How do you define Commodity Marketing?

[Steve]

Tom4CWB

You asked Vader why you called yourself “Vader” and I ask you why you call yourself Tom4CWB? If I recall correctly you said on of the threads that you would fight the CWB to your last breath.

[Steve]

Steve are you done golfing for the year or have you finally lost all your balls and can't go anymore. Tom4cwb is a tongue in cheek name.

I'am glad your back Steve and am looking forward to you adding some positive insight into how wheat and barley should be marketed by us farmers who have not retired yet.

I would like some marketing choices that look past the hood of the ordinary farm truck.

[TOM4CWB]

Steve;

You are right that I will fight ...injustice... and ...corruption... to my last breath at the CWB, and so should every other person who actually needs the CWB in the future.

TOM4CWB comes from the 2000 election, when I ran to be a CWB Director in CWB District 4.

Steve, if you need to, you can call me toll free 1-866-866-4292, if you live in SK. or AB.

I am VERY serious that the CWB must follow the CWB Act, and stop beating up on those farmers who are not the "think alike" type, for innovation and creativity needs to be encouraged and fostered, and beating up those who try the hardest is counter productive.

A voluntary CWB becomes harder each day to acheive, because every day mistrust and frustration is chipping away the foundation that remains for a viable reliable CWB in 5 years.

It seems that for all except Jim Chatenay, the CWB Directors have a death wish for the long term viability of a voluntary CWB.

The Majority of CWB Directors would rather destroy the CWB than have it be proven that a voluntary CWB is viable and in farmers and All Canadians best interests!

And it seems to me that every day the CWB Directors extend this death wish for the CWB, becomes a day closer to the point of no return... the day when the CWB is useless and must be dismantled... which means I must fight harder each day to expose CWB corruption, in order to give the CWB a chance to survive.

Does this make my position crystal clear Steve?

[melvill]

Parsley, again that gauntlet has been thrown down and I accept by first asking question.

1) You said that I promote my marketing philosophy. I challenge you, how do you know what my market philosophy is? As far as I can figure out we've never met, either one-to-one or in a group.

2) I have been doing farm marketing extension (teaching, coaching, urging cagoling) to farm managers since 1986. In that time I've met and talked with and taught and spoken to and coached hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of farm managers. My experience is that a majority could significantly improve their farm income by doing a better job of marketing what they produce. I don't care what market they want or prefer to use - Board or non-Board - as long as they improve. I stand firmly by the statement.

3) My only bias is the one mentioned above 2) above. I am very passionate in my belief that farm managers can dramantically improve their incomes by improving their marketing knowledge and skills. My livelihood comes from teaching and helping farm managers improve their marketing skills. In that vein, my self-interest could easily be that if the Board disappears that would mean there would be hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people would would need my services to learn how to better market wheat and malt barley. I could easily have employment for two lifetimes.

4) My uncle, who farmed and is now deceased, had heard that I had been teaching courses to farmers in the Valleyview area about the futures market and basis and why it very was important to understand those two concepts. His comment was that my grandfather would "turn over in his grave if he knew what I was doing". He further said that if I really wanted to help farmers I'd work toward getting all farm crops under the Board. He was strongly supported by two other farmers sitting at the table - one from Manning and one from somewhere near Barrhead. The other two suggested that they'd phone their MLA questioning why a government employee was undermining "the farmer's organization".

So, parsley, why if I'm such a strong supporter of supply management, would I be getting a dressing down from a relative and two other farmers.

My personal marketing philosophy is that farmers must be very good businessmen. That means they must be astute marketers just like any other successful business person. Farm managers can't just be producers and "sell" their products. They must market them.

[parsley]

Glad to hear that you are in support of farmers marketing what they grow and working towards it, and no we have never met, melville!

When you began with "in my experience", and then talked about supply and manage, though, and about farmers dumping their products and not knowing how to develop markets or to promote their products,it seemed to be setting the mood for thalpenny to top up the session with the merits of the single desk.

By gosh, melvill, I think I tried to shut the gate before you got through, so I guess I'm in trouble.

Parsley

[melvill]

Good morning, Parsley. When you took a whole day to answer my post, I thought that either he/she is 'travelling in a container or organic wheat to somewhere or maybe the epistle I wrote to you lesf you speechless. Wrong, wrong, wrong! If you were in a container you'd have a wireless computer. Speechless? Never. (Gosh I hope you have a sense of humour.)

I think that if, you reread the subject of your ire, you will see that I said "astute commodity marketing is a planned and carefully managed process". And it is, whether the product is durum or canola or purebred bulls or backgrounded calves. It requires careful planning and management beginning at the first step of the production process. I've always argued (somewhat with tongue in cheek) that the bull that a cow-calf producer chooses to use is the first marketing decision for the next calf crop. The 2004 canola marketing year begins if/when chemicals exclusively for canola are applied this fall. Surely those two examples are part of the planning and management process.

Now I'm going to challenge you one more time. (Please have a horse in my funeral procession!) If the Board were to disappear, there will be winners and losers. Some farms, maybe quite a few, will inevitably suffer a reduction in income until they adjust or until they choose to or are forced to leave the industry. Some farms, operated by astute marketers have a competitive advantage. They will likely experience an increase in income.

Farming is all about competitiveness. Astute marketers have a competitive edge. I would argue it's significant.

[melvill]

Please forgive my spelling in the previous post! My teachers would turn over in their graves.

[parsley]

melvill,

"Astute marketers have a competitive edge. I would argue it's significant." says melvill.

I thought about this this morning when labelling bags and I have to ask this question:

There are reams of expert marketers at the CWB costing farmers a fortune. Experts! By jove, they tell us at every opportunity how expert they are and how hopeless farmers are.

FACT
But these hopeless farmers overall, put more in their pockets from off-Board crops or they wouldn't keep growing them.

If what you say, melvill,is true about the astute marketers, then;

The Board didn't hire astute marketers OR

The Board marketer doesn't get a significant margin OR

The money isn't getting the extra margin to the farmer OR

The farmer can market just as well as the Board expert.

Parsley
PS
I was under the weather for a few days

[TOM4CWB]

Lee and Charlie;

See if you guys can get Agri-ville to put a spell checker in the system...

CBC Internet forums have one, as I am sure many others do!