what can be done to improve the CWB???

[Jagfarms]

 What can we do with the existing CWB to get better pricing opportunities? 


 I think it would be good to have different pooling periods. Have 3 to 4 or pools/ crop year. Not sure if they could do this or if would be any advantage to farmers. It would give us a few more options. We could get final payments quicker if we did this and get to price our Crop in the period that we want to. Might make the line ups smaller at some of the terminals.

In the period of one year the price can change drastically. If there was a different pricing pool every 3 months would give farmers a lot more choice.

[ColevilleH2S]

That very simple question, deserves a very simple answer.

And the answer is....


...wait for it...


...wait for it...


MAKE IT VOLUNTARY!

[gregpet]

Unfortunately pooling is the problem with pricing transparency as Tom has pointed out many times. The CWB protects the pool price at all times which in turn takes money away from the daily price options or in some cases a program option is shut down (i.e. cash plus for barley) to protect the failed pool price. We need a daily cash price without the made up CWB basis to be relevant and competitive with actual open market cash prices on a world wide basis.

Also, competition and choice would be a nice option.

Jag how would competition and more choices be a detriment to the way you currently sell board grains? Is it really that difficult and time consuming for you to sell your open market crops?

[Partners]

Start with the initial prices atleast 80% of pro, not the ones that "Insult" us farmers..When the crop yr. ends, have the final payments out 1 month later..With the age we are in now it should not take till Dec.to get the rest of our dollars..

[Jagfarms]

Selling lentils this year. The price for large greans was 40 cents/lb. By the time you get your samples to the buyer and they send the samples away to get graded to price has dropped to 34 cents/lb by the time you get the grade results back.

For my self I have enough to look after with growing pedigreed seed, trucking, farming marketing my special crops and seed that I am ok with the CWB marketing my Durum for me.


My thoughts are if there was a different pooling price every 3 months it would be a lot better than having a pooled price for the whole crop year.

I would be happy with that. If you had the choice of going into a pricing pool for 3 months or for one year which would you choose?

LOTS of farmer are happy selling their grains to the Cwb and want nothing to do with marketing their own grain. They are making a living and lots of them are very succesful farmers.

[Jagfarms]

Selling lentils this year. The price for large greans was 40 cents/lb. By the time you get your samples to the buyer and they send the samples away to get graded to price has dropped to 34 cents/lb by the time you get the grade results back.

For my self I have enough to look after with growing pedigreed seed, trucking, farming marketing my special crops and seed that I am ok with the CWB marketing my Durum for me.


My thoughts are if there was a different pooling price every 3 months it would be a lot better than having a pooled price for the whole crop year.

I would be happy with that. If you had the choice of going into a pricing pool for 3 months or for one year which would you choose?

LOTS of farmer are happy selling their grains to the Cwb and want nothing to do with marketing their own grain. They are making a living and lots of them are very succesful farmers.

[Jagfarms]

Multiple pool years maybe could be an improvement.

I personally feel prorating the freight deduction would allow more cash up front to the producer. Everyone (including me) hates the low initial price but the low intial price is because everyone along the way takes their cut off the top, not because the CWB sets the price to low. Then on top of that, tight cash flow producers are forced into taking EPO's which further discount their net return (or protect it in some cases as well)

With the technology of today's world, there is no reason why it couldn't be possible.

It would however, be a tough sell to line companies and railroads.

[gregpet]

Jag you failed to answer all my questions and I guess you feel its OK to stick with the CWB because it works better for you, I want choice.

Just like your lentil example, I can haul my wheat with an initial price and an 'expected' final price which can and has dropped, not to mention waiting 18 months for it.

Where is the CWB benefit? Just sounds like being selfish to me.

[Jagfarms]

There would be more transparency if there was a shorter pooling period.



" Also, competition and choice would be a nice option.   Jag how would competition and more choices be a detriment to the way you currently sell board grains?"

Competion and choice would be a good option but I do not think dual marketing can work.

We can have a cwb or we can not have a cwb.

I want the Cwb to market my Durum. I would like to see some changes but I would like to keep the Cwb.
You do not want the Cwb it sounds like to me. As long as we have the Cwb lets try to make it the best CWB it can be.

It looks like we have to agree to disagree.



" Is it really that difficult and time consuming for you to sell your open market crops? "

I answered this in my last post.

[freewheat]

Make it voluntary at the least.
Preferably banish it along withe cbc and
enshrine this banishment in our
constitution so that something so vile
to a free country would be illegal.

Or, we could force cwb loving guys to
sell their grain on an open market for
the next 75 years. It would be the least
we could do to reciprocate the kindness
bestowed upon those of us for 75 years
of being forced to deal with this
entity.

In other words, it can not be fixed. It
would be like trying to make a fricking
steam tractor and threshing machine work
for todays farm. Actually 75 years ago
most were using horses and plows. We got
rid of that unnecessary crap. Why do we
try to fix the cwb from the same era?

[gregpet]

Well I guess I'm different, I want complete transparency in my marketing so I guess no CWB.

I guess this is your selfishness showing. Why would a voluntary CWB not work? They would have to earn their business, somehow you feel this is a bad thing?

[Ron]

My suggestions on the CWB would get me
put on the no fly list. So I will try
to be polite

I used to think it was a dinosaur that
outlived its purpose.

I have since decided that it is still
fulfilling its purpose. ****ing me over
so they can protect the interests of the
shipping industry (railroads and St.
Lawrence shipping), elevators, and the
hacks in Winnipeg protecting their jobs.

Ever wonder why the CWB is not in
Ontario or Quebec? Because they are the
backbone of the country of Canada. We
are the colonies whose purpose is still
to send money east.

Don't just end the monopoly. End the
board. If you don't have time to market
your Durum then don't ****ing grow it.
Stick to your special crops, or hire
somebody else to run your off-farm
trucking business, or hire somebody to
market it for you.

Don't worry about them being accountable
for anything, just tell them how much
grain you have and be happy when they
decide to call for it and pay you for
it. (the same as the CWB does for you
do now. Just don't involving me or my
farm)

There are no CWB premiums, it is a CWB
discount.

So in closing...

END THE CWB. NOW

[FarmRanger]

ColevilleH2S is right; as long as you have no choice who to sell to, farmers have no way to enforce accountability.

If I sign up production with someone and they underperform the market, they'd better have a good excuse. It happens again and I’m able to go elsewhere = they're accountable.

A good motivator for the CWB not to have blow out sales with our production: we're less likely to supply you next time if we have any other choice. No heavy hand of enforced supply will mean the CWB will have to choose accountability or irrelevance.

The only choice I have is to dump good wheat into the feed market. Some choice.

[Jagfarms]

Question

If the Cwb gave you the choice of going into a pricing pool for 3 months or for one year which would you choose? 

You can only pick a 3 month pooled price or 1 year pooled price.

I would pick the 3 month pooled price option.

[freewheat]

Anything short of ending this entity
will continue having me grow all non-
board crops until such time as the
entity is gone. I am excerising the
choice I currently have which is to not
grow wheat. I can grow a mean wheat
crop, but my banker has trouble with me
not coming up with solid estimates of
this wheats value. He also has issues
when I have trouble telling him how much
more I expect out of last years crop
come December.

So I will continue to abstain from
growing wheat. Anyone who hates the cwb
should IMO do the same and starve them
out.