Farmers and the CWB

[bluefargo]

The same shrewd and wealthy farmer I mentioned in the previous post told me "There was a time when the farmers were afraid of the Wheat Board. Now the Wheat Board is afraid of the farmers."
It was true then and even truer now.

[checking]

I'm way too linear, and our government is a marshmellow.

The CWB may be afraid of it's farmers, but there is no doubt that the Minister is afraid of the CWB from his response.

When askng about directing the Board to issue no buy back export licences to producers the reply is quote, "The decision of the Supreme Court shows that the direction power can be a useful tool in some situations. However, directions must be consistent with the overall scheme of the Canadian Wheat Board Act, which grants the CWB its monopoly powers. This means that comprehensive reforms leading to true marketing freedom will require legislative change. We will continue to challenge the other parties in Parliament to support comprehensive marketing freedom.", unquote.

[haveapulse]

It's a wonderful strategy used to retain a status quo that is wrong: as long as you can find someone to blame you can do nothing: the opposition is only a convenient excuse for a parliament and a country that has used farmers capital for years.

Farmers who support the concept of price pooling for ideological reasons fail to seperate the political manipulation of billions of dollars of their capital for decades to the benefit of the nation, as it uses grain for trade relations, and farmers holding the nations reserve grain pool often miss the highest markets of the few good years when they could capitalizing on the short markets.

Then when one is brave enough to speak against lost opportunity like Weber they stand alone. You have to figure by the level of protests made by the CWB regarding Webers comments that he was barking up the right tree.


If the CWB was concerned about truth a retraction of their self professed raison d'etre would have been in order
and a humble apology issued the day after the appeal was lost. A truthful CWB board should have asked for leave of their offices until such time as they were duly in charge as they testified to be.


National Post

Published: Monday, February 08, 2010

When the Supreme Court declined recently to consider the case of Canadian Wheat Board v. Attorney General of Canada, it brought a welcome end to a long, rancorous debate over the question of who, ultimately, has authority over the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB). The answer, we can now be certain, is that the agency remains, as Ottawa has always considered it, a creature of government, answerable to our country's elected representatives. This is how it should be.

And so it is...What the appeal validated was the confiscation of farmers capital by the government of Canada did not change when farmers were elected and farmers grain as a political tool has been a fact of life for almost 70 years.

[haveapulse]

PS
I note that most industry commentators have mastered the perch on the fence stance like well trained t****eze artists, (or something similiar only found near water) others never take safe haven in the politically correct, and defend farmers income first and foremost above all.. Please know
the silent majority appreciate it.

[TOM4CWB]

Charlie; et el:

I just spent a week working on my new and more regulated life....

Monday, went to Didsbury... met with Northstar Genetics about growing soybeans... took samples of CDC Falcon WW with me.

Monday night at 9 pm the LH low beam blew out on the Jetta... at Nanton... stopped at Howard Johnsons in Lethbridge cause they were the lowest cost room by far at $63 plus tax.

The VW manual advised only qualified technicians could check the fuses and change the headlamp... got the Jetta into VW by 9am... then fueled and off to Couts with my CDC Falcon WW samples.

100km to Sweetgrass... where Columbia Grain advised me my CDC Falcon was worth over $2.40/bu more just across the Alberta border in Montana.

Was further advised that CDC Falcon WW is a principal variety of HRW in Montana... and no mill has a problem with the quality... happy to take it anywhere in MT... for domestic of export milling.

Got the tenth degree by the US border guard... couldn't understand why I needed to take wheat samples to Columbia Grain... I told him about the CWB... he said that was 'political' and he wouldn't talk about that. Then the US guard let me out of the 'designated' area into the free world. I see they have moved the US border port to the Canadian side of the border at COUTS. I wonder why they did thaT!

sHERIFFS WERE ALL OVER THE PLACE... ZIPPING HERE AND THERE IN sWEETGRASS...the truckers at Columbia Grain were deep in thought wondering what security threat had got them so worked up.

