Alberta Beef Magazine - BeefNews.com

Rod MacLean: Agriculture at the crossroads by Lee Gunderson
April, 2010

In Rod's world, the cattle world, talk is cheap: actions speak much louder. In his own way, Rod is dealing with profound changes that have come to our industry during the past 10 years. Drought, BSE, closed foreign markets, rural school closings, and increased production costs have impacted the lives of rural Albertans and Canadians. So much so, that rural life as we knew it but 10 years ago is under assault. MacLean adds, "Without oil and gas income and off farm employment there would be few cattle between Brooks and Lloydminster." Yet through the changes, clarity on producer issues is being found; and new production models are being created. Changes have inspired creativity in those still clinging to traditional lifestyles on the land.

At 56, Rod is a seasoned hand. He knows that the very challenges that faced the likes of Carl Anderson and other Brooks pioneers before him, now confront his own generation. As Rod States, "History is going to judge how we as Canadian cattlemen react to the crises and challenges before us. It is time for us as an industry to effect the changes we need. We have to become our own miracle. It is time our industry had one voice, one very powerful cattle organization, to lobby for us. We need to get politically motivated to open new foreign markets and to get effective representation in our province and in Ottawa." MacLean is adamant that politicians have not heeded the voices of our industry, voices that harken back years ago to Cam Ostercamp and Charlie Gracey as to the way forward.

"A new era of common sense needs to be ushered in," adds MacLean. "We need to act before our kids give up the dream of taking over the farms and ranches and before the small town western wear and feed stores close. Put it this way, a two hour bus ride each way for a child to go to school in rural Alberta is unacceptable. Our quality of life is under siege."

MacLean believes we can make changes now that will ensure the long term viability of our industry and rural Alberta towns for our sons and grandsons. "Selling out, caving in, retiring, are not options I want to consider. Cattlemen need to become politically motivated and vocal. For instance, why is it that Europe allows imports of our 30 year old horse meat yet sets import rules so high that they effectively put up trade barriers for us to ship our young beef? That's what fighting for change means. Apparently CFIA administers the import rules set by the EU for our cattle. Yet Europe's rules were so burdensome (costly) that XL Beef found it difficult to ship hormone free beef to Europe. Trade barriers need to be dismantled and new global markets sought. With historically low fat cattle prices I think we need a new Canadian Beef Sales Team to hit the road with a better strategy," adds MacLean.

Rod continues, "Our cattle organizations need to be on the same page as CBEF, Ag Canada, and our trade ambassadors. Let's get tough with trade partners who won't take our beef. Where we have political representation we should demand accountability and performance. We know where we need to go as an industry ...government is not on the same page because our provinces and cattle groups have sent mixed messages. Urban populations have not felt the same pain in the pocket book as we have. Agriculture needs to be in the spotlight. As our financial pain magnifies, I believe cattlemen will become more politically active. Waiting for the market to improve is no longer an option. That change has not come and we are still finding BSE in the Canadian herd. Testing for BSE has not rewarded us, we have been penalized for being open and honestly reporting cases."

Before we present MacLean's wish list, here is a bit of background on the man. Rod is a Bassano rancher. He and wife Debbie have three children (Denton, Tara and Tanis) and are proud of their eight grandchildren. Rod runs several hundred black cows bred Black Angus on irrigated pasture and community lease. Rod is the man who worked with Neil McKinnon's LK cow herd for about 20 years and eventually became the herd manager. "As I get older I see Neil's genetic plan for the herd. He was a visionary; his herd was second to none. My own herd's genetics are based on the LK herd. Neil was breeding for udder, fertility, feet, colour, conformation, temperament and feed efficiency long before most cattlemen were. With Neil I was involved in feeding Kobe beef for the Japanese market and with ongoing trade and quality issues of Japan. As well, in the 1980's, we started a Natural Beef program and I was involved with the supply and quality issues here in the Canadian market place for LK." Rod is an order buyer and is respected for his work ethics and his no nonsense approach to life. Rod has been a moderate voice on issues so far. He regularly buys and sells cattle across western and eastern Canada.

MacLean continues, "Events of the past 10 years have shown us we still do not have a true, single, unified voice as an industry. We're still scrapping, split as we are by geography, politics and different assessments of what needs to be done to change our markets. And we're being strangled by regulations. I am not over simplifying issues but I must be brief to make my points:

1. In a global market, we are finding it hard to compete with places like Brazil where the cost of gain is 30-40 cents/lb on grass. A $750 Brazilian fat steer, let's assume, will make $50 profit. We cannot compete with that grass model. Brazil has about 187,000,000 cattle, almost twice the herd of North America.

2. We are being regulated to death, this inhibits our competitiveness.

3. We must remove SRMs at a cost of about $30 per head/ another added cost to our beef carcass. Our competitors don't have this burden.

4. We are testing for BSE: every case we find further limits fully open market access.

5. We can send 30 year old horse meat to the EU without constraints yet the EU limits our beef exports with regulations.

6. CFIA hinders trade, they do not enhance it. It is reported 71 loads of beef entered Canada the week of March 7 this year and was not inspected by CFIA. I believe they have no control. Nor do we have control of their bureaucracy. These news reports were widespread across eastern Canada papers. CFIA is not a trade facilitator.

