Malt Barley

[bird]

I will be attending a malt barley information meeting with CWB. They are looking for input on how producer, maltster and CWB can work towards bettering the system resulting in MORE money for the producer. Any comments suggestions etc. would be appreciated. Thanks.

[JD_GREEN]

suggestion #1.

AXE THE WHEATBOARD AND DEAL DIRECT WITH THE MALTSTERS THROUGH FARMER OWNED GRAIN CO-OPERATIVES.

[TOM4CWB]

Bird,

I would like to see the CWB's contracts on malt barley, if they have any that is.

Selling 6row malt at feed prices is hard to fathom, so much for the CWB monopoly extracting a premium.

The fusarium free status of our barley should bring a premium, especially in the North American malt market.

Why would the CWB refuse to sell at a reasonable price for 6 row,(selling too low) it is unbelievable!

unless a large contracting program was done last spring before the drought...?

[charliep]

Tom4cwb - I would suggest that current market prices for 6row are substantially higher that current PRO prices but are getting diluted in the pooling process. Pooling is a combination of all sales during a crop year and the spreads the CWB assigns to the different classes.

Bird - A suggestion I would have is to encourage more direct relationships between maltsters and farmers. A complaint I hear from maltsters is the new street malt selection (blending at elevators) is they are not able to get the consistency of quality characturistics they need versus selecting at the farm gate and pulling directly to the plant.

A part of this may to have only one grade (no more sample, special or normal) and to allow maltsters to pay premiums for malt barley quality characturistics (may even be down to variety level). Part of the CWB role would to provide information to farmers as to what the value of these quality factors should be. The street malt barley programs (malt barley selected at the drive way and blended to meet quality specs.) run by grain companies would only recieve an initial payment.

[JD_GREEN]

Do I sense a talk of Identity preserved programs. Which brings me back to my original suggestion. If the identity and quality of malt barley can be better dealt with at farm levels, then are the maltsters in support of the CWB?? Oh yea and we definately need a bunch of overpaid undermotivated people working for the CWB to tell us lowly stupid farmers how to grow barley and to what the malt companies are looking for in quality. Believe me the malt companies can certainly tell us what they are looking for. (ie Warburtons and their IP program). Its funny how the canola industry knows what its needs of theirs customers are. And miraculously we have an open market system that works within that industry. My guess is if you allow the maltsters to work direct with producers, it may cause some severe friction between them and the wheatboard. Malt Barley is a "specialty crop" and needs to be treated as such with far more care than the wheatboard can offer. I trade special crops in the open market on a daily basis, and work with a trader that used to trade for the wheatboard. His comment,the wheat board did not allow its traders to maximize any returns as its traders saw fit. On numerous occasions his trading was halted at times when market opportunities were abundant. Political no doubt. And yes TOM I believe the CWB took huge positions on 6 row barley.

[TOM4CWB]

jd_green

I see the CWB's problems a leadership issue much more than:

"Oh yea and we definately need a bunch of overpaid undermotivated people working for the CWB to tell us lowly stupid farmers how to grow barley and to what the malt companies are looking for in quality."

The point of the CWB must be to facilitate sales and purchases rather than messing in the business of both farmers and processors!

CWB leadership in the past has both said and insinuated what you have just said, this must change if we are to produce crops profitably.

The CWB monopoly issue is destructive to our industry because it needs to promote the monopoly rather than promoting proven past performance.

With benchmarking impossible in a monopoly system, the CWB can never win, even if they do a better job.

The point is that I will sell for less and provide services at less than profitable levels at times bacause of long term relationships that are synergistic. Some how the CWB must allow these signals and relationships to be built on trust and fairness.

If I am out of the loop, and don't understand why a marketing decision is made, then I naturally distrust and question why a decision was made without my knowledge.

How do we establish trust relationships between farmers, grain handlers, and consumers of our products if we all are at each other's throats attacking each other!

I find this the most disturbing single event in the last 2 years, the CWB encouraging this squabling and in fighting! I even get caught up in this spirit at times, which is not productive especially for long term trust relationships which we need for our farms to be sustainable!

How do we remove the emotion out of selling our grain, like what we do in hay and straw sales! Why must the grain business be so embroiled in hatred and disgust?

[ianben]

Hi Tom
Heard a guy speak the other day. A dairy farmer who is trying to set up four farmer coops linked by a federation to handle milk prices over here.
His theory on marketing was the nearer the two parties where in size the more likly both parties would be happy. If one was bigger eventually he would bully, only natural.
When we deal hay and straw we are mostly dealing with equals.
When we deal grain your CWB is small by comparison to some.
I have had a trip round JD factories in Germany. When I compare our business with theirs I find big holes I could never fill.
A true expert for every position Departments farmers can only dream of pricing, customer relations, R&D, 2million dollars a day worldwide they claimed, advertising, quality control etc. etc.

I think I see his point. Can farmers on their own deal with a corprate giant?
Any comments?

[JD_GREEN]

Tom
YOU SAY "The point of the CWB must be to facilitate sales and purchases rather than messing in the business of both farmers and processors!" Who gives them this right to dictate that they will be the ones to do this. And who holds them accountable for their performance. You know TOM we could argue for days about THIS and THAT. But you know what it all boils down to is the "monoply" issue. Do you know that if I had a choice of marketing freely, or with the CWB, I might actually support them. Accountability is spelled with 14 letters because its a big word. This simply is what the CWB lacks, the ability to recognize how big and important that one word is. Open the books, become accountable and let the producer choose. This is what its all about TOM!!! Its not about "The CWB monopoly issue is destructive to our industry because it needs to promote the monopoly rather than promoting proven past performance." Its only about these issues because we have no other options. By the way we finally got an estimate on the average age of the producers at our local wheatboard meetings here recently. 55years old and going strong. What will happen TOM when my generation holds the voting power?? If the CWB feels they have opposition now, it isnt going to get any better in the future. FREEDOM OF CHOICE, thats it. SIMPLE

[TOM4CWB]

JD_GREEN,

You said;

"Do you know that if I had a choice of marketing freely, or with the CWB, I might actually support them."

This is my exact feeling, and the issue that is true for thousands of western Canadian grain producers!

I believe we must have a trust and assurance that the people we do business with care about our feelings and well being... this CWB monopoly hasn't created this environment...sadly the reverse has been the case...

thalpenny and CWB'ers, does this make sense? How can we believe what you say when we go the Court you argue the opposite to what you try to convince us of in your "accountability" media and meeting pronouncments?

[JD_GREEN]

Thank You
TOM WE ARE NOW IN AGREEMENT, AND I SHALL REST FOR ANOTHER TIME. LOL

JD_GREEN