The fine folks at Columbia Grain tested my two CDC Falcon wheat samples.

First sample was 14.5%px and 13.5%mt... had explained the Falcon was tough when we took the fall samples... put on Air and much drier now. 59lb/bu uncleaned. Second sample was 14.8px and 14.2%mt little tough he said... but 60lb/bu Winchester... nice wheat.

Couldn't do dockage at the elevator... needed to be done at the state lab. Interesting... third party dockage determination!

.2% to .5% dockage 6 cents/bu then a 3 cent discount... for ever .2% above. We figured about 18 cents/bu cleaning cost.

Said Thanks... they said very little wheat had moved in from Canada the past year... told them about Feb 08 and the $500/t needed to buy my wheat back then...to deliver to Columbia all the farmers and Columbia staff stared at me... saw their jaws drop... Declared Canada to be a Communist nation... then back to the 'designated area' in Canada I went!

Stopped for about 5min at CDN customs... he smiled and asked how long I had been out of the Country. About 25 minutes I said... took my wheat samples to Columbia Grain... He grinned and waved me through.

THEN I stopped at the Scale in Couts. The officer was cordial at first... then told me I needed to get my superbee and trucks federally registered as Commercial trucks or I would get a ticket. I tried to tell him I was a farmer... only had a few loads to haul.. and only hauled my own grain. The triffid flax is worth a dollar a bushel more in MT as well... so this wasn't just a CWB thing.

He insisted gave me a brochure with who to call in Red Deer... so I in disbelief but annoyance had my expectations lowered once again.

Talked with an Inspector at Red Deer. Read all the rules had changed July 1 2009. Told since I was a farmer... needed to log all on duty hours when working on the farm in the log book when I became this federally registered carrier.

I told him he was crazy... this wasn't possible. Hung up.

Time to go... the AB provincial gov... has caved one more time. Another regulation... another person on the farm needed to do paper work... and the CWB monopoly has another ally...

[haveapulse]

Tom, at least you had a great room rate in Lethbridge.

As prices fall the opportunity costs we pay will become more focused by those who remain, hope springs eternal.

[Burbert]

Tom4, as I read through this, fairy tale I began to sob and sob. Farmers are the lowest of the low, poorest of the poor, weakest of the weak. Sad so sad. Red tape, more Red tape, then total utter defeat. The system is grindin you up, politicos don't like ya. Simply tryin to chiesel out a few more cents and you run smack dab into a brick wall the almighty CWB is keepin ya down, what next????

[Raven]

Is there anyone who thinks Burbert will change by economic proof that the CWB harms prairie farmers' returns? Burbert has a special way of writing, but there will be many others who share his attitude, and they will never give up the control they now enjoy over how their neighbors can market. Even jailing farmers did not change how they voted. Marketing freedom will not come from CWB elections.

[cottonpicken]

The hotel was cheap but the toothless hooker squaws
out of the brocket reservation are even cheaper...lol.

Anyways..i'm thinking regulation and control are
getting worse and worse and....

This should make you laugh and there is a whole
bunch on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTJGKOLGCv8

[TOM4CWB]

Burbert,

It is so heart warming that you care Burbert... it matters not if we grow Hard Red Winter... Durum, CPS, Hard white spring... the CWB has not got the tools or capacity to meet market needs much of the time. The pool system of buying stops transparency... far too often the CWB can not react to fill premium markets... we all miss... and the US industry/grower skims off the cream.

Cash buying is needed. END.

This way end users would be leveraged into paying premiums for specific grades and quality... as they top off purchases. What we have now is backwards.

CP... HJ was clean... quiet... as good as many $115 rooms. Not the first time... Ottawa was the same in past experience!

The CWB is changing... It is encouraging to see how they have treated me on when working on this sale. These CWB offer prices will set back winter wheat production decades... and they know the system is failing everyone.

Can't is being exchanged for I will see what we can do different... and call you back!

The Supreme Court did us a massive favour... Thank you PM Harper don't give up on us!!!