7. Why are we allowing offshore beef imports when our own producers are strangling on low prices? What logic demands that we take offshore beef?

8. I believe BSE testing is pointless. BSE and other TSE's are endemic in all species from elk to deer, to cattle. Why are we testing cattle when our beef competitors are not and will not? We need a level playing field and the government has to reign in costs and legislation. Current testing standards constrain export access.

9. The costs of age verification and premises id are real and substantial. We have seen no net increase in exports or prices as a result."

MacLean admits he does not agree with government statistics on either the size of the Canadian herd or the economic vitality of the feeders and ranchers still in the business. "Our cattle feeders have been bled substantially. We are now seeing the dollar return to par with the US dollar and we may well soar way above it. Cattlemen everywhere (Rod recently returned from the Ont. Cattlemen's Association meeting) are frustrated by political, financial, environmental and global challenges. At every turn our industry is frustrated. It is now reported new veterinary rules on the table for 2011 will add further costs and regulations to already over-burdened producers." MacLean adds, "I'm talking about a vet or licensed technician needed to perform castrations and other minor surgeries on ranches. This means hiring anaesthetic clinicians to desensitize the calves and prescriptions and protocols for administering the drugs. The technicians, travel, records, and the anaesthetics will bring a further bundle of added costs to every calf. Will new protocols affect dehorning as well? We have got to stop this from happening. Unless we have one voice and get some political clout we will have more regulations mandated. Enough is enough. Someone has got to realize we can sustain no more costs."

Rod continues, "Alberta ranchers are frustrated but they are a resilient and committed group. They are digging deep down to carry on their lives and herds because they are fiercely proud, independent and love the country lifestyle more than working in the city. Farming and ranching are tough these years. Pressures from drought, abnormal cold and increasing global competitiveness tax us all. As I see it, ALMA may not be the answer to the perfect storm we are in. Our expectations are now lower than they ever were. No one wants to get rich in agriculture, we just want to be viable and preserve this lifestyle for future generations. That is the goal I have in mind."

Rod believes, "The financial health of our industry is in jeopardy. Everyone is hoping for a wet, warm year to return the watersheds to normal and rebuild forage, hay and grain inventories for what could be some colder years ahead. Other issues affecting recovery are fewer bidding packers; less free capital as a result of nine years of stress on producers; progressive packer captive supply and a decreasing producer population. One would think that our low pricing and dwindling beef inventories would have solved the price equation by now, but it seems we need to do more global selling. Some producers believe we have become too good at producing beef. We have responded to the BSE crisis with more production to compensate for dwindling returns."

Regarding the latest Alberta Conservative mandates imposed on Alberta Beef Producers, Rod feels, "They needed to be held accountable and were not fully reflecting producer sentiment. However we should have had a producer vote on the refundable checkoff. We would have had the same result, but it would have been better than heavy handed legislation. I believe animal ID and premise ID should be voluntary as well. In the west, with large herds and ranches, trying to keep ID tags in and reporting every move for every animal is impossible. It's just like gun control and it won't work. I do not believe we'll ever get to 100% traceability; unless we do, then the old system of brands and tags would have been just as effective as the new ALMA legislation. At least that's my two cents worth on the issue."

Rod admits most of the issues in front of our industry are complex. So complex even scientists can't agree on BSE and quarantine methods let alone trade standards, "The problem is people don't agree on the issues either here at home or in Europe. Just think: CFIA liquidates and quarantines herds. BSE science is inexact even today; it is not hoof and mouth disease. No one has died of BSE infected beef in North America. Our herds cannot co-mingle without massive tracking systems and reportage yet humans co-mingle all the time and spread viruses and die by the thousands. Yet, we have to track healthy cattle that pose no threat to human life or the food chain. "Staggers" is almost identical to BSE and was seen in cattle over 100 years ago. I think BSE and TSE's are naturally occurring in all animal populations: the human equivalent is Alzheimer's. We are still in the cave man era the way we are treating cattle and producers and punishing countries and herds with junk science and regulatory protocols. Our beef is safe. Bureaucrats and their pensions are growing like cancer. Until we tell the Federal and provincial governments we cannot sustain these unfair burdens we will see a continued exodus from production. Agriculture as we know it is at the crossroads."

MacLean admits that Canadians have to make a stand and tackle these bigger issues. "To sit and wait for attrition to resolve our market and price problems is the equivalent of committing economic suicide. Silence means consent to the orders of the reigning regime." Rod MacLean thinks he can make a difference. MacLean does not plan to sit back and be quiet when six generations of his family life on the ranch at Bassano has been jeopardized. "We're frustrated by events, but we are committed to changing them as best we can. We love cattle and our way of life. To that end I will continue to demand change and be as vocal an opponent of the present system as I can, until "WE" force change. I'm not going to cave in to low prices and inaction or retiring. I'll go down fighting to keep our industry competitive and profitable."

Industry Question

Are you optimistic about the outlook for our cattle industry in the coming year?