Cattlemen need your help!
"It’s really sad to see so many strong and
dignified producers struggle. These people have already taken on a real
daunting occupation. It’s hard to see them going through such a
devastating time. These are people who you would think could survive
anything ... I hope they’ll get through this. "
– Bob Perlich - owner Perlich Bros. Auction Market
Join
the Great Canadian Cattle Drive Letter Campaign. Below, Southern
Alberta newspapers asked a sampling of those impacted to explain why it's
so important for the public to get involved and renew the fight to have
the US border re-opened:
In their own words:
John Kolk, feedlot operator
"Cattlemen are a notoriously proud bunch of people.
Very independent. But there comes a time when you have to look reality
in the eye. We’re in big trouble here. Community support has been
great but we still need help. It will damage a lot of people, not only
us beef producers, if the beef industry dies. It’s already happening.
You’ve got to imagine how many links there are in the chain. Trucking
businesses are gone. Hired men have been let go. How are those families
making it now? The banks can’t continue to wait for what amounts to a
decision made in the U.S., completely out of our hands. We’ve got to
welcome some creative thinking and some support. We’ve got to keep the
story alive. "
Garth Vallely, Mayor of Medicine Hat
"The longer the border stays closed the more
economic impact it has. We have to keep the awareness up and we have to
keep applying as much pressure as we can into the U.S. What the public
can do is keep buying Canadian beef and writing letters to the prime
minister, the federal minister of agriculture and the provincial
minister of agriculture to make sure the awareness is there. If this
drags on past the U.S. presidential election, which is the strongest
rumour out there, the industry will survive, but it will have lost its
heart and soul because the small, young operators will be the guys that
suffer and whether it is a front line producer, a trucker or whatever,
that has a definite negative impact and that will ripple through our
area."
Lyle Taylor, Medicine Hat Feeding Co. Ltd.
"Opening the border is wonderfully important. It
would put cash into producers pockets and that would benefit the whole
community not just the beef industry. That’s the key to 80 per cent of
the problem although, there would still be an issue with the over 30
month-old cattle. If we got the border open that would be 75 to 80 per
cent of the healing of the industry. That would be the best case
scenario and it would just be wonderful."
Mick Nieman, cow/calf producer
"Without the border opening we have absolutely no
place to get rid of the cattle that we’ve produced, especially the
backlog from last year. Cattle producers right now have no place to go
with their cattle and the outlook is very, very grim. There’s nothing
on the horizon that I feel we could change within our own borders until
we get people outside of Canada buying our beef, especially the live
beef. Once we get live beef going into the U.S. this whole thing will
level out. There’s a lot of worry out there right now."
Jack Van Rijn, owner/partner Van Rijn Electric
"This BSE issue has become old news. But the
disaster we’re dealing with, which will become bigger, is huge. As
citizens and communities we have to keep this issue on the front pages
and in the news. It’s important to show that children and families are
being affected. We’ve got businesses that have been around for years
really hurting; children whose parents don’t know how they’re going
to keep food on the table. Albertans can’t let an industry that is
part of what defines us go down. Let’s all make sure we do something
to support this important industry."
Be part of the Great Canadian Cattle Drive letter campaign.
Click
here. |
