Agriculture committee  If I could add one comment, I do appreciate the work that Minister Ritz has done in that regard. I think it's important and I think he's done a great job. Like the tree fruit people, it would be nice to know... We do import beef. You perhaps may not realize that simply because we export it does not mean we do not import it, and I think that beef should be held to the same standard, regardless of what that standard is.

Agriculture committee  No. There's lots of it.

Agriculture committee  You just can't afford to hire anybody to help you.

Agriculture committee  The packers take only $200 out of that $3,080. I mean, I'm not a fan of the packers either--it's largely an American-dominated industry, and it's easy to find a bogeyman and think they're the bad guys--but when these numbers come out, they show that the packers are taking $199. It's very difficult to verify these numbers because of the way the beef supply chain works, but they can't be out that much.

Agriculture committee  Oh, yes. The retail cut is 55%. Basically, after it leaves the packer--in other words, they've killed the cow, put it in bags, and sent it to where it winds up on your grocery shelf--they're taking 55% of that $3,080. And that share has been increasing continuously. I say to my mother, “What do you think of beef?”

Agriculture committee  The fence is in the other direction.

Agriculture committee  I have actual numbers. A former director of Canadian Cattlemen's went through the prices. It's very difficult because of the long supply chain to sort out what comes from where. They priced out a calf who leaves our ranch around 600 pounds. By the time he hits the grocery store shelf, he's worth $3,080.