CWB and Young Farmers

[haveapulse]

Problem is with the voters list most of the time the person with the quota book is not the young farmer.

The only way to get a good idea of what the "Real" farmers want is to revamp the voters list. A total census and review is essential.

Chairman Oberg will never let it happen.

[freewheat]

Hey, lakenheath,

I agree with you wholeheartedly regardling the banishment of the cwb. But I do not fit your mold. I am 34, but I am not progressive enough in that I only farm 1500 acres. Some of those guys on your list surely did not build snot. A 26 year old farming 7500 acres. Holy crap, but where have I been? I have yet to see 800 acres for sale/rent in my area let alone 7000.

All I mean is i feel progressive in a lot of ways, ie agronomically, mentally, anti cwb'y, but because I farm with junk equipment, and farm 10 % of what the "progressives" do, I kinda take it as a slap in the face. I have fought alone for every single of the 1500 I farm. I doubt these guys built much on their own without some base to start from. One of my most successful neighbors, can not add 17.6 and 23.4 in his head, but he is very wealthy. He can't fix nothing, or get all oily, but he is rich. He is a young farmer candidate for sure!!!LOL

I'm meaning this in the nicest way. i just get riled when guys feel the bto's are the only progressive ones, or tie acreage farmed to success, or to progressiveness. Heck, several guys I know who farm bigger acreages are some of theee DUMBEST guys I have ever met, seriously. Why do they farm so much and seem to do so well? One of a few reasons:

#1 DADDY had an inheritance
#2 DADDY had gravel on his land
#3 DADDY cosigned loans
#4 DADDY paid for his first year inputs
#5 DADDY has paid for land from 1977
#6 DADDY you name it
#7 Wife makes 80 000 a year
#8 They were nominated by themselves to be outstanding young farmer, and so scrambled to farm as much land as they could so they fit the criteria. LOL

I'm just saying. For here anyways, the bigger guys are bigger cuz of old money most often, not necessarily brains. I can think of one big guy who built it on his own, but EVERYONE else had BIG time help.

So tying succes, or prosperity to skill, brains or anything but luck, FOR HERE at least is pure folly.

I am too small to want the cwb gone, wth should I do???

[fjlip]

"First generation buys it, second builds it, third expands it, fourth looses it."
Heard and seen this before, I'm third gen and the fourth sees too many $$ and way less stress in other occupations. They are smarter and n more impatient, than us waiting a life time for change in valuing farming.
The few 30 somethings working the farms are with the parents, uncle or grandparents. They are adding to equity with lots of breaks from older gen. Time will tell if they ever get weaned before inheriting. Then the proof will come.
Those that knew Ted Cawkwell. will see that his family called it quits( on Ritchie Bros) after he passed away on Dec 25. We all though the next gen would farm some of those 13000 acres.

[ColevilleH2S]

Here is my situation. I farm 3000 acres. I own a small portion of that land, and crop share the rest with 8 different landlords. The 4 that have their own permit books vote for the CWB, I vote against it. Yet my ownership of production on the farm averages 71% vs. the 4 board supporters with 14%. My 71% receives 1 vote, and the 14% get 4 votes. Go figure?

[fjlip]

I also got in farming with "old money", but, hey the parents and grandparents wanted it that way. I proved a good investment for their hard work.
Agree Freewheat, size is not a measure of progressive. We never worked more than 1600 acres, but have tried some stuff before neighbors. Winter wheat in 1980, first in this area, grew high yield Glenlea wheat when quotas were zero and delivered all the crop ahead of CWRS with CWB contracts. Gambled on the first RR canola ahead of neighbors. First to use auto steer in this area. Steel bins in 1965 very rare, Hopper bins in 1980, not even heard of then. Aeration in 81, so rare parts came from US. First dryers used here in 1968, 1978 only auto Farm Fans for miles and years. Only farmer with a tandem in all elevators we delivered to in 1975.
There is not a one I know that did not have help from the previous gen.

