And from the Excited States

[agstar77]

Crops look good down to Minneapolis , but they are late. Rumblings among city and state gov about getting rid of ethanol subsidies, food prices, the cause.

[Fransisco]

This should have been a "Canadian" success story, but the BOARD just couldn't let it happen. From Agriweek

SUCCESS STORY
A local value-added venture makes the big time

This isn't supposed to be the best of times for grain processors, what with the soaring cost of raw grain, especially durum wheat. But just look at Dakota Growers Pasta Co. of Carrington. North Dakota, which began as a farmer-owned co-op to become the third-largest pasta producer in North America. It is having its best year ever with sales for the nine months ended April 30 up 37% to $195 million. For the latest quarter sales rose from $46 million to $78.5 million. Net income for the nine months was $5.02 million vs. $4.27 million last year (after a $960,000 one-time charge related to a pension issue) despite a dramatic increase in durum prices.

Dakota Growers is now a normal corporation, but has many original members as shareholders and also retains a class of shares for farmers which carry the right to sell durum wheat to the facility. Its shares are traded over the counter. Last spring it executed a complicated share buy-back plan under which original members were able to sell 30% of their holdings, for which they paid a dollar a share, at $10. New shares were issued to two private capital firms and $20 million was borrowed to refinance debt and provide working capital.

Dakota Growers was the model for the failed attempt to start up a Canadian version called Prairie Pasta in the late 1990s, an initiative that came to nothing after the Canadian Wheat Board refused to even discuss a mans by which shareholders could sell wheat directly to their own plant instead of through the Board. A later proposal under which Canadian durum growers could have become Dakota shareholders, selling wheat across the border to the U.S. company also was abandoned for the same reason.

Dakota Growers is an aggressive and innovative company. It has even sponsored development of new durum varieties that have resistance to fusarium disease for exclusive use by its grower-shareholders. Its products are sold nationwide, including in most parts of Canada.

[TOM4CWB]

Fransisco,

We wouldn't want to spoil the Boards record of insuring the profitability of its agents...would we.

Talk about saying one thing (extracting premium prices) and delivering the goods to the buyers of our (designated area) wheat!

There should be an award for the most two faced organisation in the Universe... !