Remitall Dispersing?

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knabe

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i heard this a while ago if this is it

http://www.buyagro.com/cats/2008/remitallbrochure08/index.htm
 

justintime

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Yes it is true. Both the Polled Hereford and Angus herds are being dispersed completely. Over 1000 head in each two day sale ... one in August and the other in September.  These sales will probably set more than a few records. Cattlemen around the world are alreadt talking about these dispersals. I have had cattlemen I know, in both Britain and Australia contact me, in regards to this. 
 

Bawndoh

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justintime said:
Yes it is true. Both the Polled Hereford and Angus herds are being dispersed completely. Over 1000 head in each two day sale ... one in August and the other in September.  These sales will probably set more than a few records. Cattlemen around the world are alreadt talking about these dispersals. I have had cattlemen I know, in both Britain and Australia contact me, in regards to this. 

The question from my end is why are they dispersing??  Perhaps you know, and of coarse all the breeders around you and I are wondering as well.
 

justintime

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The Latimers sold their entire operation...all assets including land and cattle to an American investor a few years ago. The entire family were kept on as staff for the new structure of Remitall, and the operation was expanded substantially in both land and cattle . The dispersal is being held as the US owner now wants to liquidate. I  am not sure whether the Latimer's will rebuild after the dust settles from these dispersals... and it may be too early even for them to know yet. My guess is that the Latimer family, either in part or in whole, will be back breeding Championship breeding stock in the future.
 

itk

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I judged with Jeff in Juco so I got to meet his family a few times and it is hard to imagine them not raising cattle. I don't know if they have any Keynote left in their tanks but if they do just imagine what it would sell for on top of all the great cattle they have. I have told this story before but when I went to Agribition they were the outstanding hereford breeder there and they didn't have a single animal entered in the show. Maybe they will get back in with shorthorns again. :)
 

justintime

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I have heard that Louis Latimer has been talking about getting some Shorthorn heifers for some of the grand kids to show. Louis went through the Shorthorns at the Fever sale last fall. Their production sale was the next day, so he did not make it back to the Fever sale.

A little story about the Latimer family. When I was a teenager, I used to board a bus and travel to Olds, Alberta to work for a couple of weeks at Remitall. Louis and Carroll were still in partnership then and I was paid $10 per day in wages. Our day started at 5 am, and we worked until dark , which was around 9 pm. One year before their Shorthorn production sale, we washed all the Shorthorns , including the cow herd  not being sold as well as all the Polled Hereford cows as well. All cows were haltered and tied to a fence and washed. There was more than a few rodeos as many of these cows had never been haltered before. None of us that worked there before their sales ever questioned how much we were paid, as we thought of it as a priveledge to work at Remitall.

In 1968, the Shorthorn herd was dispersed. The day before the sale, we got up at 4 am and we had an actual dress rehersal, where all the cattle were dressed, put through the sale ring in sale order, and put back in their pens. Louis timed each lot, as he wanted the sale to be quick and snappy.  By 6 am we were done, so we caught all the cattle and washed them again... and finished just minutes before the sale crowd started to arrive for the presale viewing and presale party. They did look pretty squeeky clean but it was lots of work... and we all did it without any complaints.

After the Shorthorn disperal, Louis asked  my dad if he would allow me to accompany Gary Latimer on a 2500 mile ( one way) trip to Quebec delivering sale cattle. Gary and I had both just turned 16 years old and we were sent on this trip in a 1965 Dodge Fargo truck with a special built 32 foot box on it. It was actually so long that it was illegal to be on the roads in Ontario, as we found out when the cops pulled us over and measured it. We bought bulls and females all the way down and back on this trip. We also had the first Polled Herefords to go to Louada Manor Farms in Ontario. Once we got to Quebec we had an empty truck, at least for a few miles anyways. We then picked up all the cattle we had purchased on the way down and we had a packed truck by the time we got back to Alberta. Remitall had a piolicy that if you purchased a bull from them, they would buy back bulls from you that were sired by the Remitall bull(s) you had purcahsed.
When I think back to the responsability that was placed on two 16 year old kids, I really have to shake my head. It especially strikes home with me when I see some 16 year old kids today and I think that Gary and I were the same age when we made this trip.
 

chambero

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With all of the dispersals going on, I have to wonder if this is yet another case of assets being switched from cattle and land to something else (oil, crops, etc).  These are Agribusiness companies making these decisions, not families.
 

