Connecting Producers and Eaters Restoring Health and Prosperity By Mike Callicrate 1 Western Colorado Food and Farm Forum January 10, 2015 MikeCallicrate.com
Jul 27, 2015
Connecting Producers and Eaters Restoring Health and Prosperity
By Mike Callicrate
1
Western Colorado Food and Farm Forum
January 10, 2015
MikeCallicrate.com
*All Fresh Choice Beef – USDA-ERS Data
35.0%
40.0%
45.0%
50.0%
55.0%
60.0%
65.0%
70.0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1950 1975
1995 1996 1997
1998
2002
2000
2006
1999
Farm share of the consumer retail beef dollar A picture of abusive market power
2012
2009
2013
2014
Average return on equity before tax (ROE)
Retail grocery: ROE = 21% (last 6 years)
Meat packing: ROE = 17% (last 6 years)
All Farming & ranching: ROE = NEGATIVE 0.54%
(last 13 years)
Packers--for those with sales > $500k - Before tax ROE, 2002-2009: 17.38% - source: http://www.bizminer.com/industries/Meat-packing-plants-2011/ Retail grocery--food marketing institute book - http://www.fmi.org - 2003-2009 average: before tax ROE = 20.75% Cattle--for the farm typology "cattle" meaning primarily cattle operations in USDA/ERS annual surveys - http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/ARMS/
3 "What we support prospers, what we feed grows." - MikeCallicrate.com
Farmers and Ranchers
Eaters
BIG FOOD Exploiting Producers and Consumers
4 "What we support prospers, what we feed grows." - MikeCallicrate.com
Eric Schlosser, author of the best seller Fast Food Nation, has an apt description of the industry. Over the last twenty years, about half a million ranchers sold off their cattle and quit the business. Many of the nation’s remaining eight hundred thousand ranchers are fairing poorly. They’re taking second jobs. They’re selling cattle at break-even prices or at a loss. The ranchers who are faring the worst run three to four hundred head of cattle, manage the ranch themselves, and live solely off the proceeds… Ranchers currently face a host of economic problems: rising land prices, stagnant beef prices, oversupplies of cattle, increased shipments of live cattle from Canada and Mexico, development pressures.
6 "What we support prospers, what we feed grows." - MikeCallicrate.com
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Slaughtering animals where they are raised means: - More humane treatment - Less stress means better quality meat - 37% less weight transported to market - Slaughter waste becomes valuable soil nutrients - Increased rural employment
"What we support prospers, what we feed grows." MikeCallicrate.com
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Creating a new community space for eaters, growers, family farmers, ranchers and local businesses, separate and safe from Big Food and Wall Street.