the tribe has spoken

[Fransisco]

http://bloggn.grainews.ca/lee_hart/2011/06/cwb-needs-to-realize-the-tribe.html

<b>CWB needs to realize “the tribe has spoken”</b>


Canadian Wheat Board chair Allan Oberg may need a trip to the woodshed to help him move forward with his thinking on CWB reform, rather than dwell on the 75-year-old past.

I didn’t hear Oberg’s speech to Canadian Wheat Board “supporters” at the Farm Progress Show in Regina last week, but I did watch his nine-minute media question and answer period a few minutes later. It can be viewed on-line at realagriculture.com

The fact is, following the May 2 federal election the question now facing farmers and the board is not whether there should be a dual marketing system for Canadian wheat, but what role will the Canadian Wheat Board play in a new open marketing structure?

Oberg’s main interest appears to be in maintaining the status quo, somehow turning back the political clock, running some sort of Hail Mary pass that will stop the process that has already been set in motion. And I don’t see that happening.

When the chairman suggests the dual marketing question should be put to a vote of producers, my reaction is for god’s sake, how much more debate and discussion does this topic need? It has been an issue for the 25 years that I have been talking to farmers and I dare say it was coffee shop discussion long before that.

I may not have the highest germ test in the seed batch, especially when it comes to marketing issues, but I believe there are a couple of realities here.

First, the sun will come up tomorrow. And second, Western Canadian farmers will be growing and marketing wheat 20, 30 and 50 years from now whether the Canadian Wheat Board exists or not.

With the results of the federal election clearly based on a platform that included Canadian Wheat Board reform, this discussion is over. I believe the board now has one of three choices — lead, follow or get out of the way.

I haven’t heard anyone say the board should be dismantled. In fact, it is just the opposite. Politicians, economists and marketing specialist have all said they see a system where the board can contribute its expertise in a valuable role in new open market. It will be a different role, but still a valuable role, that could protect the interests of producers who prefer board services.

There should be a whole team of people working for the board with expertise in marketing, price pooling, grain quality, processing, production and weather. If that expertise cannot be reconfigured into some new marketing structure in an open market, it will be due to a lack of will and not a lack of opportunity.

I would hate to think at such an important juncture of Canadian agriculture that human defects such as fear, ego, false pride, self-centeredness and closed-mindedness would imperial this process of change. If there is one thing Western Canadian farmers have done over the past 50 years is adapt to changes in crop production and marketing. What is different now? Somehow canola gets from a seed in the ground to a four-litre jug of oil in my pantry and I don’t see any canola marketing board.

I get the impression the CWB frigate is sailing into harbor with the captain on the bridge declaring this vessel cannot be retrofitted — we are nothing without the monopoly. Is the board prepared to sink this ship with all hands on deck?

There is a risk that might happen. But, the current board has to keep in mind if the ship does go down, it will be its hand on the self destruct button and not the hand of the federal government, and not the collective hand of farmers who simply want the chance to market their own grain.

Lee Hart is a field editor for Grainews in Calgary

[Fransisco]

From this weeks agriweek...

<b>Mr. Give-Up</b>

The Wheat Board chairman wants to throw in the towel. He should.

Last week the chairman of the Canadian Wheat Board’s board of directors
reminded many people of a spoilt brat. Oberg gave the breakfast speech at the
Western Canada Farm Progress Show in Regina in which he said flatly that
the Wheat Board cannot survive without the lead-pipe buying and selling monopoly and the ability to bully farmers, the grain trade, the railways and everyone else who crosses its path.
Oberg said “the Wheat Board belongs to us. As farmers, we pay for its operations” but “we are not being allowed to decide its future.” “The CWB is the single desk.” He said the directors have examined possible business models for a post-single-desk operation, but no model “comes even close” to providing “value to farmers that the single desk does”. The speech dismayed the most confirmed supporters of the Board more than pro-choice people hoping for constructive change.

Oberg whined again that the government does not plan a producer vote on
proposed changes. As to the recent federal election as an expression of opinion, he said that the logic escapes him, and that no one knows why farmers vote for any particular party. Actually, it is clear to everyone but Oberg, and farmers never had the chance to vote to establish the monopoly.

