Chocolait Bars and Fertilizer

[silverback]

AAAAA, we are all getting screwed on cwb prices equally so it is ok. No special deals for the farmers that actually want to be able to make their own decisions. You will all be happy getting what is left after administration costs because that is the best that could have been done. Nobody deserves a better price than bubba because we are all just farmers in the end.

[Burbert]

So you duds enjoy, high/high/higher fertilizer prices and high/high/higher energy/input prices. Inflation is a good thing, framers love to be crushed into the dirt. Yes indeed it is wonderful to be a framer in todays world. But just remember only a short time ago, we had all the above, poor grain prices mad kows and spent our time begging the gov't for handouts. Don't feel that, will ever happen again, I guess. Enjoy the feeling, I agree, but those times will return, I suspect, sooner than later. As for you f---s feeling bad about me, stick in in your ear or rear, for all I care. You duds are fools thinking that the good times are here to stay, grow up! Our grain company friends,railroad, PC's in power pals are going to save the day, right on duds, NOT likely to happen! Tink about that for a while, Marketeers only look out for themselves, plunder and pillage while times are good, chisel snivel and whinnn when times get tough. What else is new? Bet we have an eeeelection call soon, duh!

[FarmRanger]

Well, this "dud", as you so affectionately put it, is wondering what the CWB has to do with high input prices? The recent barley fiasco has made their effect on output prices pretty obvious .

[caseman]

Burbert is a complete idiot.

[SASKFARMER3]

This years winner of the Most ridiculous writer on Agri-ville goes to?

BURP FART

No surprise.

[Burbert]

Gee guys, reality really bites, doesn't it? Sorry to bring you down, from your drug induced/legend in your own time framer highs! I hope the dirty 30's return for everyone except me. Now I am a real marketeer too!

[bgmb]

Two Words,

NUT BAR

[winwin]

It would be great if fert actually WAS a free market thing .If those price spreads are true,what's stopping anyone from 'arbitraging'the stuff back to Can?
Govt. I bet.Protectionism masquerading as'safety'regs or as environmental.Somebodies in bed with govt when our prices are that much different.

[Burbert]

Ho Hum, conspiracy theories abound everywhere these days, don't they. Business conspiring to screw framers, now that is something new, to think about. Would that happen in Kanadia? Naww, look at gas prices, man competition begets great prices. Look at the choice in railroads. How much more competition do we need guys? Haven't we got two or three real grain companies now, what next? Look at Air Kanadia, wow competition reigns supreme!

[FarmRanger]

From Kodiak Nov 29, 2007 20:48
“This fertilizer situation is not pretty, but it will be fixed. Maybe not this year, but it will happen. It will happen even if the Competition Bureau does nothing. The marketplace will respond with increased production, curing the present shortages. It always has. Politicians may address it sooner than new plants can be built. Perhaps they will prod the Competition Bureau into an investigation.” In fact, reread all of that post, Burbert.

Winwin is right about arbitrage in the market. If that option was available, we could get the higher price of certain grains, and access the lower price of price of fertilizer across the border. There is no conspiracy theory to it, governments have created monopoly powers for those who have power to extract profits from us farmers. It might not have been Harpers government, but it was government that set up those regulations.

There’s a lot to learn from some of the folks on Agriville.

[Burbert]

Who cares about, why, where, when, how, of the fertilizer industry. Examine it in the finest detail, and guess what? Framers will still get screwed. Wait for the gov't to act, and help framers, yeah right, don't hold your breath. Wait for the markets to rescue us from high/high/higher prices, yeah right, don't hold your breath. Kanadia is such a small market, nobody cares, and I mean nobody! We used to be the bread basket of the world, now we are just the crust and dried up crumbs! Lets go out and continue crushing old commie co-ops and replace them with new age co-ops, desperate times for framers ahead, angribusiness will triumph in Kanadia.

[SASKFARMER3]

You really are an Idiot!
Mother Russia Wants you back!
The old saying around are area is if the town has a coop all other business will fail.
Lorne's bus is leaving you better hurry up before you miss it.

[wilagro]

Many of you blast Burbert for expressing his opinion. Burbert is a realist who sees things as they really are. WE as farmers have about as much control over events such as input costs, market choice, asking price for our products as we always have had...NONE TO LITTLE.

By working to destroy the only marketing agency in western Canada controlled by farmers (the CWB), we are cutting our own throats. By not supporting our Co-ops (who sell fertilizer), we are also doing the same thing.

If you want better fertilizer costs then CONTROL the companies or co-ops that sell it. Simple as that. The independents will just laugh at you and continue their exploitation.

[Fransisco]

If the wheat board is your model of "farmer" control I want no part of it. The rest of the world is getting 9 bucks for their wheat, I'm told I might get 6 bucks sometime in the future. Sorry but that's not farmer controlled, that's controlling farmers.

It's 423 main-street that's holding the knife and doing the throat cutting.

[bgmb]

On the topic of competition/free market:

Anyone who says the free market is always best is wrong but also anyone who says gov intervention is always best is also wrong.

What determines the size of the businesses in any market is the lowest cost scale of production. In some industries like primary agriculture the lowest cost scale of production is small relative to the size of the market therefore there are many producers and lots of competition.

However in other industries such as fertilizer production it doesn't make sense to have thousands of small firms producing fertilizer because the cost of producing on a small scale is so expensive. In this situation where the lowest cost scale of production is quite large relative to the size of the industry we have what is called a natural oligopoly (or natural monopoly if there is only one firm).

In the case of the fertilizer industry where is appears we have a natural oligopoly we may unfortunately need the gov to step in and regulate the industry in order to stop collusion and price discrimination.