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The removal of the transportation subsidy on western Canadian grain has resulted in a relative shift in competitiveness from grain to livestock production in Saskatchewan. Feedlot managers indicated that they fed cattle at a lower cost than their Alberta competitors. They suggested their feeding advantage is in the range of $45 to $75 per animal. Yet this supposed feeding advantage has not resulted in an increase in cattle being finished in the province. In fact statistics show that there has been a decrease in the number of cattle finished in Saskatchewan since the removal of the transportation subsidy. This thesis investigated potential hindrances to developing feedlots in Saskatchewan. Interviews with 17 Saskatchewan feedlot managers were conducted in 2001. These feedlot managers suggested that lack of financing was a hindrance to feedlot development in Saskatchewan. They sited provincial land and labour laws, a grain production bias and feeding risk as potential reasons for lack of investment in the feedlot sector. The interviews with these 17 feedlot managers led to an investigation of transaction costs in buying and selling cattle. A theoretical framework was developed in this thesis to measure transaction costs. Then some empirical evidence was calculated from transaction cost estimates provided by five finishing feedlots that indicated larger feedlots have lower transaction costs in buying and selling cattle than smaller feedlots.

The removal of the transportation subsidy on western Canadian grain has resulted in a relative shift in competitiveness from grain to livestock production in Saskatchewan. Feedlot managers indicated that they fed cattle at a lower cost than their Alberta competitors. They suggested their feeding advantage is in the range of $45 to $75 per animal. Yet this supposed feeding advantage has not resulted in an increase in cattle being finished in the province. In fact statistics show that there has been a decrease in the number of cattle finished in Saskatchewan since the removal of the transportation subsidy. This thesis investigated potential hindrances to developing feedlots in Saskatchewan. Interviews with 17 Saskatchewan feedlot managers were conducted in 2001. These feedlot managers suggested that lack of financing was a hindrance to feedlot development in Saskatchewan. They sited provincial land and labour laws, a grain production bias and feeding risk as potential reasons for lack of investment in the feedlot sector. The interviews with these 17 feedlot managers led to an investigation of transaction costs in buying and selling cattle. A theoretical framework was developed in this thesis to measure transaction costs. Then some empirical evidence was calculated from transaction cost estimates provided by five finishing feedlots that indicated larger feedlots have lower transaction costs in buying and selling cattle than smaller feedlots.

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Master of Agribusiness / Department of Agricultural Economics / Ted C. Schroeder / In the last few years the beef industry has rapidly begun to change. The beef industry during my lifetime will not look like the same industry as during my grandfather's. Input costs are rising dramatically, as well as land values. Weather events have impacted the industry and the supply cycle is beginning to change. Producers need to find ways to get higher prices for their cattle in order to remain profitable. One way to increase their profit is through branded beef and alliance programs. The problem is that cattlemen are good at raising quality products, but they are not the best marketers. Over the past several years though, several beef alliances have formed. There are so many options available today that it can be difficult for a producer to know where to start. This thesis focuses on developing a solution to that problem. Through this thesis, an online marketing tool was developed. Producers will visit this tool and fill out a simple questionnaire about their operation. They will be given results that will include branded beef programs for which they qualify, along with contact information to find out more. This tool gives producers access to 100 marketing programs, over twenty USDA Process Verified Programs, and close to thirty Quality Systems Assessment programs. This will be a beneficial tool for producers to take a commodity product and change it into a valuable branded product for the consumer.

Media and consumer attention has propelled local food to prominence, and a significant price premium has signaled its potential as a value-added option for family farms looking to transition from commodity production. Many of these farms –entering an unfamiliar market– have been selling local food in groups, to share risks and investments. This strategy has introduced a scale of production and operations to the marketplace that could challenge some of the basic premises of the local food contract. This research project was premised on the notion that the local food movement –dominated by small-scale production and direct marketing– appears to be governed by a set of principles that would be tested by the introduction of farms and farm groups of increasing scale. To understand the implications –for these farm families, local food marketing groups, and growing local food systems– this research sought to address whether these groups would adopt a more conventional approach to meet their needs, and fit their scale, or change their approach and practices to conform to the requirements and expectations established by the principles of governance that characterize local food systems. ‘Local beef’ chains from across Ontario were selected to capture a range of operational and geographic scale. Interviews with farmers and coordinators investigated the extent to which scale –at farm and group level– affected motivations, as well as group governance decisions. The research found that increased group scale limits the range of options available, and magnifies pressures towards conventionalization. Transition to larger scale favours governance based on surveillance and discipline, and suffers from lack of infrastructure that would facilitate mid-scale aggregation, distribution, and the development of bridging capital. Farmers who had direct input into decisions invested more time and effort, but also identified more strongly with their group. Farmers who marketed through larger-scale intermediary-led groups faced fewer costs, but were treated as commodity input suppliers, and were less engaged in the group’s success. Most farmers did not see these intermediary-led groups as a long-term solution, and looked instead to policy solutions, or other alternative marketing models – including smaller-scale regional intermediaries.