Mr. Chairman said that if the Board “were” to continue in an open market, it would need to operate as a grain company, but it would have to rely on competing grain firms to conduct its business. The grain companies at presently are agents of the Board but would become its competitors and would not be
inclined to help it stay in business. Oberg does not even believe that a hard
core of farmers who support the Board ideologically will stay with it in a dual market. It was an inadvertent admission that all the Board’s puffery about the wonderful job it’s doing is just that. If only the farmers who voted for antichoice directors were to continue to use its services, the reformed Board would start with a bigger customer base than some established grain companied have.

The quickest to express its revulsion at Oberg’s defeatist position was Grain
Growers of Canada, which said that at a time that the Board’s employees and
western farmers require leadership from the chairman and the directors, they are getting a “Why bother?” attitude. GGC president Stephen Vandervalk said that if Oberg is not prepared to lead, negotiate the best possible deal and work with staff and farmers to design an organization capable of going forward, “then for goodness sake please resign and get out of the way so someone else
can.”

Oberg’s credibility also did not get much of a boost from the Western Grain
Elevator Assn., which categorically refuted his claims that grain companies
would refuse to handle a non-monopoly Board’s grain. WGEA executive director
Wade Sobkowich said that there has been no approach from the Board to
discuss possible scenarios. Its member firms, which account for over 90% of
the western grain volume, “look forward” to working with the Board to ensure an orderly transition to a monopoly-free dual market in the best interest of all stakeholders. He said handling grains and oilseeds for third parties and competitors is commonplace.

The honorable and practical thing for Oberg and all elected directors of like
mind to do is to resign. If they do not resign they should be removed by
agriminister Ritz, who has the authority to do so under the present Wheat Board Act.

This story is getting interesting.

[sumdumguy]

Hopefully they will get the ultimatum soon.

Get with the program or be gone!

[macdon02]

If there was an ounce of creativity at the board
they would use this opportunity to transform
the board into a leading edge organization that
provides trading information, market advice, a
full service trading house, give us the cadillacs of
service. Up to date by the minute news feeds
with email text phone contact. They need to
offer service rather then stone age money and
supply management. Dream a little the sky is
the limit get out of the 30s and forget about
some stupid single desk that is only keeping us
prisoner....... But that is a little too much to ask
for a bunch of twits entitled to their entitlements

[Integrity_Farmer]

You people are ****ing delusional.

[bucket]

I would say that Mr. Oberg kicked his employees in the balls with the comments he has made.

I am not one to give praise to the employees at the best of times, but if they feel they are doing their jobs, it must be disheartening to hear the boss say that their work is only dependant on the single desk.

Surely there is more talent at the board than that.

If not, boot their sorry asses out Mr. Oberg. Let them find a career at a grain company.

Mr. Oberg can't play both sides of the fence. If the cwb has no value without the single desk and there will be no single desk august 2012, better start with the pink slips now.

[Integrity_Farmer]

The only time the CWB was discussed during the campaign was when dufus himself, Gerry Ritz said that farmers should decide what happens to the CWB.

So it wasn't really an election issue.

[silverback]

Ah yes, the old hidden agenda thing again!

Guess you were one of the only ones fooled. The libs and ndp were screaming how they were going to kill the board and for some reason the prairies voted for them again!

Next you guys will say they rigged the election.

[JohnGalt]

The CWB directors will never enable any possible solutions to secure their position after August 1, 2012. They will do everything in their power to ensure that the CWB fails within a year so that they can say "we told you so".

Just like the CWB marketing department will continue to do a mediocre job this year, because if they actually tried to perform, it would make the previous performance look bad.

We all need to remember to do just enough! If we do too good of a job, it will continually be expected of us!

[Integrity_Farmer]

We just had a referendum on the CWB and the CWB won a huge majority.

Or maybe you are going to claim it was a rigged vote.

[Integrity_Farmer]

JohnGalt,

It's your idea, you figure it out, you stupid ****.

Morons like you have no idea how to make the impossible work, yet you criticize the elected directors for not "trying."

It's like a childish game.

P.S. Go **** yourself.

[FarmRanger]

We had a referendum on the CWB?

Who's delusional again?

[FarmRanger]

....and of course those who oppose the single
desk are the ones who are rude. How could we
have missed that.

[Integrity_Farmer]

Remember the director elections smart guy.

[FarmRanger]

Ahh, the director election referendum. It's a
good thing thing for us prairie farmers that the
federal election referendum superseded it.