Negotiation Time

[parsley]

If a smart group of growers of malt barley put together a proposal to the malting company of their choice:

1. Canada Malting Company Ltd with plants in Calgary, Thunder Bay and Montreal.or

2. Rahr Malting located in Alix, Alberta. (My choice because they are solidly prepared to deal one on one with farmers)

3. Prairie Malt Limited in Biggar Sask., or

4. ADM Malting located in Winnipeg.

(These companies, together, are the largest customers of the CWB buying approximately 1.1 million tonnes/yr.

These growers, if they are smart, will negotiate a tentative contract with the malting companies, dedicating SPRING ACRES to malting barley.


Rahr already has created a grower's contract and they have shown positive initiative in dealing with farmers.

The contracts would be conditional upon the CWB NOT being involed in any of the deal. No buyback. No fees. No deals.

Feed companies, with the blessing of the CWB, in the past, successfully negotiated the Export Manufactures Feed Agreement, bypassing CWB marketing and pooling, with Licensing cost downloaded onto the pooling accounts.

Directors like McCreary and Oberg obviously must love to pay for corporations' licensing costs, because if they did not, they would make sure the Federal Governemtnt pays for them, as the Feds are legislatively responsible to do so.

If the malt copmpanies and malting barley farmers cannot negotiate an Export Malting Barley Agreement with the CWB, the farmer can rip up the tentative contract and sow a different crop or grow feed barley.

The only dispensible entity is the CWB.


Parsley

[wilagro]

From the fryingpan and into the fire...the Maltsters will have you...BUT GOOD.

Lock 'er in good at the price that THEY want. Good policy...you bet.

[charliep]

Wilagro

Maybe you can help me understand why the CWB sold 700,000 tonnes to the maltsters last winter/spring? What is the difference between the CWB signing new crop contracts on behalf of farmers and farmers making their own marketing decisions?

Had a discussion with a malt buyer and their concern was the lack of transparency in the current proposal. There is a price range in every market (bid offer as well as quality parameters). The proposal as outlined (all second hand because I have never seen an official document describing the program) is the CWB will likely offer prices off the bottom end of the price range and cream the top end of the range of the range from maltsters/exporters with the difference discretionary money - maybe paid out as a dividend or maybe used elsewhere. Farmers will have tighter delivery/quality specifications and maltsters will be expected to pay premiums to encourage contracting delivery/quality terms over the premium price they are already paying.

As a CWB supporter, why wouldn't the CWB go directly to barley cash pricing the way it is handled with organic programs? The CWB link for this program is below if you are not aware of the program:

http://www.cwb.ca/public/en/farmers/organic/

New Program for Organic Grain
In 2007-08, farmers will have three options for marketing their wheat, durum and barley.

1) The Organic Fixed Spread Contract: a new CWB program for organic grain, designed to provide organic farmers with increased flexibility and greater certainty on returns, taking effect August 1, 2007

2) The CWB pool price plus negotiated premium

3) CWB cash buying

[parsley]

wilagrow,

So I take it you enjoy the CWB acting as the maltster-maestro, buying low-priced from farmers, and yawning if maltsters run short of barley.

I take it you like to fund high-priced staff so that your returns don't cover expenses.

Does self-denial of profit fulfil your fantasy?


Quite different from mine, I must admit.


Parsley