1 / 29

Prairie Peoples Packers: Progress in the Post-Productivist Project?

Prairie Peoples Packers: Progress in the Post-Productivist Project?. Ian MacLachlan and Ivan Townshend, Department of Geography, University of Lethbridge Lethbridge, Alberta, T1K 3M4. E-Mail: maclachlan@uleth.ca Western Division, Canadian Association of Geographers March 10, 2007.

karl
Download Presentation

Prairie Peoples Packers: Progress in the Post-Productivist Project?

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Prairie Peoples Packers: Progress in the Post-Productivist Project? Ian MacLachlan and Ivan Townshend, Department of Geography, University of Lethbridge Lethbridge, Alberta, T1K 3M4. E-Mail: maclachlan@uleth.ca Western Division, Canadian Association of Geographers March 10, 2007

  2. Feed Bunk Capacity, 2002 Feedlots > 1,000 head Source: CanFax, 2002

  3. Feed Bunk Capacity, 2007 Feedlots > 1,000 head Source: CanFax, 2007

  4. Structure of Talk • Agroindustrialization • Post-productivist paradigm • The BSE Crisis • Ruminant slaughter capacity expansion • New Gen. Co-ops & small scale slaughter • Prairie People’s Packers: • Progress in the Post-Productivist Project? Winnipeg Tribune 1906

  5. Agroindustrialization Concentration Intensification Specialization 2.4 tons per year per head

  6. Post-Productivist Transition of Agriculture • Movement away from • Concentration • Intensification • Specialization • Towards • Extensification • Diversification • Dispersion

  7. How will Post-Productivism be manifest? • Farm diversification • Agricultural - traditional mixed farming • Other businesses located on the farm • Off-farm employment • Winding down, hobby-farming, retirement • Reduction of food output • … in favour of food quality

  8. How will Post-Productivism be manifest? • Policy & Regulation • Reduction of agricultural subsidies • More competitive markets for food • Growing regulation of agriculture • More sustainable agricultural methods • Reduced chemical farming • Preserving environmentally sensitive areas • Habitat reserves • Food safety • Traceability • Organic farming

  9. How will Post-Productivism be manifest? • “New Consumer”: • Growing interest in origin & processing of food • High quality specialty foods • Healthy food • Traceability • Regional foods • Authenticity of geographical origin • Country-of-origin labeling • Relocalization, food localism, 100 mile diet

  10. “At La Gantoise, the foodchain has only 2 links - you, the consumer and us, the producer. Our frozen meat also comes with a guarantee of traceablility for every cut of beef you purchase. Our experienced on-site butcher knows how to prepare fine cuts of beef.”

  11. Post-productivism or Agroindustrialization? • 2 regimes, each with its own geography • Intensive, high-input, high-output, large scale • “hot-spots” e.g. • Lethbridge County • Fraser Valley • Extensive, low input, low output, quality, sustainability • Marginal agricultural regions e.g. • Foothills • Cariboo

  12. The BSE Crisis • May 20, 2003, Wanham, Alberta • U.S., Mexican, Asian borders closed • To live animals on the hoof • To Canadian beef products • September 2003 – border reopened to UTM beef • July 2005 – border reopens to UTM cattle

  13. Strategy toReposition the Canadian Livestock Industry. • Federal government, 10 Sept 2004: • reopening the U.S. border • facilitating increased domestic slaughter capacity • sustaining the industry until capacity is increased • increasing the international market share of Canadian beef.

  14. House of Commons Hon. Stephen Harper (Leader of the Opposition, CPC): “Mr. Speaker, our farm families were told that the border would be opened. Now the border is not open. They do not want to have more wait and see. They want the Prime Minister to look and to take some action. Slaughter capacity must be increased.” (House of Commons, Debates, March 8, 2005)

  15. 40% increase! Source: Estimates provided by Red Meat Section, Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada

  16. Big 3 – merger & large scale plant expansions: Cargill, High River Better Beef, Guelph (2005) Tyson Foods, Brooks XL Foods, Calgary WCBP, Moose Jaw (2000) People’s Packers Mainly NGCs Salmon Arm, B.C.– Borden, PEI Middle-sized Cattlemen, January 2005

  17. People’s Packers Characteristics • New Gen Coops or producer-owned • Members buy “hooks” – obligations to deliver livestock for slaughter • Traceability • Natural/organic beef – large specialty markets • Value-added processing – local foods

  18. Natural Valley Slaughter Plant: Neudorf, Saskatchewan September 2006

  19. Ranchers Own Meat ProcessorsStony Plain, AB January 2007

  20. Σ=10,250

  21. Peoples Packers Cows that under normal market circumstances would have been culled

  22. Σ=33,600

  23. Existing Large Scale Cattle Slaughter Plants

  24. Conclusions • Impact of BSE: capacity expansion • Vindication of the agroindustrial paradigm • Limited post-productivist initiatives such as NGC • Will they succeed? • 70% capacity utilization rate at present • Strong export markets for live cattle to US • Strong Canadian dollar • Overseas markets are either closed or restricted • E.g. China, Taiwan, South Korea (Japan 21 months) • Further research • Model optimal plant locations?

More Related