Reining in the Canadian Wheat Board

[Raven]

Great idea Burbert, but I think there is a catch. The CWB enforcers will simply take a little time off from measuring farmer's durum bins to consficate farmer's bags of wheat at the BC border.

More seriously Burbert, your neighbors are able to sell their feed barley freely as off-board throughout Canada. Would you be okay with them also being able to export it off-board?

[oneoff]

This from Viterra - Feb 08, 2010.

Malt Barley

- The 2009-2010 CWB Designated Barley PRO's for January were unchanged:
-2 Row - $211/mt in-store Vancouver/St. Lawrence
-6 Row - $193/mt in store Vancouver/St. Lawrence

- The CWB has increased their export projections to 1.3 million tonnes of bulk malt barley. Quality downgrades in the Australian malt barley crop and steady demand from China has created sales opportunities for Canadian malt barley.

- Overall, the quality of the Canadian new crop malt production has been good. The six row crop has been the exception due to mold issues. Movement for new crop malting barley has picked up.

- Reports on the malt barley crop in Argentina indicate that both yield and quality is lower than expected.

- Production estimates for the Australian malt barley crop have dropped to 1.5 mmt due to adverse weather events including a heat wave, followed by an unseasonable heavy rain. As a result there are quality issues in the Australian malt barley crop.

Barley

- March Western Barley futures closed at $148.50/MT on Friday which was a modest gain of $0.50/mt on the week. Spread activity has been quiet but should pick up into the last half of February with open interest at a rather smallish 497 contracts in the March. Full carry in the March/May remains $7.23/mt.

- The Lethbridge delivered cash market weakened to $146/mt on the week. End users remain reluctant to buy cash in deferred positions with ample barley stocks in Saskatchewan. Some feedlots have moved to a finishing ration of 1/3 barley, 1/3 DDG, 1/3 wheat which continues to put downward pressure on the cash barley market. Feeders are torn right now as they move out finished cattle; do they replace those numbers with beasts that pencil a loss?

- The CWB has Japanese interest for 55,000mt export business for the first half of April. It remains to be seen whether this tonnage will trade. Canadian barley is at an extreme freight disadvantage to Australian barley for this market. The CWB left its PROs for feed barley at $152 in store VCR stating quality issues in Australia and softness in Chicago Corn as reasons for the market weakness.

[vvalk]

Burbert needing to pay bills? My guess is he doesn't even farm anymore. Just another retired farmer who thinks he should vote and knows whats best for actual farmers. Look at his posts and the way he writes. All he is trying to do is cause trouble. Typical NFU. Deflect away from the issue and take up time talking about nothing so that nothing gets accomplished.

[wilagro]

And what is supposed to be accomplished on this forum? Mostly tirades against the CWB and how to "get out from under its yoke".

Talk about stirring up "trouble"..yah right...

[bucket]

wilagro

You make a good point. If farmers would quit arguing about the cwb and focus on other issues that farmers, as a whole, all have in common then the government might start taking notice.

Sure I think the cwb is obsolete but I can quit thinking about it for a day or two and focus on something else.

Fertilizer pricing that is linked to farmers gross returns is collusion. They use to say it was because of natgas prices.

Railways that do as they please. The government won't step in. The rail industry pushed the efficencies to farmers and kept the gain/money and the government does nothing. Read the last WP.

Chemicals could be coming into this country for half price but nothing changes.

Sure the cwb debate will live on for decades because the conservatives take us for granted. The cwb debate is a diversion from the real issues. AND the conservatives play it that way so they have to do nothing about anything else. Its a liberal trick they learned well.

[Raven]

Willagro, I'll ask you the same question I asked Burbert: your neighbors are able to sell their feed barley freely as off-board throughout Canada. Would you be okay with them also being able to export it off-board?

[TOM4CWB]

Wilagro,

When the CWB structurally knocks the bottom out of wheat & barley feed grain markets in western Canada... it kills premium prices all grains used for feeding/industrial... not just wheat and barley. There should be a natural flow south into the US. The CWB stops this natural trade cold by absorbitant buyback prices.

Except if you are a big

It is absurd... to claim no connection between livestock feeds from the different grains... unless they cannot be substituted between them. Simple economics.

[TOM4CWB]

Except if you are a big feed mill... and also gets free export licenses from the CWB.

What a farce... the only ones restricted by the CWB... are 'designated area' grain producers!

[Burbert]

Farmers basically don't like one another, hence they will never ever ever ever co-operate to make things better. Besides they are to easily bought off, seduced by the dark side, if you will.....

[FarmRanger]

With few exceptions, my perception is that most
farmers do tend to want to get along with others.
But maybe we just tend to perceive in others
what is actually in us.

[Raven]

Hi Burbert, How do you personally feel about you farmer neighbors? They are able to sell their feed barley freely as off-board throughout Canada. Would you be okay if they could also export it off-board? That wouldn't hurt you or the CWB but could be very helpful for them.