November PRO Release

[TOM4CWB]

Charlie,

If these same prices were based in Alberta... the freight/handle should be at least $20/t less cost to west CDN coast port position.

THis is why the US is a very expensive alternative to ship western Canadian grain to international markets... it also is why pulse crops/Canola do NOT move south/US, for international export.

We are truly missing some huge opportunities... or are all the CWB/CGC quality claims on our wheat complete B.S.... and the total US grain system just have us beat on all points? As Montana is a west coast PNW export point to international markets...

WHAT frustration... I can not believe we are so slow! so we just undercut markets???

Where does the extra $1/bu go???

[Burbert]

Who cares about people? Those small Comedian farms were owned and operated by people and families. Who cares? Farming is and should be driven and ruled by the market, in other words GREED! The bottom line is all that counts. GREED is good. One day when all the land in Comedia is owned and operated by a dozen or so land barons, we'll truly live in utopi or should that read dopia????

[charliep]

Perhaps what every farmers goal should be is to operate a profitable business consist with personal values and goals. Everyday the idea is to capture opportunities that add value to bottom line. If farmers are empowered to do this via their own creativity and initiative, I suspect the individual farm business (be it an individual family, a partnership or a corporation) will be around for long time. The size of this operation will change - no longer a world of wd9 tractors (sorry wd9) pulling a 12 foot drill on summerfallow but a continuous cropping operation pulling 40 plus feed of one pass/low disturbance seeding equipment pulled with a 300 hp tractor (hopefully this makes - an economist in an ivory tower). Maybe the way wheat and barley are marketed has to change to reflect this reality.

[charliep]

[URL="http://www.youtube.com/CanadianWheatBoard"]PRO commentary[/URL]

[charliep]

Hard to comment on your ideas when the only price signal is a annual average blended payment across time, class, grade, protein, customer, port/destination, etc, etc, etc. Would be nice to have another market that has a different approach to grading and pricing. Farmers would have the ability to shop and select the selling opportunity that puts the most money in their pocket based on matching their wheat with the customer that matches specifications with their needs/price.

[TOM4CWB]

Burbert,

I assume your tounge in cheek 'thrashing' was about our 'Eskimo''greed'...

Instead the reality is./.. of real farm families working day and night to bring in a healthy crop and pay our many bills... growing this good high quality food for a hungry world.

I do not know of one farm... where your 'greed' attitude is the primary reason they grow food.

I believe the same to be true of folks who work for us at the CWB.

God bless them... I hope they ALL have a great weekend!!!