Step right up!

[silverback]

I'm not sure if you cowboys have been reading the commodity forum so I am posting an invitation to go and read what's going on.

An even better read might be Parsley's Notebook.

I invite you all to read about the great benefit our "single desk" marketer has achieved for wheat and malt barley growers over the past few years.

We have a central purchasing agency who gets to decide on the price they will sell farmers produce at and then deduct their salaries and costs and then dole out the remainder to the growers of that product.

Now we are learning of the ways they have been speculating in the futures markets without adequate protection for downside risk.

Doesn't that sound like a good idea for the cattle industry too?

What would this industry say if a central agency lost tens of millions of dollars pricing "your" cattle?

How about this? Lets say that the market for cattle goes up by 50% for a couple of months. Some farms book their cattle in. Some don't because they believe the average price will rise because of the rising market so they will wait. The prices start falling back. What do the central marketers do? They close out the farmers who made a choice to wait to "protect" those farmers who booked in at the higher price to protect how the pooled price will look.

Sounds good eh?

[grassfarmer]

So are you teaming up with R-CALF to destroy the CWB?? ;o)

[perfecho]

"What would this industry say if a central agency lost tens of millions of dollars pricing "your" cattle? "

It already has.....due to lack of competition as well!

[silverback]

I think I just read an article that is telling me that the NFU is interested in teaming up with RCalf themselves grassy.

(I will say that I agree with some of your efforts towards the issue of packer involvement).

But, tell me do rcalf's efforts to restrict Canadian cattle from going south not coincide with the nfu's ideas of supply management to cap Canadian production to match Canadian consumption?

[grassfarmer]

I guess my post went over your head Silverback?
Try reading the NFU press release that I posted yesterday on the thread below and you will see what I was alluding to.

[kato]

Whether you like the CWB or not, there is one thing about it that we would love to have in the cattle business. That it is a producer driven organization with enough power to actually do something to stop the total corporate takeover of our industry.

Like it or not, the CWB is probably the one thing left that stands between Canadian grain growers and the corporate muscle south of the border that's just raring to get at it and take over the Canadian grain industry like they have taken over the beef industry.

And guess what? It's some of the very same corporations. Surprise surprise! Why do you think they want the wheat board gone? Not for the good of producers, that's for sure. They want to be allowed to run rampant and plunder you guys like they did to us.

So before killing the CWB, grain growers should take a good long look at the state of the cattle industry in this country, and the problems we live with. We are a good example of what happens when big business is given free reins to do what they like with an industry populated by small independent operators.

And ask a few questions. Like, exactly who is driving this "kill the CWB" campaign? Is it really independent farmers? Or is it big agribusiness looking for opportunity and promoting the idea by influencing farmers? Always find the motives behind movements before you jump on board, especially when there is so much at stake.

Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. There is so much to lose that you can never get back. Please learn by what has happened to us.

Before it's too late.

[grassfarmer]

LOL, Kato I think you just precipitated an invasion of the anti-cwb cyber-bullies.

Of course you are right though, a marketing board offers individual producers leverage and protection when dealing with the corporations in the handling, processing and retailing operations.

[kato]

They won't invade here. I (probably a dumb thing) posted it in commodities too. LOL

[vagabonddreamer]

LMAO at Kato...i have been following the Commodity page for a while...when i saw your post...i had to secretly and inwardly laugh...to say there are POLAR opposites when it comes to the CWB...would be a mild understatement...

no worries if TOM4CWB or Francisco follow you here...i got a couple 'piggin strings handy...we will keep them off your backside...vs

[silverback]

Can any of you geniuses explain what is so hilarious that ALL grain farmers who grow wheat or malt lost hundreds of millions of dollars due to the people who run the marketing department of our central marketing agency ? ? ? They lost it speculating in the futures market.

Do you have such little respect for your neighbors that you think it's funny ?

When did you lose the respect for the word FREEDOM ?

The wheat board is not a voluntary little co-op. It is enforced with jail time. Pretty funny.

And these big evil corporations, well it just so happens they get paid more for handling wheat and malt than anything else. Hilarious. They are definately not advocating that farmers get rid of it.

Now go out and ask for the government to set up your own little canadian cattle board so you can pool all your cattle prices together. It will be mandatory of course and you don't get to decide what price you want to take.

[kato]

OK I'll take the bait.

For a start, we don't think anything is hilarious.

Are there any farmers this year who did not lose money in the market themselves? I know my brother in law for one sat on a whole crop of canola and didn't price it, and then watched it tank. He should have known better too, since he also works for a grain company and had every opportunity in the world. These things happen all the time.

I'm not saying anything either way about the CWB, except that the decision to dump it is probably the most irreversible decision that grain farmers will ever make. Once gone it will never return. No going back. Permanent.

I'm also saying that before dumping it, look at how we're all doing dealing with some of the same big international corporations that would be running the grain markets in a non CWB world.

We're not having any fun.........

[silverback]

You just hit the nail on the head Kato.

There are many of us who right now would wish for the independent auditors to be brought in and after they figure out who screwed up we padlock the doors and put them all on EI.

However, there are many, many more who do not want to end the board, they only want it to compete as any other grain broker/ trader does.

So tell me, why is it that after all the promotion money and time spent telling us how good a job they do in brokering the best price for wheat and malt growers, they then turn around and say they cannot compete with a voluntary cwb ?

We have heard for decades that they get us "premium prices". With the head start they supposedly have on everyone else they should be able to maintain their premium prices. No?

They are only brokers.

500 employees to handle the paperwork for Western Canadian Grain.

How many employees do you think it would take to find a market for all the cattle in these 3 provinces ?

If you are going to caution grain growers about getting rid of a mandatory, legislated, government run monopoly, then I will caution you and your cowboys about going down the road to creating one.