Bye Bye cwb

[JDGreen]

not offended at all. Wheat/Durum/Barley are lower risk in general, and a neccesity in our area to keep tilth, O.M, weeds, diseases, moisture conservation in check. We have tried for years to pinch rotations and try different crops. The end result is always having to seed a certain amount of wheat/durum/barley.

[Fransisco]

I'd love to be able to leave the CWB ghetto simply by growing other crops.

But I can't.

The reason is agronomic. I just don't have the crop choices yet to be able to leave board crops behind. It'll eventually happen, maybe when my kids start farming, but for now I'm stuck dealing with the gong show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ox1Tore9nw

[TOM4CWB]

wmoebis,

Our sale in Feb of 2008, was through a specific co., a specific tonnage they were short and needed filled, for delivery in the Mar, April, May time period.

Personal relationships, in premium markets, create these kinds of opportunites. Other western Canadian growers did participate in this sale to a very limited extent. The grain co's were simply 'sweeping out the bins' and were willing to pay the price to get the wheat... IF it could be bought. US grain co's also have personal relationships... that Canadian grain co's don't have and can not access.

Doing the CWB buyback would have cost close to $500/t... and negated any possible benefit and left us with all the transaction risk. The cue up the PPO system creates... is simply to create a reserve pool for international millers, at western Canadian wheat farmers expense. For a seed grower... who can be left hanging with stocks and no home for them EXCEPT the CWB pool; this is a very UNFAIR system.

[charliep]

wmoebis

Suspect that you also have to ask how big the market was for
$20 whatever wheat in either case. Once that demand was
satisfied, would it be any surprise about the market collapse
(realize making this comment in hindsight).

Anyone who wanted to capture this rally in the post period
would likely have had to use the futures market to hedge but
the extreme volatility put anyone at risk who used this route
(had to have a big amount of working capital to cover margin).

This is all history now but I often wonder what the impact of
western Canadian farmers pricing 7 mln tonnes of their wheat
under the ppo programs at something around $7/bu or less and
a CWB that covered their pooling risk over a 18 month period.
The midwinter put the CWB about half way through this risk
management process.

The CWB says they have improved their risk management
programs but all I see is a fpc basis that was widened $20 to
$40/tonne (easy to cover risk when the CWB has no competition
and can pass along any cost they want).

Off topic I know but the question is which has less impact on US
prices. Several Canadian grain companies/individual farmers
making marketing decisions or the monster CWB who can make
large volume decisions either themselves or through an
accredited exporter.

[darren442]

O.k i guess a few guys toes got stepped on . I agree that canada grows some amazing wheat to bad we breed our wheat for quality and not for quantity i've seen this first hand with two farmers one half mile in sask and the other half mile in North dakota so a mile apart. Both growing HRSW same soil pretty close fert program everything was close. The difference in yield over the average was 40 bu.

And i do believe wheat could be taken out of a rotation if someone really wanted to. Over in ireland it was preached that you never grow wheat back to back becuase of very high disease. I know a farmer who did grow it the second year and they were right but the third there was less disease and so on.After 5 years the wheat was disease free and his yields went up.

Lots of information has been preached for years on how to grow crops up here, and now we are finding out those ways are damaging to soil , reducing our yields and it's just plain wrong.

Were there is a will there is a way. theres guys who grow canola back to back year after year to.

So tell me why you have to grow wheat if the odd guy doesn't want to.

[AG_guy]

Tom your words are " Competition is the key to change" who is the CWB compitition ??

[TOM4CWB]

Ag-guy,

The CWB has the right to take our wheat... at below fair market value... which gives them the opportunity to then sell that wheat below fair market value.

Our 'designated area' wheat buying system... needs to be cash price based with pooling the alternative to opt into. Pooled CWB basis (what we have now)... needs to be replaced by a transparent wheat basis market... that reflects real/true market conditions in a timely manner. Canola is a good example of what is needed... obviously delivery being a true CWB problem...sore spot... as the goofy attempt by the CWB earlier this fall to 'market' delivery to 'designated area' wheat growers.

It is truly revealing that in just a few minutes... 10X the CWB delivery opportunity was cued up... with well over 90% of wheat growers left wondering what happened and jilted!

We are sooo immune to the CWB game... and sooo used to disappointment... and lack of choices... that we rolled over and blamed everyone but the CWB for the stupid program that clearly was no real delivery choice at all for the vast majority of grower/prisoners in the 'designated/depressed area' of western Canada.

And the US wheat associates missed that mess entirely it appears! OR are they (US Wheat) so immune to CWB shenanigans... that no comments are offered... cause it is like they (US Wheat) are calling 'CWB' too often?

[TOM4CWB]

Ag_guy;

So the answer must be the CWB requirement to transparently get enough more (wheat value) than what they pay a 'depressed area' CWB grower... to force the market to pay for all real marketing costs and the value of our 'depressed area' wheat. The alternative must be going out of business... cause the CWB payed out more that they sold the grain for to customers.

And every single wheat buyer on the planet (that cares) knows there is NO CWB accountability to pay fair market value for wheat grown in the 'depressed area' of western Canada.

Competition is the right for my family... to sell wheat... at a higher price that the CWB is willing to offer to us.

[may-be]

Just not growing wheat for the cwb anymore. Going to grow a bit of winter wheat. I have an ethonal plant not far away. I have lighter land and feel utilizeing sping moisture might give me a better crop. My crops will come off earlier and later so the window for seeding it will be there for me. Also i'm a bit nostalgect so not haveing some wheat would not feel right. But if i'm not happy with this crop out it will goe like many other crops.

[Hopperbin]

Hopperbin fix prices CWSWS wheat to the CWB. At the same time they told me I must find the delivery point myself so just before signing the fixed price the local Vittera says they will be shipping some some time in the year. Later I was talking to local Vittera again and now they don't take that wheat. I looked all over to make delivery and no one could take the wheat anymore. I get a 10 grand bill out of the mess from the CWB. I still have wheat to deliver but that is not an option. I don't want this system to be my wheat marketer.