combine to customer program

[Jeff Nielsen]

have to send me a copy Pars, you got my address! as for turning a new leaf, you know me too well Pars to do that.
as to the course it is a good one for producers, put aside the day at the CWB office where, yes you will get the feeling it is self promotion. Other than that going through the Grain Commission and CIGI is excellent.

[Jagfarms]

My feelings of the C to C course.

I am very happy that I attended this course. It is
hard to put into a few words what we took in over
the 5 days.

It was very interesting what is all done at CIGI; I had
no idea what was all involved. They have this same
program for customers that buy the ag
commodities that are produced on Canadian farms.
The information changes from program to program
because of the input they get back from the
farmers and customers that attend the course.
They run the C to C program 6 times a year for
farmers. They are looking for different uses for
commodities we grow. They test out the new
varieties and see what type of qualities they have
for baking, pasta making, etc. and determine if our
customers will like these new varieties. They are
looking for new uses for Durum, lentils chickpeas,
canary seed, etc. We got to try some snack
products made from different pulse crops and saw
some different types of pasta with health benefits
that could be coming into the market in the near
future. They all tasted very good. The micro
brewery was pretty good and we got to sample
fresh beer right out of the brewery which was also
very good.

When we toured the CGC a lot of questions the
participants had before they got here were
answered; questions like: How do the grading
standards change from year to year? etc. Another
question as a farmer I had and have heard from
other farmers: How does a bit of frost or some
other down-grading factor effect the grain if it all
gets ground into flour and made into bread, or
semolina and made into pasta anyway? We got to
see how different grades even different varieties
effect the the end results such as bread, pasta, etc.
It was all very interesting. If I was to read this on a
website I would not believe it like I did seeing it
with my own eyes. We sat in for 5 days and this
only scratched the surface of all the different
testings that are done with each type of variety &
grade, the bottom line is that there is a significant
effect from down-grading factors and different
varieties. I couldn't even begin to tell all there is to
it, but seeing is believing.

In regards to the CWB. They want our input as
farmers and they use our input to make their
decisions. There was a lot of opportunity for us as
farmers to give our input and ask questions. If the
person you wanted to ask a question of was not
there, you could ask for them. They were tracked
down and available to speak to you one on one. We
had a workshop for Producer Payment options and
a session on the WTO both were very interesting. It
felt like the CWB really listened to what we had to
say and they are making changes from the input
that is given to them by farmers. There was a
reverse question and answer session where we as
farmers could give input on all their different
programs such as grain flow and farmer pricing
options. The CWB is also making some changes to
their website. They were very open to the things
we would like to see changed and will use our input
to make those changes. At any time we could ask
questions or give our opinion. Not everyone that
attended was for the CWB and everyone had
opportunity to ask questions and give their
opinions; needless to say, a lot of opinions were
given. There is a lot going on at the CWB that I had
no idea of before I went there. From what I see the
CWB has changed more in the last 7 years than it
has in the previous 30 years before that. That
change is all positive change for the benefit of the
farmer. If you are a farmer and want the CWB to
listen to what you have to say or if you want to see
some changes made, I recommend that you talk to
your CWB rep and tell them you are interested in
attending one of the C to C programs.

The best part of the program was getting to meet a
great group of people including the other farmers
in the group and the people who put the course
together and just everyone involved. If you are as
passionate about agriculture as I am I say it is an
opportunity of a lifetime. I made a bunch of new
friends and learned a lot and had a heck of a good
time.