Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

Video: Ethanol Mandate is Killing the Cattle and Hog Industry - Kevin Grier - George Morris Centre

Views: 105

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Joe Dales on May 31, 2011 at 3:38am

I wonder if Grier's point about the ethanol industry driving pork and beef producers out of business is accurate?

 

In Canada, I suspect the run up in the value of the Canadian dollar has been as damaging, I know Kevin said it has only had a little impact...$.63 to $1.03 is a big jump...

 

He also did not discuss that alot of this is being driven by $100 per barrel oil.

 

I liked his response to the GFO study:  "How is it going so far?"  

 

What do other cash and livestock producers think?

 

I think the disagreement will follow the sector lines.

 

Joe

Permalink Reply by John Schwartzentruber on May 31, 2011 at 6:49am

Of course there will be a division between the industries! I estiamte that ethanol production cost me aproximately $75 to $90/ hd. on the short yearlings I sold this spring. But that's O.K. - clearly Suncor and Greenfield need the money worse than just a disposable cow/calf guy. And the distillers return so much to our local economy - not.

 

Where is the justice in one feed grain user receiving a subsidy while another independent and more diversified user (who is traditionally the biggest and steadiest user) is forced to compete against a subsidized buyer?

 

And not to mention the fact that the unfair competition for grains is hitting the beef and pork sectors at just about the worst time imaginable with both meat sectors coming out of some of their worst financial years ever.

 

But there are other factors to consider. How about looking at how well the ethanol industry would be doing if all government subsidies were removed?

 

And what if we were to look at the true economy of ethanol from a comparitive fuel mileage perspective? Reports indicate that fuel economy is as much as 20% poorer - the higher the level of ethanol, the worse the mileage.

 

We have no true market test of what the product is worth. Until there is, it is nothing but another corporate welfare system.

 

It is way past time that the governments of this country get away from meddling in the market place and stay with their intended mandate of  maintaining law and order. Because when outside money comes into play, all objectivity becomes skewed and affected parties begin to produce according to government policy rather than market realities.

 

 

▶ Reply to Discussion

RSS

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

July Heat Wave Puts Midwest Corn and Soybeans Under Pressure

A major heat wave is building across the central and eastern United States, raising concerns for corn and soybean crops as July begins.

- Derecho climatology (Gaustini/Bosart): a corridor through the northern Plains/upper Midwest carries a >65% annual chance of a derecho-strength MCS, driven by northwest flow on the ridge's periphery. We must watch this region over the next 60 days. More on this below... - Cold North Atlantic: Years with the current North Atlantic cold-tongue pattern favor western troughs + heat pushing into the Midwest. Caveat: rapid warming on the south side of the cold plume means the simple composite likely understates the evolving pattern. Plus the Gulf of Alaska has been warming which could negate these impacts. See this part of the video for a deeper dive. - Modeling caution: During Summer, global models like the ECMWF and GFS are at their weakest due to coarse resolution and their inability to resolve convection. So we lean on the hi-res models like the HRRR and then ensembles for large scale anomalies. Be very careful with model forecasts to total precipitation... - National yield projection

A major heat wave is building across the central and eastern United States, raising concerns for corn and soybean crops as July begins. Nutrien’s Eric Snodgrass says producers should closely monitor high heat, overnight temperatures, derecho risk and dry pockets in key growing regions.

Swine Health Advisory Committee Sets Five Focus Areas

The Swine Health advisory committee is focused on turning strategy into action. To help advance the National Swine Health Strategy, the committee identified five focus areas that will drive action and measurable progress for U.S. pork producers. A Producer-Led Push for Swine Health Pork producers need a swine health strategy that actually works on the farm. The Swine Health advisory committee was created to make sure that happens. For the inaugural meeting in May, the advisory committee’s twenty-seven producers, veterinarians, USDA staff and packers/processors met in Des Moines and left with a clear direction: build on what’s working and accelerate action. The National Swine Health Strategy (NSHS) only succeeds if it reflects producers’ needs, and the advisory committee is responsible for ensuring it delivers. The advisory committee identified five focus areas to drive measurable progress in swine health. The Top 5 Focus Areas Driving Progress Build Industry Buy-In for the NSHS Fi

Closing the Gaps: New Research Investments Support Swine Disease Elimination

The Swine Disease Research task force recently funded new PRRSV and PEDV research projects that support National Swine Health Strategy priorities. These projects aim to close critical knowledge gaps and provide producers with practical information to support disease elimination efforts. Disease elimination doesn’t happen with a single breakthrough. It happens when the industry asks and answers the hard questions that still stand in the way. New research projects recently selected by the Swine Disease Research task force will address those hard questions. Each project aligns with the National Swine Health Strategy (NSHS) priority of eliminating endemic diseases, addresses key knowledge gaps and aims to deliver information to help producers make better herd health decisions. The latest research investments concentrate on two diseases that continue to challenge U.S. pork production: porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) and porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV).

Cereals Canada 2025 Annual Report Highlights $12.8B Exports and Global Market Strength

Cereals Canada’s 2025 Annual Report underscores strong export performance, expanding global demand, and continued investment in quality, innovation, and customer relationships.

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service