Poll

[cottonpicken]

Surprising results to me.

[parsley]

A contract asking for $x.oo up front that you can live with, really helps the bleeding.

Maybe a transparency webpage of:
1. Payments Owing
2. Late Payments

pertaniang to any buying company, could become standard?
Pars

[Wheatking]

Couple of questions

Are they not bonded, and how come they aren't.

How are they currently feeding the stock. I imagine they will have to keep feeding the pigs for at least a few more months to empty the barns, where is the feed going to come from.

I know I've had people tell me that they have been behind in there payments by eight weeks for at least a year, couldn't believe people would still haul there with that kind of risk.

[newguy]

I live next to one and the feed is coming in like crazy. Iknow alot of people here got stung it is too bad. Think someone heading big sky should be fired. Alot of people have sask. basket rrsp's which have big sky shares. I do not think I should have to pay anyone.

[wmoebis]

Don't get me started!

I lost thousands when their predecessors went broke. I never got one penny from Community Pork Ventures for barley I delivered. Although it was still in their bins I couldn't take it back, they wouldn't give me pigs or even the manure. Price Waterhouse etal got their pay checks. The lawyers all got paid etc. Big Sky gave them enough to pay secured creditors and legal fees and screw the little guy. The price could have been set high enough to cover all suppliers or non at all.

I was told, by certain public individuals that this is the price of doing buissness and FARMERS should expect not to get paid. They bought in good faith and were not liable. I should have paid a broker, to sell four miles from yard. Farmers are poor buissnessmen.

When I offered to sell feed to Big Sky I told them it would HAVE to be prepaid or C.O.D. they said it is not how they do buissness. No Sale.

This is free enterprize at it's finest. Secured creditors are covered, suppliers, no. CGC does not even have a bond in place to cover these types of enterprizes so they couldn't even get one if they wanted.

If this Gov't puts up one penny they better retro and pay off all suppliers from past deals. Then a can of worms will be opened for all tax payers to eat. What about the potatoe guys and all other gov't (presant and past)screw ups.

What we need is safe guards in place to protect us from these thiefs. They take our grain, and services, feed thier livestock, sell them and give the income to lawyers and accountants. Is this not called money laundering?

Thanks for not getting me started I managed well enough on my own.

[Hopperbin]

Being in the area at present time I would not sell to them unless I have payment first then they can pick up grain once the check is cleared. Starving pigs should not be my problem it is now the banks problem legally and they will be paying premiums I believe.

[Kodiak]

Not that this hasn't been said already, but I need to voice my agreement. Under the current business climate, I find it unbelievable that anyone would have sold Big Sky anything without payment by certified cheque either up-front, or on delivery. We all need to take responsibility for our decisions and be accountable for them. Going cap in hand to the government, just because they are government, is no more justifiable than demanding and expecting payment from any of the the other shareholders. Bankruptcy laws are in place for a reason, and by and large they work, as painful and messy it is for all those involved. Unless there were fraudlent payments made to related parties or to certain creditors by Big Sky management, there is no case to be made for prefernetial treatment of feed suppliers, or for shareholders to make whole the transactions of the company. Everyone knew the rules going in.

[JoeyPotato]

Everyone needs to do their homework before they deal
with someone. Because the Gov't is a shareholder is
irrelevant. For the record, Gov't has no business being
involved in business!!!

Gov't involvement should have been reason enough
never to deal with Big Sky.

[cottonpicken]

And the conservatives GIVE billions to the auto industry but were all going to vote for them again eh?

But a company the government owns but wont back is sound policy to?

I feel cixelsid.

[cottonpicken]

I agree with CP on this one.

We all do what these farmers did.

How many on here cut a cheque at year end to a retailer that you have no inventory for??

How many have put money down at a local dealer to hold equipment for you without having the equipment??

And someone please correct me if I'm wrong. But is this any different than Spudco?

[Hopperbin]

Big sky is a publicly traded corporation.
Correct me if I am wrong but the gov't only has shares in the corporation and not a liability to cover debt because they own likely common shares which are not supposed to carry with them liabilities in case of bankruptsy. I guess this should be a wake up call to all feed grain sellers selling to cattle feed lots also, time to start asking for money up front as hard as it is to do, otherwise beware the risk.

[skhadenuf]

As much as I feel for the guys getting screwed here, there can't be a payment made otherwise every other person screwed by any other company should get paid. Pretty much close to fraud as can get since obviously company knew they would not be able to pay yet kept taking grain, but that can be said by other grain companies that have done the same in the past to others.
What bugs me also is that the NDP preached how these things were so competitive in the world market, demand was limitless and they gave grants to these individuals to expand, from what I have heard basically made the original owner overnight millionaires with taxpayer money and now that millionaire has all their grant money secured in the bankruptcy while the farmer is screwed. The premise for this whole situation is flawed to begin with, when these barns were expanding we were told they'll eat up all this grain causing a rise in feed grain price, and that is a reasonable assumption but when the grain price goes up that makes these things not competitive on the world stage with other countries warmer climate, lower labor costs near to market etc etc. So how this ties into Cais is this, changes were made to Cais originally that gave these barns millions while most farmers got nothing then as their averages started to reflect what was happenning to farmers that lost their crops in multiple years cais wasn't even working for them just like cattlemen and thousands of farm families that had multiple years of crop loss. As a result here we are. (although I don't believe these units ever should have been allowed in Cais)
Those that are bullshitting that cais is good yeah it might be if you have 5 good years in a row and then have a loss but I suggest if you had only one loss in 5 years you shouldn't be needing any money from anyone if you can manage the program so well to get money you sure as hell ought to manage 1 year of loss on your farm without help. Yet those that have multiple losses get Fu%% all. Complete bullshit and something yippidy dippidy ditz claimed in opposition should be fixed.