My Experience at the C to C

[TOM4CWB]

Inewman,

We all have difficult folks to deal with each day.

Burbert and GTO make me appreciate every one else... just a little more!

Shucks... Agstar77 is almost a saint now!!!

[booboo04]

TOM4CWB, I don't know what BTO said to get you going (I don't read anything from BTO anymore), but just ignore BTO as he/she has nothing but garbage to add to any post.... But I do value what you say.

[TOM4CWB]

Booboo04,

Thanks!

""Nobody loses anything by being polite,
but there are a lot of people who are afraid to take the risk."

[Jagfarms]

It was good meeting you lnewman at the c to c.
It would have been good if we could have talked more.

I enjoyed the break out session and to hear different opinions and ideas from different farmers from different areas of the prairies
.
In the group I was in for the break out session there was not many farmers that opposed the Cwb or if they did they did not say so.
It would have been a bit more interesting for myself if there was more farmers in my group for the break out session that are opposed to the Cwb.

For my self the only Cwb crop we grow is Durum on our farm which makes up to 40 percent of our seeded acres.

Now I will get blasted for this and I can just imagine the response I will get from some of you for this.

I am happy having the Cwb market my Durum for me.

For me I do not like to forward contract as when ever I do I never seem to come ahead. I forward contracted 80 tonnes of Red lentils last fall for 20 cents/lb. There was some 30 cent prices after harvest. I had forward priced lentils, peas and canola in the past with act of God and very seldom did it work out for me.
For myself I like to make my contracts when I have the crop in the bin and I know the quality and quantity of what I have.
For the Durum harvest of 2009 if we could have forward contracted our Durum there was some good prices available.
I would not have done so and I would have waited until after harvest to contract any Durum and by then the high prices were not available.

I carried almost all my Durum from 2009 into this new crop year. The Cwb did not take all the Durum last crop year and the Durum prices sucked. The way I look at it they did me a favor for not taking all the Durum. The rest of the Durum I moved forward from last crop year to this year cost me $5 tonne but I will come out way further ahead than if I would have sold it last crop year or into the US market last year.
The Cwb told us not to grow Durum in the spring of 2009 the signals where there. I decided to seed it, it was up to me.

The prices in the US in 2009 were just as crappy as our price for Durum in Canada.
When the world prices are crappy not much the Cwb can do.

The Cwb did they did not take all the Durum in 2009, which in my opinion was the right thing to do.

[bucket]

Jag

Are you on hallucinating drugs or did you drink too much of the koolaid at that conference.

In feb 09 the durum pro was at 300 per tonne. At that same time american farmers were signing 7.00 plus durum contracts for the fall. All the cwb did was continually lower the pro until it fit into their pathetic sales equation. They did you no favours for the last crop year or this one. By the time you are delivering durum it will be over 9.00 dollars in the states and you stored it for two years. End. My bloods boiling.

[Jagfarms]

Hard to type on my Black berry.

Hard to say what we will end up for a final Durum price for this crop year but it will be significantly higher than last year.
If I had the money in the bank there is no way I could make that much interest in the bank.
If I had to borrow to pay bills the gain in the Durum price would more than make up for interest charges.

As for Wheat and Barley I have no opinion to share as I only grow feed barley and hardly grow any wheat.

The initial payments do suck and it is a long time to wait for the money to come.
That was one of the biggest complaints is that the initial payments suck. The Cwb said they are trying to do something about the low initial payments.
I do not participate in any of the other payment options available to farmers so I can not comment on them.

[Jagfarms]

Bucket

Did you read all of my post?
I said there was good prices available in the spring of 2009.
I also said I would not have contracted any Durum before it was in the bin.

It is pretty easy to say with hindsight that we would have forward contracted durum.

[Ron]

Jag, you are more risk averse than some
(not saying its a bad thing. It may
stem from productions variations in your
area. Or not.)
A lot of us are not risk averse (not
saying its a good thing. Its just how
we are).
But shouldn't I have the same freedom to
blah blah blah. The same as canola and
pules blah blah blah.
Its the same old argument. Like a dog
chasing its tail.

The only difference is while I used to
respect your right to market your grain
through your CWB I now realize that you
don't have the same respect for my
rights to market my grain.

No more dual market bullshit. Get rid
of the CWB.
End of discussion

SCREW THE CWB

[Ron]

Sorry Jag, forgot to mention.

While I have zero respect for your
control of my wheat I do appreciate your
well thought respectful post (something
I tend to struggle with at times).

I hope after the CWB is dead and gone
you can adjust and market the last 40%
of your crop yourself in the free world.

[ColevilleH2S]

Jag at least you get to name your price for your Verona seed production($12/bus.).

Thanks for forcing the rest of us who are not registered seed producers to market their production through the board >:-(

[farmgal71]

Are they indifferent because they don't think they can force a change?

Focus on what they know they can accomplish...get the spraying down.

[Jagfarms]

ColevilleH2S

I am a pedigreed seed grower.
2010 was the first year I grew Durum for pedigreed seed production.
Any farmer can become a pedigreed seed grower. 2011 will be the 5th year I been growing pedigreed seed. It is not that hard to do and farmer can do it.
I think I have done ok growing lentils for seed production but not sure about the Durum.

In the spring of 2010 I purchased my foundation Verona seed for around $18/bu. I paid for my seed growers fees, an acreage fee for growing pedigreed seed. An inspection fee for having my fields inspected. Then all the extra work involved, isolation strips, keeping the fields clean, cleaning out the air drill, trucks, bins augers combines. Doing all this cleaning out equipment when your nabours are seeding and harvesting and you are not.
It is quite time consuming. Then all the paper work that comes with it.
I do not have my own seed cleaning plant so I have to truck it to the cleaner and truck it home. Only a few cleaners are registered to clean pedigreed seed. They charge more than a cleaner that cleans commercial seed. Then you have to pay again to have your paper work done once the seed is cleaned.

You have to pay a fee each year to be a bulk storage facility. Then you have to pay to have an audit "inspection" done each year off the start.
Then there is the germ and disease test for the seed.
If you add up all these extra cost not including your time you are looking at lots of extra $$ to produce pedigreed seed. If you do not make over $4 to $5 bu over the market price. You are doing all the extra work for nothing.

Then you have to hope you can market all the seed that you produced.

With the pros going up the retail price of Verona Durum seed will be going up to $12.50/bu.
I have only cleaned half of my Verona so far as I am not sure how much demand there will be for Verona.

We liked Verona better than our Strongfield, stood up better, nicer color, thrashed out easier and yielded a bit more.

I will be growing Verona Durum again in 2011. It will be over 50 percent of my seeded acres. I do not think any of it will be for seed production and at the most 10 percent of the Durum will be for seed production.

I think 2011 will be the year for Durum.