CWB wants to import CHEAP EU Feed Grain?

[charliep]

Ianben

I would be mad if someone quoted Black sea plus. Western Canadian feed grains are being priced off landed US corn.

An interesting year with almost no way of knowing what will happen.

Milling quality will be interesting. Canada will supply domestic/North America and premium customers in south east asia/europe. Central (including Mexico) and South America customers will get remainder based on established relationships. All other customers (except for aid) will have to do business elsewhere - no supplies/a domestic feed market will use it. None of the other major exporters outside EU (noting your comments) have excess supplies.

Feed grains are an extremely dynamic market. It would appear between Europe and others there will be lots of feed wheat. Watch the USDA corn estimate Monday - depending which side of 9 bln bu the corn estimate comes, we have potential for a limit move - the only question is which direction. Fasten your seat belts.

[TOM4CWB]

ADAMSMITH:

That wasn't very nice... about the CWB being..., like..., hem......

Talk about taking litter...ary license...

This must be an entertaining and informative site... lots of Etraffic!!!

[AdamSmith]

TOM4CWB;

I just swing at what thrown at me.

[AdamSmith]

That should read; I just swing at what's thrown at me.

[parsley]

Good Morning flatbroke,

I re-read your comment

"if we don't get out of this "you against me" attitude and into "us against them", there won't be any us. "

It has merit.

But first of all, we have to be able to openly discuss an issue. Not discuss feelings. Or what your "beliefs" are. thalpenny talked about his "belief" on another thread. Beliefs have to get put on the table, flatbroke, and if you want "us" to become a team, you have to be willing to take a good look, in the light of day, at some hard questions. You'll notice the hard questions have been passed over.

You see, what it amounts to is.... I don't want to become an "us" with partners that refuse to look at the hard, cold facts.

And that is what has been presented to you on other threads.....hard, cold facts. About the Code of Conduct lies, about licensing lies,about PRO lies, and on and on....so address them with some good arguments and answers, because thalpenny can't.

Parsley

[flatbroke]

OK, here goes... First please allow me to apologise for my sarcasm. I'll try to adress some of the things flung at me if possible here. How about barley pros first.... Perhaps I'm being over-simplistic, but this is my take on it ; Say for instance you and I get together with some buddies who have between us 100,000 bus of barley, for example. We call up Mr. foreign country and ask what we could get for this package. They reply " We can do $4.50 if you can guarantee 100,000 bus. (I know, but let's dream big) So we then go to the others with this news. Meanwhile, Bob and Jim heard a rumor of $5.00 offers in the near future and back out, leaving us with 75,000 bus. We call the buyer again... "Sorry, but that won't fill our order, but we'll take that much for $4.10" Now our other sellers are suspicious of us and wonder if they'll even get that much... They call up a feedlot and are offered $3.97 A couple more take it, thinking "at least it's certain, these other guys have already dropped our expected price..." You see where this is going. Maybe I'm missing something, but this is the problem with a "dual" market. How the heck can you forcast a return before anyone's committed the volume? It seems to me a catch-22. They can't attract the bushels without a high pro, but can't release a high pro without reasonable expectation of enough deliveries to fill commitments. I can speculate with canola, peas, and feed barley, but I can deliver wheat off the combine to pay bills without having to sell to the (typically) lowest prices of the year. Perhaps if my finances weren't so tight I'd feel differently. Aside from that, I really feel that they are in a better position to market and export my grain than I am. That's why I consider myself a producer, not a marketer / exporter. I've had discussions at great length with some fine older gentleman who farmed before the CWB came into existence, and to a man they would NEVER wish to return to that. I respect their opinion greatly, and by no means consider myself to be more clever than they, like some board-bashers I've spoken with. Do I think the board needs some changes? Absolutely! And possibly some major ones at that. But I think we ought to seriously consider the consequenses before throwing the baby out with the bathwater. An interesting phenomenon I've seen lately in farmers is an absolute willingness to cut our own throats as long as we can make our neighbors bleed as well, hoping they'll reach anemia before us. I've seen our wheat pools and co-ops turned into publicly traded corporations for the sake of greed, and I can't help thinking the founders must be spinning in their graves. Perhaps I'm just naive, but I do believe the board, being the last thing left resembling a co-op (albeit loosely) deserves a hard look before turning our backs on it. I appreciate your interest in my rantings, I don't expect to change your minds, but I have enjoyed this exchange of opinions. Thanks guys!