aj

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I still think there is a wreck coming. I wonder if dumping stuff now and maybe get back in the cattle deal at half price later on may be a theory. There were a lot of 4 and 5 generation ranchers (from say the sandhills of nebraska) that didn't survive the 80's. If the commercial cattle guy is loosing 100$ a head you just can't make up for it in volume. The thing that scares the HELL out of me is that feedlots will start renting up pastures to background cattle to hedge their downside. That is going to be another hurdle for the dumbass cow calf guy to jump. I know knabe...that things will even out in the supply demand deal but thing could get tough i think. Gas is nearing the price of bottled water. I know that the commercial industry doesn't have much to do with showsteers...but if it will effect the lower echelon of the business and feed companies and etc. will be hurt. Is it a steer show if 4 head show up? who knows it will be uncharted territory. ;D
 

justintime

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aj..... I have had some of the same thoughts as you have just expressed. Some things just don't add up right now....  but.... and it is a BIG BUT.... why is it that bull sales have been so hot this spring? I have never seen as many high priced bulls as there was this spring, at least in these parts. Many long time breeders have said that they had the best bull sales in their history this year. Personally, I have sold more females at good dollars out of the yard  by private treaty in the past year than ever before. There appears to be some optimism ... at least in some parts of the industry. My ET vets tell me they have never flushed as many donors nor have they ever implanted as many embryos as they have this year so far. They are almost run off their feet. Many predicted that the major shows would see a much smaller entry of breeding stock last fall, but most shows were up in entries and had more exhibitors that travelled even more miles than  normal to attend.

I do think we are seeing many things affecting us that we have never seen before. You are right in that we did see many operations go down in the 80s, and we will see some more go down in the down swing, but these kind of adjustments take place from time to time. I will agree that I have no idea what these energy prices and grian prices will have, in total, in regards to the  beef industry,  but I am certain that people will continue to eat red meat and the industry will come out the other end. The type of cattle you raise may be the true test of one's survival. The amount of time you spend on marketing and promotion may also do the same.

Remitall's dispersal may be just as chambero stated. This may be just another of a long line of agribusiness decisions rather than another family decision.Sometimes these agribusiness decisions involve  more of the head than the heart. Family decisons oftentimes involve more of the heart than the head.  In any event I think sales like this represent opportunity in the truest sense to anyone who wants to remain in the beef breeding business.
 

Jenny

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I don't know anything about Remitall, but we are from South Dakota and do know a bit about Dieters.
It seems  it is a business decision to sell out there; they did loose a bunch of money on a packing plant that they attempted to set up down in Neb.  Their idea was to have the whole cycle...the breeding herd, sell bulls, buy back the feeders, feed them out, own their own packing plant and market the end product.  A great idea but it did not fly.  It was a huge disappointment and they did suffer a financial setback.

Does anyone see guys going out of the cattle business to farm?  We are seeing alot of good grass being put to corn this spring; pastures that have been broken and made into cropland.  The way the grain markets are right now, it seems that everyone is rushing for the quick fix.  Last I saw, the nation's cow numbers are declining.  Will it be long before there is a shortage of fats?  With the economy like it is, will beef demand stay at current levels?  Where is this all going? 
 

renegade

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Bull prices have been in the dumps here in the western states from what i hear.  I guess i got one of the best prices around on my bull.  Had a friend make the cut for a huge sale in montana (with his many time champion angus bull) and couldnt get more than 1500.  but my brothers 4h holds a jackpot show every year. its usually just about 30 local animals - we advertised on craigslist one time in surrounding states and had 100 animals show up from montana, oregon, washington, nevada and utah
 

chambero

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Bulls and females are bringing good money down here this year.  Our preliminar discussions with our feedlot buyer indicate our prices are going to be better than last year.

Here's what I think is about to happen based on what I hear from ranchers in our area, what we hear from feedlots we are courting, and very importantly - some info I heard at an energy-related conference in Denver a few weeks ago:

World-wide demand for oil really has gone up and maybe doesn't account for all of $$ increases in oil, but its at least a good excuse.  The rest of the world is moving out of the third world so to speak.  Those same people are also tired of eating "gruel" - my term for how much of the people in the world live.  America gets crammed down their throat via advertisements, etc. and they want to live like us.  Those that can want to eat like us.

You know how we think oil companies are so evil because of the high prices they charge?  I heard a very reputable speaker warning that the American farmer/rancher is going to be viewed in the same light in the not very distant future.  Our products are going to be very much in demand, it costs us a lot more to produce it now, and its gonna get passed to the consumer.  We're gonna get paid.  The packers are going to have to care of the feedlots and the feedlots are going to have to take care of the cow-calf  man.

I think a lot of these dispersal decisions are "money people" reinvesting somewhere else or liquidating assets to cover something gone bad.  I wonder if the bad house loans is trickling over here somewhere also.  In Canada, are U.S. guys pulling their money out while they can after the border was locked down for so long?  It probably took till now for there to be enough recovery for them to have someone with enough money to buy them out up there.

Lots of stuff going.  Sitting still in a volatile market isn't always a bad idea.

 

BCCC

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Jenny said:
I don't know anything about Remitall, but we are from South Dakota and do know a bit about Dieters.
It seems  it is a business decision to sell out there; they did loose a bunch of money on a packing plant that they attempted to set up down in Neb.  Their idea was to have the whole cycle...the breeding herd, sell bulls, buy back the feeders, feed them out, own their own packing plant and market the end product.  A great idea but it did not fly.  It was a huge disappointment and they did suffer a financial setback.
Same deal trying to happen here with Five rivers Cattle feeding, One of the largest cattle feeders in the world, And A packing plant is trying to buy them, but its not gona happen, because then they could control the price of beef.... :'(
 
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