CWB Market Development a DISASTER

[TOM4CWB]

THALPENNY AND THE CWB,

What is happening in Winnipeg, how do we deal with all your switches?

First there was CWES, glenlea was the premium product to grow, now this market is completely disappeared?

Now...
“AC Crystal is not included in this year’s MDCP because market testing has successfully established customer acceptance”

We switched to AC Crystal seed because you said it was the new CPS standard.

Now we are to believe Foremost, Taber, and Bigger CPS unit train shipments won't spoil the Crystal we grow and ship to the CWB?

I had a chance to study Crop Insured CPS wheat acres for 2001. Taber and Foremost have a higher insured acreage at 44% of Alberta acres than Crystal!

One region in Alberta still has 89% Bigger being grown!

With drought, the 5700 Prairie Spring Red seed supplies for Alberta are almost non-existent (with the fusarium issue practically preventing cross provincial border shipments)!

Interestingly enough no 5700PS was even insured and grown in Alberta in 2001.
Yet we are to believe sufficient seed is available the 2002 planting season?

You say “Due to insufficient certified seed supplies, Hard White Winter wheat varieties AC Ivory and AC Snowbird are not part of this year’s special delivery program.”

Or is the truth and real reason why Hard White died... a marketing issue,...
that the Hard White looks just like Hard Red to your customers instead, so they refuse to pay a premium (I made this very remark the first time I saw the seeds!)?

With the CWB winter wheat program you are combining a number of varieties with similar milling characteristics to produce a product that should bring a better price for this IP class of wheat.

Why not have 5700PS, CRYSTAL, and Oslo in an high quality milling IP class like you do with the CWRW varieties AC Readymade, Norstar, CDC Osprey, AC Tempest and AC Bellatrix Winter Wheat?

But CWB with CPS having over ten times the acreage of winter wheat you are not in the least interested in producing a higher quality CPS milling IP value for farmers or customers!

Question CWB, just with which farmers growing CPS did you consult with before making this decision?

How do seed farmers prepare for your variety specific programs, like with hard white and CPS being a disaster for additional marketability and market share?

We invest Billions when dedicating specific acres to you the CWB, yet on a whim you seem to switch in mid stream without even a word or any consideration for our assets?

Please tell us what process you use to make these decisions; do you talk to the commercial farmers growing this wheat at all?

Isn't it our farms you are playing around with?

Just who is the CWB working for?

How do we make any logical plans when it comes to growing your grain?

[Deb]

Tom4CWB - you ask these questions that require such long answers!! Good questions though.

The success of the market development programs are to be judged by the acceptance of the customer.

The special Market Development Programs are designed to provide incentives for farmers to produce these products so they can be introduced to customers in sufficient quantities for them to evaluate and gain confidence with the products.

In many cases, such as with CPSR, one must look at what is being delivered for export. There has been growing acceptance with the domestic feed markets for CPSR, particularly in some areas. So insurable acres don't necessarily tell the whole story.

Variety and identity preservation introduce higher costs. Customers aren't always interested in absorbing those costs. In some cases, they indicate where our products need some improvement to gain market share. Qualities such as higher water absorption levels (in the case of the CWRW varieties) and stronger gluten strength (Ac Crystal) are messages that come from customers.

These initiatives may serve to improve the quality of shipments overall, which may be what is required to maintain or gain market share with some products. But I don't think that we should think that this is a one time thing. Other products come forward from other competitors and we must constantly shift and adapt.

Some successes and some misses are to be expected. But I think most agree that we need to keep up the MD work.

Of course varietal agronomics are a consideration, and farmers largely determine what will work in the different regions.

Regarding HWW, I think there is another year of propogation required to generate enough seed for a program. I feel that the potential still exists though.

One last thought - we are going to go through a period where we start to experiment with moving away from Kernel Visual Distinguishability (KVD) with some products. This will take some experimentation, some customer relationship building and greater coordination to reliably deliver the right product at the right time. But these issues will get worked out.

Tom

[TOM4CWB]

thalpenny,

AC Crystal yeilds about 8% less than biggar in our part of Alberta, and it appears the 5700 is about the same step backwards again!

Yet this year there has been times when 3M wheat(biggar quality) has been worth as much as CWRS.

It may be fine for you to say that the overall class has improved (closer to CWRS), but this improvement has cost my farm big money!

It seems every time you bring CPSR closer to CWRS quality, the yeild stability drops badly, especially in dry years!

It is clear the way the CWB is leading this classes development, we cannot afford to commercially grow it any more.

Same goes for CWES, which should be worth the same or more than CWRS not less!

Now, how can you build a market when it is obvious, you cannot even get 10% of the CPS wheat, and CWES is all but totally disappeared from our fields!

Is your intent to herd us into growing CWRS only?

[bob4choice]

TOM4CWB,

I find your term 'herd' quite accurate.
Below is a little story that I believe reinforces it and reflects where we are now with the CWB and the Federal Liberals.

Subject: Canadian Farm Policy.

Start with a cage containing five monkeys. Inside the cage, hang a
banana on a string and place a set of stairs under it. Before long, a
monkey will go to the stairs and start to climb towards the banana.
As soon as he touches the stairs, spray all of the other monkeys with
cold water.

After a while, another monkey makes an attempt with the same result -
all the other monkeys are sprayed with cold water. Pretty soon, when
another monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try
to prevent it.

Now, put away the cold water. Remove one monkey from the cage and
replace it with a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and wants
to climb the stairs. To his surprise and horror, all of the other
monkeys attack him. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he
tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted.

Next, remove another of the original five monkeys and replace it with
a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The
previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm!

Likewise, replace a third original monkey with a new one, then a
fourth, then the fifth. Every time the newest monkey takes to the stairs, he
is attacked.

Most of the monkeys that are beating him have no idea why they were
not permitted to climb the stairs or why they are participating in
the beating of the newest monkey.

After replacing all the original monkeys, none of the remaining
monkeys have ever been sprayed with cold water. Nevertheless, no monkey ever
again approaches the stairs to try for the banana. Why not? Because
as far as they know that's the way it's always been done around here.

[TOM4CWB]

bob4choice

I really really like your little story, and will have fun telling others this point!

Thankyou!

thalpenny, when will we be able to be responsible for our own farms and decisions, or will we always need you to rule over our farms?

The CWB says that western Canadian farmers are shareholders in the CWB corporation, right?

When will I be allowed to sell my CWB shares and do my own market development without your "help"?