CWB shedding the fat

[highwayman]

Reports are that the CWB have started laying off the redundant staff that have been weighing it down for years, in order to transition to a leaner marketing machine. Long overdue IMO. Spoke with a board FBR at the Crop Production Show and couldn't believe his scorched earth attitude and general disregard for farmer opinion. Every suggestion I made towards a more accountable organization, his response was that I didn't understand pooling and the methods that farmers use to market oilseeds and pulses could never be applied to wheat and barley. There is no room for this kind of an attitude by the CWB employees if they want any support what so ever from the farm gate. The level of bitterness that some of these people display towards those that they claim they represent is astounding. The refreshing enthusiasm that upper management has conveyed with a new business plan,(ie: shorter pooling periods, cash pricing etc.), obviously hasn't filtered down through their own rank and file. Unfortunate for them.

[Wheatking]

I have no idea of the answer, but has
there ever been a time when the board
has had to lay off employees, either
during crop disasters, or re-
organization.

Seems they just keep adding useless
programs like the weatherbug and hire
more employees to administer them.
Perhaps if they trimmed the fat a decade
ago they may have had a chance for
survival.

[bucket]

Should have been done years ago.

The Richardson family could have done the weatherfarm on their own dime and put a station at each of their oil sites instead of using farmers money.

[highwayman]

It has been reported that Minister Ritz is also encouraging the CWB to issue no-cost export licences to those that wish to market their grain outside of the board before Aug 1. Will be very interesting how this is received by all parties involved.

[shaney]

>

[shaney]

[bigzee]

Just what we need another "IP" durum. First it was Navigator, then Patterson's Eurostar, and now Enterprise. I was in the Navigator program for a couple yrs till i realized how unfair it was to pay such an enormous price for seed, then have to give it all back at such low level returns. Course it had to go back to Viterra. Enterprise will be the same thing as the rest. They will offer a so called "premium" to get the gullable ones to grow it, then when they get enough acres there goes the premium. There is no real insentive to grow any IP variety. It will be too bad if all of a sudden that is all there is to grow is these varieties, seed costs will kill us.

[shaney]

Sorry to break it to you but in the new open wheat
market these kinds of IP programs are going to
become very much the norm. We are going to say
more of them and less of just grow it and we will
market it.

[checking]

Totally agree with you, bigzee, on your post.

However, Navigator didn't have to be IP for Viterra. It was the cheap sell out of our WGRF checkoff dollars by WGRF that developed it that cause Navigator to slip from public domain. It is the reason why I have ever since asked for the checkoff return. WGRF can't be trusted that it wouldn't do the same thing again. No real problem for them though. They'll just get their funding indirectly from farmers through rail cap overages with a government wink (perk).

It doesn't have to be shaney's way if enough of us refuse to buy in. Just transfer over what a pissed off public on the control of the internet can cause. We could have the same power over the control of seed.

[shaney]

Checking,

My way? Its not exactly my way. Not participating
in an IP opportunity because you have to buy
certified seed seems odd but its your decision.

Lots of farmers, handlers and processors want
these programs and as I mentioned they are going
to grow in drastic numbers now that the CWB is
gone.

If you don't believe its an opportunity for your farm
then you are correct, you don't have to participate.

[ajl]

Totally agree with BigZee. The problem is
that the companies cannot resist the
opportunity to manage the process in order
to harvest farmer equity. ie the grade is
never good enough along with over priced
seed. If our checkoff money is developing
these varieties, they need to have more
than one company distribute it otherwise
it guarantees monopoly abuse. All
monopolies private and public will abuse.

[monte]

I like these contracts if they make me more
money. I have the choice.