Cropping decisions

[cottonpicken]

Seeing how you two dont contribute why dont you just skip over burberts posts.

I for one find them extremely entertaining,even if i dont agree with him.

And if your skin is to thin for a few hacks take your ball home,baby.

[TOM4CWB]

Dear WD9,

Deciding what to grow:

1.) Our family/farm chooses to grow crops that have market self-dicipline built into them... particularily I.P. seed, Canola, and straw.

2.) Our farm appreciates the market dicipline of transparent pricing, like Canola contract have, which extract a premium... EVEN WHEN CDN$ and quality could make them unreliable money makers... the Canadian marketing system maximises our returns in spite of these problems.

3.) As a last resort, because of rotation, we will grow wheat and barley for CWB Board contracts. CWB marketing has proven to be the least reliable, depreciate our produce to the maximum amount possible... and use every excuse possible to reduce our margins from acerage dedicated to these Board Crops.

[FarmRanger]

Well, Cotton, is it possible for a government to campaign on one platform of ideas and then find out that they aren't good ideas afterward? When companies like Telus start becoming income trusts to avoid taxes, then you have to question the wisdom of the initial campaign promise.

I'd rather see good decision making, no matter how politically damaging they are because the alternative is to damage our country.

Does anyone remember the hundreds of millions it cost the taxpayer for the Liberals to back out on helicopter contracts because they stupidly promised to cancel them in an election campaign? With all the broken promises in the red book, that was one that should have been broken.

Leadership is doing what's right no matter what the personal consequences. It's the difference between leading solely to remain in power, and leading for the benefit of the citizens of the country. It may take time, but I trust Harper will do what we voted for eventually. It won’t do any of us any good for him to ram try to ram something through parliament, get defeated, and then end up with the Liberals again. (Because we can pretty well guess what will happen to market choice if that happens)

[TOM4CWB]

FarmRanger,

Good Points!

I seem to remember the Liberals and a promise to end the GST... don't you?

That certainly did not stop them from getting re-elected!

Canadians are very forgiving people... the fact the CWB still has a monopoly... is positive proof!

[agstar77]

It's very debatable . Considering corn has also fallen in the U.S. Under your logic ,that could be blamed on the court decision also.

[wd9]

One interesting thing is the perception of the corporation in Canada - second only that a strong dollar is a good thing as people who collect a wage cheer every time the dollar goes up.

That there is a benefit to Canadians by lowering corporate tax. There isn't, in fact the opposite is true.

Corporations were designed to eliminate personal responsibility and to simply make money. All actions are to benefit the shareholder, and only the shareholder, not the environment, not the general public, etc.

The CWB shareholder is the government, not farmers. Technically Harper is the shareholder of the CWB. This is why there is the Act for the CWB. Wal_Mart or Shell do not have their own Act. The less the CWB needs or drains from the government the better the corporation is doing.

Is Ritter lying to the farmers? Doesn't matter, he is not corporately accountable to the farmers, only the Act and the government! You can't compare the CWB with a normal company, because it isn't.

[wd9]

Burbert, I am curious by what you mean "Grow only what the government says is a winner"?

Do you mean being limited to registered varieties, regulations imposed be the Pest Act in regards to clubroot in Alberta, etc?

Do you feel there should be no tables of margin for various crops published by the provincial governments?

Please explain.

[chaffmeister]

Agstar: If you think my logic can be used to blame the court decision for lower corn prices, either you (1) don't understand what I wrote, (2) don't understand how grain markets work, or, like Ritter, are simply blind to anything that makes the Royal Canadian Wheat Board look bad and will do whatever it takes to discredit the source.

Or maybe this explains why you support the CWB so much. You can't make sense out of some very simple and obvious market influences so there's no wonder you want someone else to do your marketing for you.

Ask any barley merchant or trader in Western Canada - "Why did you drop your cash price for domestic feed barley on Aug 1 of this year?" And then ask "Why was it such a large drop in price"? I'll bet a whole case of Johnny Walker Green Label that they won't say, "Because the corn price dropped".


What is so bloody sacred about the CWB that you can't even consider its shortcomings?

[charliep]

agstar77

I found your comment on corn interesting. Corn prices are actually up since July 31. Dec. corn on July 31 - $3.36. Close Friday - $3.70. A 10 % rise. To be fair, this is the top and bottom of the trading range over the past month.

Western barley over the same period has shifted from $176/tonne to Friday's close of $189. Will note the run at $220/tonne in the middle of the time period grain companies were out aggressively sourcing export feed barley. Western barley futures is pretty much trading landed US corn price versus international feed barley prices. You can evaluate this by looking at international feed barley prices as reflected by Montana versus local prices.

http://futures.tradingcharts.com/chart/BA/C7

http://futures.tradingcharts.com/chart/CN/C7

http://www.wheatgrowers.ca/pdf/media_releases/2007/Oct-19-07_CWBContinuestoSpreadFalseInformationBarley.pdf See graphs page 2.

An interesting comment with nothing to do with the original topic of the thread but selling feed barley will be like ice fishing this winter. Periods of boredom/lower prices as local feed barley prices sink to corn floor price followed by excitement as the grain companies/the CWB package a 75,000 tonne or so panamax sale to Saudi Arabia etal for camel feed.

[mb_rancher]

The way the CWB operates it is much like if you were being controlled by communist country? Having to sell grain that you own thru a marketing board who is lining their pockets off of the grain we grow. Its not right. Does anybody think it was the big money Ritter is getting now that changed his mid about dual marketing?

[cropduster]

Money is one thing for Ritter but ultimately he just follows the `little` head wherever it points!!!!!Started way back in Marengo school!!

[just_wondering]

wd-9
- projected profit margins, profitability
-rotation-mostly due to chemical rotation
-current pests and diseases ie: limiting wheat acres due to sawfly midge. We don't grow chickpeas because I can't pencil in 11 trips with a sprayer and still sleep at night.
-ease of large acre management eg: I don't grow flax because of straw management, and we don't do sunflowers because I like to be done combining before Christmas.
Above all we must be profitable.

Cotton- I for one think we should encourage more posters and diversity of thought so telling someone to leave because you don't like them to write is wrong , pay attention you might learn something. I noticed you never answered wd9's question, just Trolling are you?

-tirwin and nine420 About burburt when I read his comments I think he is not a farmer just one of those bitter folks in the city who's family lost the farm years back who don't know how it works now, one who think farmers are welfare cases, kind of sad really
It helps to read his comments in the voice of Gilbert Godfrey just to get in his mindset

[AdamSmith]

I just wish Burbert would share some of his FRAMING wisdom with us,

been doing a little carpentry lately and as a do it yourself kind a guy, I can always use some good tips.

[agstar77]

Did you account for currency change?

[charliep]

Agstar

You are right. Currency has taken some of the sting out of higher corn futures. Assuming 80 over, August 1 US corn price would have been about $180 track Lethbridge (loonie - 94 cents). Track southern Alberta price today (assuming same basis and a loonie of 1.04) - $175. I should note the quoted basis may be lower than the current market.

If you check page 8 this week Western Producer, current quoted PNW barley prices are USD $348 to $352/tonne.