Shorts

[jensend]

sorry - hit thew wrong key

8. Ten dollar wheat can be a result of shifting supply/demand curves or a symptom of or a cause of inflation. could also be a result of currency fluctuations, etc.

9. Smaller, poorer countries should pay the world price for grain but it has to be recognized that if the price is beyond their means they will at least reduce purchases or find substitutes. Their level of demand will also determine what the market is.

10. I don't know if the cwb was selling grain at lower than market prices. you and tom and some analysts will say they did and i accept that in some instances they would have just as any of us have through ignorance or incompetence but usually the market is the market and you won't always like the price you receive.

sorry that you can't just have a yes or no answer all the time but the world is not black and white even if you would like to paint it as such.

don't bother to address my original post unless you can avoid the cwb - open market drivel. i've heard enough of it and it would only be you twisting words to give us yet another rant. we agree the cwb should go so don't paint my words as advocating for it.

[parsley]

jensend, you have impressed me with your clarity!

Parsley

[parsley]

Price Sustainability:

jensend said:

"extreme prices just mean extreme volatility"

You think $10 wheat is extreme, while I think Western farmers should have been getting that price for years!

IMHO, Western grain has been undervalued by ag players, society as a whole, and farmers themselves. It has been underpriced, as well. Undervalued and underpriced are two different things.

So one has to ask......Who has had the most overwhelming influence on grain in Canada in the past 50 years with regards to Shipping, grading, marketing,buying, exporting, mamaging supplies, licensing,quotas, preventing exporting, railroads, licensed facilities, elevators, value-adding

You're gonna lambaste me agian!

The CWB has, because of their legislated stature, historical presence, and their unrelenting public relations campaigning, maintained both farmer-liabilities underpricing and undervaluing, and the impact of low-pricing and devaluation has influenced other grains.

They have immensley influenced all aspects of the Western grain trade, but that influence has not benefited FARNERS, IMHO.

$10 or $12 is probably close to where our grain should be priced if farmers want to thrive, and grow, and have another generation continue.

Some folks already receive "extreme prices", recieived "extreme" barley prices for years, at anywhere from $8.00-@13.00 AMerican per bushel.

In organics, flax prices have been noticably volatile to me. Brown flax a few years ago dipped to around $14 -$15/bu. But the price has always been high, and the consumer values the product, or he would not buy.

Farmers, themselves, need to VALUE WHAT THEY GROW.

You mused.. did high prices bring slimmer margins? Extrapolate that premise to oil, to diamonds, to beef, to potash.

And then ask, would low prices bring slimmer margins?

And ask yourself...what is extreme? How should food be valued? More precious than a car, or a flat-screen TV? How do you want the consumer to view their food? Value it like a precious Ming vase, or take it for granted like they do grass?

And then ask yourself, who is the most believable to get that message out to the EATERS?

I believe the farmer has the most credibility and is the most trusted.

But I am being redundant, jensend, aren't I?

Parsley

[jensend]

the last point i am going to make is that i think the reason farmers are unprofitable is because they are not getting an equitable share out of the value chain of food from farm to plate. the cwb may be inefficient but it is not a free market any more and farmers and consumers are being taken advantage of by merchandisers and processors. the difference in cost to consumer and return to producer is so huge for so little service in between. if it wasn't a dysfunctional market the profits would be spread equitably. go back forty years and look at the difference in marketing from now. farmers were rewarded for the risks they took whereas now with the structure of the value chain all the risks are downloaded to the primary producer. the cwb may be a poor marketer but there are more complicated issues that will be even tougher to solve.

[parsley]

You talk "equitable", and I want a huge glump!

Maybe we have a different approach to life, don't we?

I'm off celebrating,today, and I don't think you could keep up, Jensend! lol

Parsley