Fear

[checking]

It looks like there are irreconsilable differences between the extremes on both sides of this "debate". The good news is that these two minorities won't likely have much influence on how farming history evolves; and the special good news is that both extremes are minorities.
The deep sarcasm; and lack of respect for offered solutions or opinions I see from the strong CWB side bothers me just as much as the extreme anti-CWB attitude that whatever it takes must be done to get rid of the CWB institution.
My thoughts are that the CWB is fixated on single desk marketing; and since they alone know what marketing scheme they have determined is best for agriculture; I guess thet feel they just wouldn't be successful in any other environment. The CWB seems to be willing to cut any special deal (if forced to) eg.organic buy backs, pedigeed seed exemptions; feed manufacturers exemptions, contemplated cash market for feed barley; preferential delivery opportunities for all sorts of contracts; pricing options galore etc. etc. Practically none of these programs would be recognizable in past decades of CWB monopolies. Maybe the solution lies in an alternative cash market for those so inclined.

Still the real problem centers around the lack of adequate farm financing and farmers control of their destiny. Breaking even or getting the average isn't good enough unless you rely on other taxpayer money handouts. Losing money in livestock is equally devastating. As such the CWB continues to fail to improve the overall wheat and barley contribution to healthy profits. Outside the few who have picked a few CWB programs that returned them above pooled prices; there have been others that picked the wrong options and cost themselves money. In every case they probably locked themselves out of any extraordinary returns that have been possible this last year. Thankfully all crops are not under the CWB.
I'm not advocating denying the CWB to those who feel it suits their needs; and conversely it would seems pretty hypocritical to force the CWB on those who do not wish to use it.
I'm expecting that agriculture will continue with its same underlying problems; with or without the CWB. What we should be debating is those basic problems that aren't being addressed by the present system. In the mean time we'll divide ourselves in just as many ways as we always have.

[BreadWinner]

Well said "checking" and for you "parsley" quit babbabling on, first you are one one side then the other then you dont make any sense. First of all I didnt say your final plan was somthing illigal, I just said when you started talking about doing somthing radical some people didn't sign up for that part. But that doesn't mean they arn't helping the cause of throwing the CWB out on their ____s, you can fill in the blanks. I also voted with those few 13% to get rid of the board. How did you vote?

[jrdad]

thats what i did sent my donation request back empty. told them to get rid of the Communist wheat Board
then i will send them money again.

[agstar77]

Checking,you are right about extremist views , but the difference is execution . Changes have come, not fast enough for some and too fast for others. But lasting changes will only come by consensus, not by brute force the way Mr. Ritz is going. H e just serves to devide the ag community further.

[lesm]

Agstar77, the problem is that I have no use for the CWB's fixed price, basis contract or their cash plus pricing. I just want to be free of the CWB! You can see the problem Mr. Ritz is having because of people like myself and since the CWB will not relinquish control of any of their grains, we are at a stalemate. I've been very tolerent of my fellow farmers who support your system, however my tolerance has worn thin. Mr. Ritz take whatever neccesary actions you must to rid us of the CWB!!

[charliep]

A document I will find very interesting is the annual producer survey. My understanding it has been done with the results presented to the B of D. In past surveys, it has answered many of the questions on the pace of change and level of satisfaction - particularly on barley.

[parsley]

checking,et al,

If farmers waited for the sitting-on-the hands crowd to act, you would still have a permit book that continued to perscribe to you how many bushels of your own grain the CWB would allow you to have gristed into flour for your family in 2008.

The CWB perscribed for years.

.....because no farmer dared complain.

In the West, that is!


Breadwinner,

I voted for no Wheat Board at all.


... And for the record,

I am an extremist.

Extremist Parsley want to sell what I grow.

Greedy Parsley wants the same as Ontario enjoys.

Greedy Extremist six feet four mean

Parsley wants to push forward and not be quivering afraid of an institution that jails people for selling what they grow.



Parsley dislikes bullies.
And is proud of it.



Parsley

[Francksaskfarmer]

ab,
I cannot believe how you want to get rid off an antiquated organisation with the antiquated ways that you prescribe:
Fights, street demos, bothering the public, are the likes of the old medieval battles in a GPS guided missile age.
If we are smart enough to market our own grain, we sure would not display our mental skills with what you prescribe.
Some are fond of public demonstrations to bother the public like the French farmers etc. (Jim Chatenay being one)
These times are gone. When we are less than 5 percent of the population you do not get very far putting the public against yourself.
Diplomatic pressure where it is needed is the way to succeed in a constructive manner.

I sure would like to see the list of speeding and parking tickets you got maybe you assaulted somebody on the way to Weyburn. I am sure you deserve a medal for all this.

