What Happens When the CWB Goes Away? Mike Krueger

[Braveheart]

Mbratrud, good questions and thoughts although the cash advance administration already handed off I believe.

My thoughts are this: First the CWB old commissioners always stressed the board had 3 pillars, single desk, pooling, and government guarantees.
So the single desk goes, focus on the other two.

CWB could position itself in the industry as the "Pooling Provider". They have experience in this. The CWB could run multiple pools, shorter pools, longer pools (god forbid), but what I'm really saying is adapt pooling into a more flexible and valuable tool for farmers. After farmers have booked enough forward contracted grain to cover obvious cashflow needs, pooling could be an attractive way to manage price risk on some remaining inventories.

The government guarantee will remain for awhile so that's moot.

Contracts with the CWB to change. Current contracts are more of a loose arrangement of offer by farmer, accept some or all or none by CWB. Contracts would have to be binding on both parties.

After the North Africa discussion I really wonder if the third pillar, the single desk, was really a pillar to support buyers and not add value to the farmers.

[freewheat]

WHy do we need the cwb in a voluntary way? I fail to see why we need any cwb at all. I suppose for those who wish to pool, but really, why not let it die? Why do we care if they survive at all/ Just curious.

[mustardman]

The voluntary pool is a red herring.It will die. It will be run by political hacks. The gov't doesn't want it to survive

[wd9]

As long as it is a true open market in terms of that voluntary CWB.

[Francksaskfarmer]

Free wheat, I understand why you might feel this
way about the CWB and from the sound of it you
would rather let it go.
I feel that the CWB could be a kind of pressure
valve in the canadian marketplace. With the
proper management and programs it could be an
appealing option and would provide more
competition where we as farmers would have
some control. Much like FCC (and I think I recall
the fact that you are not a fan of FCC either) it is
an option that can make sense.
Take the twisted ideology away and put business
forward and it ought to work. What mbratrud
suggested back in August has a lot of merit, if the
8 amigos had any business sense and would
have acted in the interest of the corporation on
may 3rd the CWB would still have cash advance
(which can be a great income generator, we as
farmers still benefit from that with the CCGA) it
would not have lost some "key employees" to
foreign companies on top of that. There is a
voluntary model that could work, and any time
wasted is less of a chance to have the cwb assets
that we have paid for, work for us.
When the BOD is axed I hope that the new
appointed directors are people that have the will
to make it work, with the creativity and business
savyness to come up with options that even you
might find appealing. These new directors need to
Be willing to commit 100% of there production (I
say willing not obligated) and act on it. I
personally would not mind taking on the
challenge, but on the other end I appreciate the
open market of the other crops. Much time has
been waisted. I was told a week ago (by one of
the 8) that the CWB staff has been coming to the
bod with options that were turned down because
of ideology and Henri confirmed it when he
alluded to the staff discouragement.
This court challenge is costing us money not so
much in the cost of the legal action but the lost
opportunities of pricing wether through CWB or
the trade.
The 8 amigos are on a criminal sabotage mission.
They have to be stopped before we lose it all,
these are your and my assets, they have been
very mismanaged and as much as I don't mind
the private trade I don't care for giving them
anymore than I have too.
I encourage anybody that wants to speed up the
transition to support the wcwga legal action.
Let's put this one to rest and build for the future!

[freewheat]

I totally get your points. I appreciate you answering my question so well. I'm just really fed up. Under the current conditions within the board, i see no point in having it exist. IF oberg and the crazy 8 were trying to transition the board, i would no doubt think much differently.

[wilagro]

The reason why a good many of you producers are "fed-up" with the CWB is that you have been told so MANY LIES about the CWB from its detractors that you don't know which way is up. In other words...you've been bamboozled by pros who know what THEY are doing.

Perhaps when the CWB is no more, the truth will finally hit home.

There are a few agitators on this forum who have been "stirring" up things for years. They are like a "typhoid Mary" who goes on year after year spreading their contagion.

[gustgd]

Wilagro. Which lies? Maybe someone can clear
things up.

[Tom4Wildrose]

Wilagro,

Take a look, OR second look at Shaney's interview with Henry Vos.

Your words are hollow... Canola proves this beyond the shadow of a doubt.

We do need a stable system... and Chairman Oberg is fighting for his $100K job way more than for grain growers that commercially produce 80 percent of what the CWB handles.

I had hoped the 'Choice' transition would go MUCH more smoothly than this... as had Henry, Jeff, and the vast majority of commercial grain growers in western Canada.

We sow what we reap... and Oberg is sowing neither farmer co-operation nor preserving our markets or good will that the CWB has created over the past 50 years with customers.

THis is truly a shame.

[buzz]

I have confidence that farmers will figure out how to work with the grain trade to work everything out.

[Hopperbin]

I believe Freewheat is correct. The cwb should not work against the private trade in any way. By giving it preferencial treatment that the private trade does not have will be bad for all in my eyes. Grain trade will work just fine, let the pros do the walking. The CWB had their chance to improve themselves in the face of strong opposition, they have failed. Willie I do not take blind faith in anyones statements. Yet someone can repeatedly tell you their name is Fred and you would repeatedly tell their name is John. How do you get John out of Fred? After all is said and done, shutting down the CWB completely is the correct thing to do.

[craig]

Wilagro
It's refreshing that there has been someone to counter the propaganda department of the CWB. I would consider these people the pros at stretching the truth well pass the realm of reality. I wait for the real truth to come out but it will likely be long since gone in the paper shredders of the back rooms of the board

[Fransisco]

Wilagro gust asked you a fair question. What lies?

[wilagro]

Fran...too many to list.

[Hopperbin]

Will counters a question with a question. In hopes of avoiding the innitial question.