IF CWB "Single MINDers" win this election...

[TOM4CWB]

Dear Agstar77 et el;

IF the 'single desk' supporting candidates win this round of CWB elections... it will prove one thing.

Goodales revenge complete... and a total misdirection of power to those who do not hold the economy of the CWB... the commercial grain grower in the 'designated area' that must put up with the sordid mess that the CWB has created.

1.Pungeing Contingency Fund.

2.Basis on contracts that defy explantaion... and that Cargill, COnagra or ADM would welcome... (AND DO)!

3. The ending of Daily Price Contracts... after CWB sales said they could compete with the US on pricing... any time...(it is obvious this was false)

We have no relevant cash price on wheat.

The non-board wheat market flounders around CWB EPO's and PRO's... which are an entirely poor excuse if transparency and market signals are to mean anything.

We have gained almost 20% on our currency... while having bulk ocean freight reduced by 90%... yet the CWB has obviously broken the cast on ways to mess up our returns.

NO CUSTOMER LOYALTY or we would be on top of the world prices for this 08-09 pool!

WHAT is this... an $81/t discount on 1CWRS 13.5 to net $250/t... with basis to port.... $200/t at elevator pit at best? $5.45/bu... for the best wheat on the planet?

The Auditor General needs to visit the bowls of the CWB... to find out where our premiums went... on top of a complete management change!

iF 'sINGLE MINDERS' WIN THIS ELECTION... IT WILL PROVE DISFUNCTION REIGNS AT THE CWB. GOODALES REVENGE!

[agstar77]

It will prove you are wrong.

[chaffmeister]

Agstarr:

The CWB publishes its daily selling price quotes - they can be found every business day in the Globe and Mail. The CGC publishes them in the Grain Stats weekly.

If you tally them all up for 07-08 crop year, the average is $467.58/tonne. So the CWB's average selling price for the crop year was $467.58.

The PRO is $370.

There's $97.58 between 'em.

The PRO is $97.58 below the average price over the crop year.

Shouldn't it be higher, given all the market power the CWB has? Shouldn't the CWB be getting you above average prices?

What gives?

[Kodiak]

Chaff, your analysis is simple, staightforward, and bullet proof. I have done the same kind of number crunching for years - although without the precision and thoroughness you have done, and I get the same results.

What gives? I'd like to know too.

There is one thing that is certain. Agstar will not answer you. He can't. For CWB single desk directors its all ideology, not economics on the farm.

[chaffmeister]

If it's ideological, what is the basis for the belief - the sense of value or purpose?

If its not the provision of some sort of real or perceived value, such as the protection of farmers' financial viability (your "economics on the farm"), then what is the basis of this romantic belief?

I looked at the single-deskers who are running for CWB directors to see what they see as the value of the CWB.


Gerald Pilger, District 2, says "The CWB has an unmatched ability to compete with multi-national corporations to get the best price for our wheat and barley."

Nice sound bite there Gerald, but unfortunately you don't give any concrete supporting evidence. I guess we're just supposed to believe it because it sounds so nice and cozy. Even though the evidence points in the other direction, I think Gerald believes the value of the CWB is in better prices. Poor Gerald.


Bill Woods (District 4) says "Single desk selling through the CWB brings value to producers through higher grain prices and reduced grain handling and transportation costs. This is not a philosophy or ideology but economic reality."

Sorry, Bill. Wrong on both points. More like an economic fantasy. But at least he's talking about economics.


Cam Goff of District 6 believes "The single desk is a valuable tool that farmers can use to extract maximum value from the global marketplace..."

If only it were true, Cam. But economics raises its ugly head again...


Doyle Wiebe of District 6 believes there is "value" in the single desk. He says it's "serving us well - all things considered". He says he does not "wish to imagine life without it".

I wonder how he measures this "value"? Could it be through some concept of "economics"?


Paul Beingessner, running in District 8, is right up front about what he thinks. "I believe the CWB brings value to farmers by giving them power in the marketplace."

Value? Power? Economics?


It took me a while to find Rod Flaman's "ideological" approach to the CWB on his candidate's profile. He sure likes to talk a lot about himself. He says "The single desk is the one aspect of the CWB that makes money for us."

Makes money. Ideologically speaking, for Rod its all about the money.


Lonny McKague (District 8) doesn't really state what he thinks the CWB is meant to be (ideologically speaking), but he does say what he will do: "Lonny would be dedicated to ensuring that the board operates effectively, returning the most money possible back to the producers. He believes that to do this, the CWB must keep administrative costs to a minimum and return those savings directly to the producer."

So Lonny thinks the CWB is about saving money, not making it. It's an economic argument, but certainly not the one I'd go after. Better hand Nero his fiddle.


Bill Toews, the incumbent in District 10 says "The CWB's single desk selling authority gives farmers a significant marketing advantage in an increasingly competitive global market."

I assume that means better prices.


For these pro-single deskers, the romantic notion imbedded in the CWB ideology is all about doing a good job for farmers, selling wheat and barley better (higher prices) than you could without the CWB.

If that's what they think this is really about, then ask them how they explain last year's spring wheat return (PRO) being almost $100/tonne below the average CWB selling quote over the crop year?

Rod Flaman said the CWB is your best bet "over the long haul".

Then ask him why the CWB returns covering the last five years are more than $50/tonne BELOW the average CWB selling prices over the same period.


Those that think the single desk has "value" just haven't done their homework.

And if they continue to talk about the economic "value" of the single desk while rejecting out of hand the mounting evidence against it, you better question their judgment and their qualifications as a board member.

[padron]

Chaffmeister - the Bill Mayer of Agriville.

Well said Chaffy!

[stubblejumper]

once again the farmers for just me are right and everyone else is an idiot

[chaffmeister]

stubbletripper:

"Farmers for just me" is an odd label for those seeking freedom.

Think about it - the "freedom" we seek is freedom for everyone to market as each individual wants.

Those that want to keep the single desk want to force everyone to deal through the CWB solely. Even though they recognize that many of their neighbours don't want to, single desk supporters fight to keep it this way because that's what they want.

And any evidence contrary to their romantic notion of the power of the single desk is ignored or vilified.

Who's being selfish?

Who really is "just for me"?

[TOM4CWB]

STUBBLEJUMPER;

"once again the farmers for just me are right and everyone else is an idiot"?

It would be safe to assume... that those who take their neighbour's property... without permission... against their will and over obvious objections...

WOULD BE A COMMON THEIF... NOT AN IDIOT.