Story about Viterra grading problems in Australia

[chuckChuck]

http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/02/04/3129863.htm

4 February, 2011 8:13AM ACDT
Grain growers and State Opposition want answers

About 140 grain growers have attended a meeting at Tailem Bend to put questions to officials of the grain handling business, Viterra.

Many who delivered grain to the Tailem Bend silos last month think their harvest was undervalued because of the grading techniques used by Viterra.

They are also angry there were long delays to unload grain.

Leighton Huxtable from Karoonda was unimpressed with Viterra's responses to farmers' concerns.

"It just goes to show that when a company has got a monopoly like they have and they will treat growers as they have his year and they will continue to treat growers like that until we do something about it," he said.

Viterra says it had broadened its post-harvest review in response to farmers' concerns.

The meeting discussed a possible class action against Viterra over the payments farmers received.

One grower said he had been advised by a QC that any action would cost at least $2.5 million.

Michael Schaeffer from the the South Australian Farmers Federation believes it would not help mend the relationship.

"If a class action goes ahead it certainly hinders our ability to negotiate and get Viterra to act in a far better manner into the future," he said.

Opposition call for committee

It has been suggested by the South Australian Opposition that a Parliamentary Select Committee needs to be established to handle this year's record grain harvest.

Opposition spokesperson for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Adrian Pederick, says the difficulties posed by a harvest this large need to be given special consideration.

"I would like to see the terms of reference include an examination of delays in delivery of grain, classification methods and competition within the grain storage and handling sector.'

Mr Pederick announced today that he will be moving a motion in Parliament next Tuesday to establish the Select Committee.

'Yet again the current Government is not interested in backing our state's farmers. I intend to give them the hearing they want on this issue,' Mr Pederick said.

[gregpet]

Sure glad we have the CGC in Canada
so this would not be an issue here.

[Hopperbin]

Feb. 4? So is there any news after the fact? Should be by now. What does Mallee have to say? Do they keep delivery samples like our elevators so we can dispute grades and or dockage?

You did mention that there was a problem with a monopoly here, what is up with that?

[Hopperbin]

In your story is only one silo or grain gathering station or point. Not so uncommon. The farmers have risen up, this is from Feb. 4, so what has happened since?

[gregpet]

Only news i could find.

<a
href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/storie
s/2011/03/10/3159953.htm?
site=riverland">Grain handling inquiry
wins support</a>

[gregpet]

[URL="http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/10/3159953.htm?site=riverland%22%3EGrain%22"]Grain handling inquiry wins support[/URL]

[farmaholic]

Gregpet;
Regarding the CGC, my experience with the harvest sample program has the CGC grading my representative samples poorer than what the local terminals are willing to give me. I realize you have to take into account what the terminals have in store to work with but most times they give me a better grade than the CGC does. Once, the CGC actually got my shipped malt barley regraded from feed to malt because the locked box sample(what I delivered) was better than what the elevator shipped on my behalf(admixture problems{wheat}).
Overall I don't think the CGC will be our savior. The problem will be a possible consolidation of the grain buyers and lack of competition. I hope the smaller Inland Terminal Companies will be able to hold their own after 08-2012.

[malta]

"It just goes to show that when a company has got a monopoly like they have and they will treat growers as they have his year and they will continue to treat growers like that until we do something about it," he said.

We are doing something about it, we are dumping the monopoly.

[oneoff]

I totally agree with malta's point. In fact, he/she beat me to making it. Perhaps chuck et al will someday see the correlation and similarity between the Australian Viterra situation and the Canadian CWB method of operation regarding the statement

"It just goes to show that when a company has got a monopoly like they have and they will treat growers as they have his year and they will continue to treat growers like that until we do something about it," he said.

[malleefarmer]

what has happened since is falling numbers machines at all major sites.

alternate storage and handling at tailembend is in the wind, please read some previous posts.

was all basically done visually at tailembend last year nearest site with falling numbers was about 120kms away inland ie going against the frieght

monoplolys are full of piss and wind and treat farmers with disdain and doubt our intelligence.

there was a canadian guy there from viterra not mayo but high up and he said and i quote "in all my years of bussiness ive never seen such a angry mob,think i will have to watch my back as i leave" he joked

and ps mr huxtable is my best mate lives up the road about 60kms.

watch this space

[oneoff]

Ah ha!! Found it Here's the link

http://agriville.com/cgi-bin/forums/viewThread.cgi?1201368010


And here are the very words

Vader posted Jan 26, 2008 12:20
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
talked to a farmer yesterday whose durum went 70 bushels per acre. On 2000 acres the gross revenue is $1,750,000.00.

I have heard similar stories around Kindersley and Swift Current of durum that went 50 bushels per acre. Now that is only $650,000 for a thousand acres but in that case the lentils and canola took him well into the millions as well.

I hear all the time here on angryville the time people like Saskfarmer bitching about the CWB because he can't get $17.00 for his durum and he blames this on the CWB.

In the case of a few rich farmers who can sit on all of their grain while the raging masses sell out early perhaps Saskfarmer has a legitimate argument. Perhaps we did cost him $5.00 per bushel on his durum. Perhaps it ran 50 bushels per acre and perhaps he had a thousand acres. And perhaps he could have earned an additional quarter of a million dollars.

I could argue that this is a zero sum game and that on the flip side there is another farmer that could have had the same 50 bushel crop on the same acreage base of 1000 acres and he could have sold his durum for $7.00 per bushel and for that farmer we made him an extra quarter million dollars. I could argue that for the health of the community it is better that the second farmer is able to pay down his debt and remain a constructive player in the industry and the community while poor Saskfarmer was prevented from expanding his farm by another section. The section that farmer number two may have sold after making his decision to sell his durum at 7.00.

But it is not a zero sum game. In fact we know that the CWB is asking $22.00 per bushel for durum today when the US elevator price reported here on Agri-vill is only $17.00. Now those elevators will sell your durum for $22.00 if they can get their hands on it.

So we see that for starters the CWB is keeping about $5.00 per bushel out of the handling companies pockets and putting it in farmers pockets right now.

Further we know that the average weighted selling price of durum in the US according to the North Dakota Wheat commission is about $10.00. This is further proof of the value of the CWB. The CWB has added to the bottom line of Canadian farmers on a 3 million tonne program an extra $73.00 per tonne or $220,000.00.

So yes the downside is that we kept Saskfarmer from buying another section of land where he might next year make enough extra money to buy out another suffering neighbor who had to sell a section to Saskfarmer.

The upside is that the Ag industry in Canada made an extra almost quarter of a BILLION DOLLARS.

And that is just on Durum.

Wait till you see my analysis on Spring Wheat and Malt Barley.

Rod Flaman
CWB Director - District 8
306-771-2823
rodflaman@imagewireless.ca

Oh and by the way. The CWB Rocks.

End of quote

And that just might explain the mind set of top CWB directors and the unredeemed brownie points being built up by mouth pieces by supposed supporters of a CWB that has morphed into a dispicable monster.

[bucket]

And we are still waiting for the analysis on wheat.

[SASKFARMER3]

AH I love that one it brings tears to my eyes.

[oneoff]

And since I personally phoned Rod Flaman and asked him if he was the author of that diatribe; don't anyone tell me that maybe those weren't his thoughts and words.

[oneoff]

Of course that was back in the days when I was naive enough to believe that common sense; fair play and a sound argument would carry the day in any debate. Now it seems that pissing on someone's grave is one of the greatest victories that can possibly be achieved.