So when prices finally hit the fan now farmers are finally seeing whats going on!

[dave4441]

I have learned to worry about what I can control. You are focused on 2013 and I am focused on 2015. You are in a trap. I have worked for a chem company. I get what the reps have to do, have to promote, it't their job. Chem industry has gotten a bit greasy I admit. I don't like the scare tactics about inventory, but I can't control that. I work with it and know my agronomy enough (yeah I am getting abit weak in this area) to know when to spray and when to hold. I don't like railway incompetence but I am forced to deal with it everyday. I think about it every single day but I don't rant and rave about it or swear at them on phone or act like an idiot or try to think I could run a railroad cause I don't have the skill set to run a railroad, its not my business. I try and understand what their capacity issues are just like my business and my farm. You guys are talking about grain industry staff like there is a whole collusion from mgmt. to graders to **** with the grades. Grading grain is difficult, especially this year as there are so many grading factors all coming together at once. I don't know how to do it. Try and learn it (it really is in the best interest of your business), but don't think for a second that mgmt lines up their staff and tells them to **** the farmer. Do you realize how hard that is to do, when many of your staff are from farms or farm themselves?? One conversation or discussion with staff about doing this could destroy a company. Do you have any clue about how that conversation would go over? You don't have a god given right (although many have a family given right) to be profitable in your business. You have to earn it. End of rant.

[dave4441]

And I don't drive trucks to USA.

Start thinking like a supplier and not a customer. Farmers are customers when they pick up chemical and suppliers when they sell grain. You might be amazed what people do when you act like a supplier instead of a customer.

[bucket]

So when you call an elevator about wheat and they tell you the grade will be a 3 or feed because that's what all the samples they gave seen from other producers that's OK.

I am looking towards 2015. Pricing 2013 into 2014 or 2015 isn't looking backwards.

But knowing that hermanson identified these rail problems in 1997 shouldn't continue to be ignored.

Maybe your business would be better off had those issues been worked on over the last 17 years. But it sounds like you like the system because that's your edge and you can't compete if the system was fixed. You seem to be the guy that says to his customers take it or leave it because you are working in a limited space.

Sure you work them to your advantage but the industry players as a whole. Not so much.

[dave4441]

Give me a break.

What is SGS calling your grain?

[bucket]

I have seen enough grain to know it's a 1 and 2. I can send it in. But the grain I contracted was based on what they seen back when I signed the contract.

At the time there wasn't enough price difference between a 1 or 2 to split hairs over. I was wanting delivery. The price was adequate not to build bins.

But maybe you know my business better.

[dave4441]

So you are arguing with them on grades based on the premise that "you've seen enough grain to know the difference between a #1 and #2"?? How is that working? It's not 1980. How business is being done changes.

[dave4441]

I spent 6 years on Sask Pulse and Pulse Canada. As much as 40 days per year working on these issues and I pushed both orgs to invest in the transportation file. How would problems in transportation help me compete? That's retarded. It adds risk, and I spent time publicly working on this.

My customers? You mean the ones overseas? They aren't happy either but whining on agriville doesn't get product to them. I actually work everyday on this "file". We push CN to get cars everyweek. And for our suppliers, we try to buy enough grain to meet the wild assed transportation environoment's needs. Do I spend time talking about what Hermanson should have done 17 years ago? **** no. I am too busy trying to sort it out on a day to day basis. You live in the past dude!

[bucket]

dave4441

Holy **** are you dense.

I am not arguing what the ****ing grade is on my contract. They seen the grain. The price between a 1 and 2 was five cents. I signed it up as a 2 knowing that I could make grade and gain if they bought it as a higher grade. The unload protein would be a bigger gain.

I know my new crop is a 2 and have sold to other places as that. Have been told that if it bleaches out it will still be a 2 providing mildew doesnt affect it. I can live with that.

Some have graded it a 3 but I just thank them for the time they took.

[Klause]

Wow....


Maybe the CWB should have maintained its monopoly... It's becoming blatantly obvious many can't market in the open trade.


Feel for ya dave.... Good luck in your enterprises.

[dave4441]

Been called a lot of things but dense is usually not one of them.

Sorry, I now read between the lines and your problem is your contract reads "off the combine" as the delivery period and they won't take it. Of course the company should have realized that "off the combine" could mean Aug 15 to Sept 30th. I always wonder why companies put "off the combine" on contracts when they don't realize when growers will be able to harvest their grain.

[bucket]

The contract was for delivery in august /September.

I have stayed in contact because I would like to deliver all my grain there and have told them that. I don't mind having a lower price when I do the math on hauling further.

That being said both parties signed the contract and they have had time to make their logistics work.

And this has nothing to do with the cwb it's about honoring the contract. But since you brought it up, same thing happened when a farmer signed a 100 tonne contract and was only allowed to haul 45 percent under the old rules.

Same shit different pile.

[dave4441]

And I agree, that is bullshit, happened last fall to us for a couple weeks, but company got it moving in a reasonable time period. I would hope that they take it shortly. It is hard to be perfect on this stuff and we live with an imperfect system. It is the companies job to try and put enough time into the contracts in order to fulfill both sides of it with contractual periods.