Spark's Report on Barley

[parsley]

"The Book" farmers should read for barley marketing information during this time of voting, is a report called:

The Canadian Barley Industry in Transition:
A Study for Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development
April 2004
(Revised)

It's very professional. It avoids any comments laced with political-additives(I don't like beer 'cause my dad....).

www.choicematters.gov.ab.ca/files/pdf/Barley_Study_April_04.pdf

I'll post some content


QUOTE
"On the basis of this research and analysis, there is no configuration or re-working of the CWB and its policies that would provide as much benefit to the Western Canadian barley industry as would either removing the CWB’s monopoly on barley (often referred to as the marketing choice option), or the complete removal of the CWB system from the barley industry.

Even if its pricing regime was changed in order for the CWB to be more marketresponsive, the CWB still brings with it an overhead cost that is unnecessary and marketprice distortions.

The main causes of the CWB’s apparent poor sales performance remain unclear and there is no evidence to suggest that this would change with changes to the CWB system.

The CWB has been shown to be ineffective in the feed barley export market, unable to compete with the dominant domestic feed industry most of the time and in most regions of
Western Canada.

This analysis has shown that CWB feed barley prices to farmers can at
times be as much a function of interest revenue allocation as market prices.

Moreover, net prices received from sales have been shown to be in the low end of market values and below domestic values in most areas much of the time.

UNQUOTE

Parsley

[winwin]

Of course the cwb cannot manage toproperly control barley.Their is way too much outside its control.Otto lang gave up control of the domestic market and now this.As agreat man once said"there are only 2 types of control:complete and ineffective."And now our weak cwb directors are beginning to cave in on this ridiculous 'Gate to Plate'exemption.Slippery slope.

[parsley]

winwin,

There's a good chance you haven't read any of the Spark's report. I'll quote a little more of it for you:

QUOTE
Western Canada should actually be a more attractive location as malt manufacturing costs are estimated to be in the range of US$35.00 to US$40.00 per tonne of malt produced,
while US costs are more in the range of US$45.00 to US$55.00 per tonne.

According to industry sources, the CWB’s position as the sole source of malting barley in Canada has
discouraged capital investment in the malting industry in Canada, regardless of the cost factors.
UNQUOTE

Parsley

[Burbert]

Most guys don't grow malt, because it is such a pain to get it selected. Standards change each year, selectors are fussy on good years and lax on bad years when there is little grain around, like this year for example! Guys don't like to submit samples, then be told that their grain is no good, bummer. The list or reasons to reject the grain is yards long. And guess what, it is a case of farmers, doing it to farmers, the Grain Commission that represents farmers sets standards way to high... nuf said, its only grain after all.

[charliep]

Burbert

The Canadian Grain Commission has no involvement in selecting malt barley - that is done by individual maltster/malt barley exporters. You can have a sample reviewed by the CGC to see which grade category you get paid but that is simply a pooling issue.