I wanted to get to the meeting but I understand all I missed was the entertainment.
Extremism is rarely the way to make a better world

Francksaskfarmer

[parsley]

Read this from the NFU website. Maybe these groups, like the OFA, are ones you look to for that spohisticated diplomatic leadership:



http://www.nfu.ca/on/misc_files/History.htm#Part3


The largest demonstration of them all...

This initiative was followed up in 1966 by a campaign to force the Ontario government to provide assistance for farmers with emphasis on a subsidy program for industrial milk.

The Ontario government as usual attempted to ignore the OFU and the Minister of Agriculture stated that he would never recommend a subsidy to milk producers.

This resulted in a meeting of about 1,000 farmers on April 5, 1966 , at Ryerson Institute in Toronto When the government refused to send representatives, the farmers marched to Queen’s Park, but still achieved no results.

By June an Oxford County dairy farmer, Wayne Smith, became so disgruntled at the deplorable situation that he took to the highway with his tractor depicting the plight of the dairy industry.

Within the day his neighbours had joined him. This first tractor demonstration was spontaneously organized by local farmers and the provincial government heard about it before OFU central office.


Soon OFU supporters were organizing tractor demonstrations throughout the province, culminating in one at Queen’s Park on July 27, 1966. The pressure was on and it was kept on until the Ontario government agreed to pay a small subsidy to milk producers.

Later they also agreed to a capital grant program for farmers. The farmer had proved that militant action could achieve some results and this acted as a spur to more action in the future and helped to build the OFU into the recognized representative of the true interests of Ontario farmers.


The largest demonstration of them all, and perhaps the largest protest march to ever assemble on Parliament Hill, was the mass march on Ottawa by 20,000 mainly Ontario and Quebec farmers on May 24, 1967.

This was an exceptionally well organized demonstration by the Ottawa March Committee which was composed of representatives from the OFU, the OFA and the UCC of Quebec. Farmers gathered from every area of Ontario and Quebec and were joined by a few from the Maritimes and the West.
“Hundreds of busses criss-crossed rural Ontario and Quebec early on the morning of May 24, collecting farmers for the massive demonstration, while many times that number of cars moved towards Ottawa from innumerable points in both provinces. Even a few planes were brought into play.” (Ontario Union Farmer, June, 1967)

[parsley]

From CBC:


In October 2005, the B.C. government extended until June 2006 the terms of an expired contract with the province's teachers after they had begun a work-to-rule campaign. The teachers walked out, defying the new contract. On Oct. 9, a judge ruled the teachers were in contempt of court for violating what was essentially a back-to-work order.

"We are taking a stand against a law that is so unjust that it attacks rights that people in Canada have fought for for years and years," Jinny Sims, president of the B.C. Teachers Federation, told CBC News.
UNQUOTE


Teachers?

Nah. Not in Canada, you say!

[Francksaskfarmer]

Your fist examples is from 1966 when the farming population was much more prominent with many generational ties to the city public. Today people in Regina hardly know anything about farming. All they know is the shiny new tractor they might see in the field. We need their support and it is not by blocking highways that we will accomplish that nor my assembling in mass at the legislature or on Parliament hill in Ottawa; especially if when we get there, we have some farmers arguing and throwing fist at each other because even them can not agree on what should be done.
As for the teachers: when they are not in the classroom it comes through little perfect Johnny not going to school and then the public puts pressure on gov.

If we want result it is going to be by having the public on board with us on any major issue.
I do not know why we do not have TV, papers radio adds portraying the importance of the farm community or how little wheat or barley there is in the end products.
When for example APAS puts some radio adds on it is during a farm edition "preaching to the choir".

May be we need to become a bit more creative and innovative in the ways we communicate with the public; which, in a democracy is the government.
If you have the public’s support then putting pressure on Gov gets something done.

Even well designed billboards with reference to a good website (not the current FFJ) would do wonders. And the nice thing about these is that we are not loosing out time somewhere in the weather accomplishing nothing. We can tend to our business and that is where the money is.
Sure it would be nice if farmers were 40% of the population. But we are not.

Francksaskfarmer

[parsley]

'Tis a fist sample. LOL.


My point for the first example was that even way back then, these measures were taken, and the NFU doesn't seem fazed by them at all!So spare me the outrage now.

Secondly, farmers are very popularly supported by the public. Study the polls. We don't have an image problem like lawyers, or Government people, or multinationsals or Monsanto.

Farmers don't need to spend money to tell the public we are good guys.

The CWB has indicated they want to be an advocate. Take more money from the pooling accounts to promote farmers.Huh?

The farmers problem isn't the farmers. We grow the best durum in the world. Our problem is the deer poop added to the best wheat in the world. So what the issue is, is an entity deducting funds from farmers' cheques to promote the entitiy/CWB.

Nope.

Not in my world.

Parsley


We need to be able to make choices. Period. And fuzzing with CWB suits in the backrooms is not an effective tactic. Ask Flaman.