Lunacy 2.0 !
Till now I’ve kept my mouth shut about the ongoing tit for tat spat going on in the political sandbox of Canada & USA. However, yesterday I saw a post that certain CDN businesses will no longer accept USD for payment and for me it’s the straw that has broken my back to call it out for what it is. That is just a special kind of stupid and a defining moment that we are in the midst of Lunacy 2.0 being played exactly the same as they played so many with the Covid Plandemic. Businesses must be doing so well that companies can tell customers to FU to the American greenback and that they only accept the Canadian Peso. It’s a shit show watching politicians on both sides of the borders acting worse than kids at daycare! So let me give you our perspective:
Trade and trade barriers have always been a wildcard factor in Agriculture and we have had no shortage of them in our Agriculture career. Erika and I were 1 month into our 1st ranching adventure in Rycroft, Alberta, in May 2003 when the border got shut down for all meat exports and live cattle trade with the US because of BSE (Mad Cow Disease). Talk about a kick to the nuts when you start a new business and cattle prices collapse by 80%. Fortunately I was still working off farm and so we looked at this as an Opportunity to grow our cattle herd with cheaper cows and also build our 1st beef brand “Heritage Angus”. We grew this business to supply grocery retail and restaurant wholesale across Canada, overtime we were exporting meat to the EU and Switzerland. As successful as Heritage Angus was, we always had to deal with trade issues & barriers, non stop fluctuations in currency & I was gone from the family and ranch 3 months of the year dealing with customers… so we sold the business in 2014.
Till now I’ve kept my mouth shut about the ongoing tit for tat spat going on in the political sandbox of Canada & USA. However, yesterday I saw a post that certain CDN businesses will no longer accept USD for payment and for me it’s the straw that has broken my back to call it out for what it is. That is just a special kind of stupid and a defining moment that we are in the midst of Lunacy 2.0 being played exactly the same as they played so many with the Covid Plandemic. Businesses must be doing so well that companies can tell customers to FU to the American greenback and that they only accept the Canadian Peso. It’s a shit show watching politicians on both sides of the borders acting worse than kids at daycare! So let me give you our perspective:
Trade and trade barriers have always been a wildcard factor in Agriculture and we have had no shortage of them in our Agriculture career. Erika and I were 1 month into our 1st ranching adventure in Rycroft, Alberta, in May 2003 when the border got shut down for all meat exports and live cattle trade with the US because of BSE (Mad Cow Disease). Talk about a kick to the nuts when you start a new business and cattle prices collapse by 80%. Fortunately I was still working off farm and so we looked at this as an Opportunity to grow our cattle herd with cheaper cows and also build our 1st beef brand “Heritage Angus”. We grew this business to supply grocery retail and restaurant wholesale across Canada, overtime we were exporting meat to the EU and Switzerland. As successful as Heritage Angus was, we always had to deal with trade issues & barriers, non stop fluctuations in currency & I was gone from the family and ranch 3 months of the year dealing with customers… so we sold the business in 2014.
2020 field harvesting bison - illegal by our own government rules.
Trade issues have been part of the dilemma of being in Agriculture especially if you are dependent on exporting your product into the commodity system. As great as the idea sounds to export into large markets like China, the EU and the United States it can quickly kill you if your access is stopped or profits quashed due to tariffs. On top of this, 4 meat packing companies control 85% of the beef market in North America and when 1 of these companies goes on strike or shuts their doors for maintenance or because of a fire the market price can drop 20% overnight. In an Industry of already tight margins this kills your business very quickly. All these factors have created a Canadian beef industry that has 40% fewer beef farms and 25% fewer beef cows than in 2003.
2022 start of construction of our packing plant to build security & sustainability of our family ranch.
For us 2020 was the TSN turning point where we had enough. Our Bison herd had grown significantly and we had just completed the full transition to 100% grass fed and finished Bison because we were sick of seeing our Bison yearlings being bought and confinement fed in feedlots (Costco Bison is a sham its Feedlot fed!). In September 2020 we had a pasture full of beautiful harvest ready Bison but with no takers because we were told the Industry only wanted grain fed animals and on top of that Restaurants were not buying because eating out was deadly to your health. In the end, as we all know, it was just deadly to the buisnesses. That was it and the last straw and we needed to make a change. Being dependent on supply chains that did not work or that screwed the farmer was not healthy for man, beast and buisness.
We built our business on the model of supplying direct to you. Not to grocery stores, not to restaurants, not to export markets and not dependent on outside packing plants. We took all the things that created challenges, eliminated them from our business model and created transparency so that you get good wholesome nutritionally dense food. You can be connected to a rancher that produces your food with respect for the land and the animals. But only in BC!! Why? Because as much as the bureaucrats and politicians beat their chest about US tariffs, it’s illegal for us to sell our bison & beef in neighboring provinces or territories like Alberta or Yukon, even though our inspection processes are identical! Non tariff trade barriers in our own country!!
2024 On site packing plant and direct to consumer delivery through BC 7 Times per year
The divide and conquer formula is being used again by politicians. Divert our attention away from their true intentions of destroying our middle class with the inept management of our country. Canada, with all its resources and potential is quickly going the direction of a 3rd world banana republic, that offers enough free things to keep them from revolting. Unbelievable to watch people swallowing the rhetoric and bullshit just like they swallowed “safe and effective”. Governments use the same tactics in liquor stores cordoning off US products with like it’s got Covid really hits a nerve. nerving. I should have the right to buy what I want but when you realize that the product is already bought and paid using govt taxes that definitely Lunacy 2.0. It’s all smoke and mirrors and diversion tactics! So wake up, you are being played!
2025 a family that is proud to have made the sacrifices to get it to where it is today.
