Burbert comes clean

[Fransisco]

In a thread below Burbert was asked what it is that he likes about the wheat board and why. Here's what he said...

[Fransisco]

Burbert said ," The CWB give me a window/access to world markets. Their cheques don't bounce. The CWB is an enabler, it allow us to grow and sell product, that feeds the world. They treat us fairly and are helpful and co-operative. brokers for our grain. The CWB carries enough clout, that it assists in our transport of product otherwise the RR's would be screwing us worse than they already are. The CWB doesn't cheat us, it gives a fair and honourable way of doing business. The CWB is a whipping horse, that we kin swear at, when everything goes to heck in a hand basket. The CWB isn't driven totally by greed and corruption! "

[Fransisco]

Burbert, while I don't agree with your assessment or your reasoning, I do appreciate your honesty here.

[parsley]

Gonna be a whole bunch of groupies growing long hair so's they can get dragged into Burbert's cave. lol

[bucket]

Is being treated fairly mean that some groups get an earlier call on hrsw even though they have no sale for tough grain.

Is being treated fairly mean that the cwb comes up with a fusarium program and upgrades some groups hrsw while those with ergot can not be blended out with the same practice.

Is being treated fairly mean that you are forced to hold grain back and take the loss, while if you voluntarily want to move grain into another crop year - you pay a fee?

Is being treated fairly mean that while the cwb can't tell you what they sell our grain for they can tell everyone what an individual sells?

Being treated fairly by the cwb has a somewhat different meaning if one opens one's eyes.

[mcfarms]

Ya I tried that once but then my wife caught me and made me stop

[rockpile]

That was very noble of you Fran and I would
appreciate a higher level of decorum on this site
and a return to respect and civility among users free
of the childish personal crap!!! CWB aside, here is
something that has always bothered me, and I'm
switching gears. Let us take canola as an example.
How do you know what a grain company or broker
has sold a bushel of canola for to an end user? As a
farmer, you are marketing into a procurement field,
established by buyers (mostly grain companies) to
get the product out of the bin and into transit. Does
this necessarily mean that there is a direct
relationship to what the end buyer is paying or is it
just the local lever to get the farmer to part with it?
I raise this question, which was never satisfactorily
answered, from my experience with one of the
Wheat Pools in the 1980's. At that time everything
revolved around canola sales to Japan and the
procedure in place was that at 4 AM Vancouver
time a price and volume purchase for that day was
received in the marketing office and the choice was
either to sell or reject. At the same moment,
futures and cash prices were established
domestically to bring product forward as needed.
As a matter of information, not even the CEO of the
Pool was privy to this trading intelligence - he had
to wait for the year end results. So, my question is
this - where is the transparency where a single
producer can witness an honest basis between the
end user and the middleman? I've never found it
and be sure, there are 2 sets of books. By the way,
as I see it, the CWB and any old grain company
aren't that much different - one is mandatory by
law, the other by lack of access. To go back to
Burbert's co-op Wheat Board idea, I'll just say
mandatory if necessary, but not necessarily
mandatory! Have a good one,
Rockpile

[HFL]

Bucket, I hope you don't mind if I add one.

Is being treated fairly mean that your neighbour who got signed up under a Grain Flo contract can deliver 100% of his durum inventory in January and February and until its delivered he gets paid storage on it. The rest of us can deliver 40% of our durum inventory sometime between now and July 31st on the A series contract. The money he gets paid in storage comes from the pool account right? So they are taking money that belongs to me and you and giving it to the other guy.

[Hopperbin]

HFL I believe the pool should be priced on average sales of fixed and or daily prices. Not the fixed and daily prices be influenced by the pool. Can someone please tell me that this makes all the sense? If I was in a pool I would have more confidence pricing at what farmers are willing let her go at. In the current CWB pool you let her go at what ever the CWB says. Especially considering the CWBs past experience. Also in this way everyone would offer better rates based on competition in the delivery system.

[oneoff]

Its being treated fairly mean that if you grow wheat under the guise of a seed grower or organic production that you have totally different rules and deductions.

[oneoff]

I can't think of any conflict of interest that I have with the CWB. In fact I feel the CWB costs me dearly; and not to the tune of a few hundred dollars a year. Could people like Burbert please confirm that they aren't using the CWB at the expense of some other producers?

[oneoff]

It might be helpful to know what proportion of some CWB supporters incomes comes from dealing with the CWB.

[silverback]

If I remember correctly, one of the borg supporters once told us that they only grow less than 20% board grains every year and like the board because they were "too busy" marketing their other specialty and oilseed crops to be bothered worrying about marketing wheat or durum.

[oneoff]

I have always suspected that the board support issue never gets around to discussing the real reaasons why there is any support for the CWB at all. I have a lot at stake; and am probably looked at by the board (and it supporters) as selfish; greedy; definately in the minority etc. etc.

Now lets have the supporters describe how they think they are perceived.

[Fransisco]

A follow up comment on the other thread.

Burbert said, "I think, what it really boils down to, is <b>trust</b>. Do we trust the CWB. Answer is yeesssss, I guess. Well, at least I trust them, more than the open, unregulated. lean, mean, world of the clipboard grain merchant! Sell grain, get a cheque, go to the bank and squirrel it away, till Angribusiness calls with some new scheme or technology to steal it all away again. Then spend the rest of the season farming and enjoying the challenges of solving problems with little or no money, while whinning and snivelling about the government not respectin us.... "