[TOM4CWB]

Flatbroke;

I hope one of the changes that could take place with the CWB, is that it would become a Co-operative, and I would have the opportunity to become a member, or not, depending on how accountable it became to it's members.

The biggest problem I see with the CWB, is the sales timing issue, with the sales department of the CWB loosing it's real function, to pool grain prices from throughout the year.

A average pool price that delivers below average prices is not at all helpful as a marketing tool.

Being forced to partake in a poorly administrated pool, under threat of being thrown in Jail (as some are already booked for Oct. 31, 02) creates political prisioners, and indeed is a shamefull way to treat any person who lives in a free and democratic nation.

If we need cashflow in the fall, we have cash advances, and need not sell at harvest lows, if they in fact do exist in the Canadian wheat and barley markets.

The CWB democracy issue is a red herring.

Without respect for each others priviledge to be free and to make individual decisions, we could have a vote to make anyone a slave, and to confiscate their assets, in order to make the majority who voted rich... which of course is not the intent of a free and democratic society.

Yet this is exactly what the present CWB board of directors/federal government is doing... making certain "designated area" slaves, confiscating their assets, and even throwing them in jail for objecting.

Change will occur, but will the CWB survive???

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting a different result each time...

[parsley]

Good Morning flatbroke,

Thanks for the response, because at least we can have a normal conversation...... just like we're having morning coffee at the Flatterbroking Coffee Shop!

Your response only deals with 'Why I like single desk" instead of answering my questions. Let's condense what you have shared...
1.Marketing has its' pitfalls and
2. Grandad warned us about life without the Board.

#1...simply put, the seedgrowers seem to manage quite well, applying for export licenses, being granted export licenses and exporting. I don't see them lobbying as a group to have their seed business earnings pooled through the Board.

The kamut growers are the same. They get no-buyback export licenses from the Board and they seem to have a good business with not one peep from them wanting to start a "kamut " Board pool.

The big feed mills are exporting.. If pooling was so good, why doesn't the Canadian Wheat Board pool all the grain that passes through the Export Manufactured Feed Agreement? They don't. They have chosen not to. The big feed mills are not lined up asking the grain to pass through the Board and neither is the Board insisting they do. Why not? If Parsley has to go through the Board, WHY don't the big corporations, flatbroke? That's my point.

You want to talk about how good single desk selling is. But if it is so good for you and I, why isn't it good for all these other groups?

You cannot dismiss the question. For example, if voting is available to a whole lot of other groups, do you want someone doing your voting for you? Don't just defend what the Board is doing by saying a) a nice old man said so, or b) I think I'll botch marketing , instead answer the questions.

The Wheat Board lied about the way the PRO is made up and they got caught at it. Shouldn't you be looking for ways to see that they don't lie again? If they will lie over the PRO, would you not agree that there is a good possibility that when the CWB books are opened up, there could be a fiasco? 4 -5 Billions of dollars available every year, with no-one being able to check up on what has been going on. As a farmer, are you not concerned that the system that is in place with no consistent auditing, and with no accountability at the CWB. is a perfect environment for less than honest behavior?

You said, flatbroke,

Do I think the board needs some changes? Absolutely! And possibly some major ones at that. ",

But you don't say what they are. Parents often cannot see any problems at all with their children, and consequently, the teacher is always wrong, but in the light of day, little Johnny actually can be a bad little rat.

What are the changes you refer to, flatbroke? As a Board supporter, if you don't make a serious attempt at making changes, the Board WILL be gone. Ordinary farmers like yourself and myself are the only ones who can demand and insist on changes. Board Staff will try to be sarcastic with you, they will try to intimidate and humiliate you, but they are just that...staff. If you truly want the Canadian Wheat Board to continue, then give me some reasons how it will be able to continue. For instance,
..... 'the lying has got to stop'. or

..... "Political donations cannot come out of the pooling accounts.' or
.....etc

Unless Board supporters help to clean up the Canadian Wheat Board, we can all presume you fully endorse what is going on, and what is going on will eat the CWB alive.

Parsley