[bucket]

Best investment I ever made was in myself. Somehow the money never got wasted.

Never chased land, the phone rang and most of the time I was stupid enough to say yes.

i hate the cwb and everything it encompasses. It has created generations of marketing illiterate farmers with blind faith.

Those guys on those producer cars site with a short line could hire one more person and eliminate the cwb and probably make more money. The buyers would find that grain pretty quick and probably pay from the farm and take care of the freight and elevation for the quality they grow. They are sellingthemselves short. Hauling the grain to the elevator is the easy job.

[Lifer]

Good for you bucket and I sincerely mean that. Isn't that the point. A lot of us would like to be able to make more of our own choices within the wheat market. We are not allowed to and would like meaningful change.

You didn't chase land because that is not what you want to do. So what if some one else does that is their choice. May be the right thing for them.

Let me be responsible for my stuff and you can be responsible for your stuff. Progressive thinking within the CWB debate today.

[farmaholic]

Freewheat

It is undoubtedly easier to farm with financial and physical help from the previous generation/s. I appreciate the help I received and I hope you appreciate what you have even more simply because you did it yourself. Rome wasn't built in a day either. Like in the bedroom, size doesn't matter, it's how you use what you have. Progressive can be measured in doing more with what you have also, like increasing net returns per acre. My accountant says I make more net money than some of his other Ag clients who farm more than me. Good luck.

[lakenheath]

Freewheat - Calm down and read my post. I didn't associate progressive with farm size. I just gave examples of young farmers that were anti-CWB and put some information beside them.

You read way to deep into what I was posting. You seem to have little man syndrome. Take a deep breathe guy and re-read what I posted. You will not see any slighting of small acre farms in my post, nor am I putting large farms on a pedistal.

Just happened the guys I am listing happen to farm the acres they farm. That is it that is all.

[lakenheath]

Freewheat:

Hope this makes you feel better.

After reading comments about the three young farmers at the C to C that were board supporters, I took a look around our area (SW Saskatchewan) and did a quick count of anti-CWB young farmers (within a 20 mile radius). Here is what I came up with:

Farmer A - 32 year old farmer cropping 6,000 acres on a family farm. Very involved with management aspects of the farm. Progressive farmer. Has a 4 year business degree from U of S.

Farmer B - 33 year old farmer cropping 11,000 acres on a family farm. Progressive farmer. Very involved in managment aspects of the farm. Has a 4 year Ag degree from U of S.

Farmer C - 32 year old farmer cropping 4,000 acres on a family farm. Progressive farmer. Very involved in management aspects of the farm.

Farmer D - 26 year old farmer cropping 7,500 acres on family farm. Progressive farmer. Very involved in management aspects of the farm.

Freewheat - 34 year old farmer cropping 1500 acres. Progressive farmer.

Farmer F - 26 year old farmer cropping 8,000 acres on a family farm. Progressive farmer. Very involved in management aspects of the farm.

Farmer G - 29 year old farmer cropping 10,000 acres on a family farm. Progressive farmer. Very involved in management aspects of the farm.

Farmer H - 36 year old farmer cropping 8,000 acres on a family farm. Progressive farmer. Very involved in managment aspects of farm.

I could go one, but might point is that there are a lot of good, young and intellegent farmers out there that do not want to be shackled by the CWB.

We are the future of farming in this country. We have the ability to market our own grain and be profitable. We do it with peas, lentils, flax, canola, feed barley, corriander, chickpeas, oats and other specialty crops and do it quite well.

Wheat and durum are a very important crop in this area for our rotations. Yet we cringe when we have to pencil them in. Why? Because we are left in the dark by the CWB. We don't get proper price signals, the PPO's are an absolute joke and the "premiums" just aren't there.

We grow inferior varieties to those of which my American farmer friends grow and yet don't get paid for our superior quality, but yet have to live with the yield disadvantage.

You just have to shake your head when you look over a few provinces and see farmers our age selling wheat off-board and not going to jail for it (in the same country!).