the Americans consume 68 pounds. While Canada only accounts for birth plays a role but nobody knows for sure, Tremblay said. There is unlikely to be a vaccination developed for mycoplasma, he said. For one thing, mycoplasma knows how to avoid the calf's immune system. It has probably been around a long time and has discovered how to adapt. Researchers • feel they'd need a vaccine that dealt with at least three strains of mycoplasma to be effective and one of those strains would need to be changed every two or three years or the vaccine would be worthless. "I don't think vaccination is going to solve the mycoplasma problem," Tremblay said. "We don't even know what bug we're dealing with. The Ontario virus is different Continued on page 18 three per cent of the producers on the world trade scene, the country is the third largest exporter with 15 per cent of the trade. The country of origin labeling, which becomes mandatory in 2004, will continue to be a factor as producers of pork, fish, beef and produce deal with the regulations. Dunford believes some foreign retailers may say no to Canadian product to avoid the hassles of imports as it is an "administrative nightmare". .For the future, Dunford foresees a small calf crop this year and next, allowing prices to recover if crops support that move. Feed.cost will help determine the calf prices and the U.S. could still play a major role, boosting exports if. Canadian prices fall to the American floor price. The industry will have to continue to deal with world economics and health issues such as food safety and country of origin labeling. There will also have to be an increased focus on the customer demands. "Meeting consumer preferences is critical," she said. "Consumers want information and a 1-800 number provided and retailers want case- ready product." With the top four retailers controlling 65 per cent of beef sales in the country and the top eight holding 85 per cent, meeting the retailers needs is vital to selling the product. - Providing a satisfactory product to the processors is also dnportant as four plants handle 78 per cent of the meat and two of those, which are in Alberta, procesS 60 per cent of the Canadian total. This consumer-focused trend will also force producers to sell cattle on formula, contract or grid instead of a negotiated average price, said Dunford. Producers will have to continue to change as market trends dictate. Calf infections begin before