Dear Mr. White:
Your meeting in Saskatoon was the most DEPRESSING, NON-INFORMATIVE, POLITICAL, NON-- PROFESSIONAL, DISRESPECTFUL, SOVIET STYLED MTG. CONTROL[no open- mic in cwb mtgs,no chance to respond to the answer] that I have ever attended.Thus a Disgrace& Disservice to Prairie Farmers and the Agricultural Industry as a whole.
I base my experience on 30 winters instructing and coordinating University of Saskatchewan Agricultural programs throughout Sask. Then another 8 years doing similar work as Exec.Director of the Sk.Canola Growers Association.
EXAMPLES:
1] All of the Speakers condemned and be-rated the Grain Companies suggesting farmers would be taken advantage of without the CWB. But never mentioning that the CWB dips into the farmers Pool Acc. and pays the same Grain Co’s some $70 to $80 million a year to store their grain.
2] Suggesting that without the CWB ,Producer Car services would end, when in-fact Pcar legislation is under the Canada Grain Act NOT the CWB Act. I was a share-holder in a PC Loading Co. and did not involve the CWB excepting to look up ‘contract calls’. Why Mr. White, would they want to mislead farmers .[trying to suggest the farmers are too ignorant to understand]
3] The speakers tried to convince us that the CWB carries the Risk for farmers ,never suggesting that the FARMERS carry ALL the RISK from their Bins to the Buyers, regardless of where that buyer is situated.[India,China,etc.]
4] There was a question on the CWB’s use of the Futures Market which was answered by C.E.O. Ward W. He Noted that the CWB could not use the’threat of delivery’ so was not a very practical option. But did not mention the loss in the CWB commodity trading of $226 million in crop yr.2007/08.
5] They might also have mentioned that from 1984 to 2008 wheat acres in Can. went from 33 Mil to 22 Mil while Canola acres went from 7mil to 16mil.. And in 2007 Private Investment in Plant R&D was $42mil for Canola and $3.3 mil for Cereal grains.
The speakers went on & on about how Churchill shipping would cease , the US border would close ,etc,etc,etc, What I thought might be on the agenda Mr. White, was the Question of What Comes Next After The Monopoly Is Gone: the formation of a Co-operative maybe, a corporate entity option [as I sat through the mtg. I thought what an opportunity missed; the Brd.Members could have been selling Shares [$1000.00 per share] 400 share holders].What a start for an new corporate marketing entity.We never had that luxury when we sold shares in North East Terminal,Wadena,Sk.
If your CWB meeting in Saskatoon was meant to attract BELIEVERS [with farmers pool account $, I might add] in this case it was a total FAILURE.
I await your reply.
Sincerely
Bill Cooper
Ian's reply
Dear Mr Cooper
Thank you for your thoughts. Obviously there are a lot of different points of view when it come to the end of the single desk. I am not defending it one way or the other given my position, and you will note I was not at the meeting as they are more of a political meeting than anything.
You have expressed a particular view and many of your points are taken on board and I will pass them on, however given the ideological polarisation that currently exists, and the positions of the majority of the CWB board who were elected on the single desk platform, it is not hard to understand where they are coming from, and many farmers also share that view.
I encourage a debate on the issues, however as you recognise it seems that the government has made its decision. Ultimately if that is the case a new organisation should emerge which I hope would be grower owned. Time will tell whether it could be successful in adding value to farmers.
Regards,
Ian White
Your meeting in Saskatoon was the most DEPRESSING, NON-INFORMATIVE, POLITICAL, NON-- PROFESSIONAL, DISRESPECTFUL, SOVIET STYLED MTG. CONTROL[no open- mic in cwb mtgs,no chance to respond to the answer] that I have ever attended.Thus a Disgrace& Disservice to Prairie Farmers and the Agricultural Industry as a whole.
I base my experience on 30 winters instructing and coordinating University of Saskatchewan Agricultural programs throughout Sask. Then another 8 years doing similar work as Exec.Director of the Sk.Canola Growers Association.
EXAMPLES:
1] All of the Speakers condemned and be-rated the Grain Companies suggesting farmers would be taken advantage of without the CWB. But never mentioning that the CWB dips into the farmers Pool Acc. and pays the same Grain Co’s some $70 to $80 million a year to store their grain.
2] Suggesting that without the CWB ,Producer Car services would end, when in-fact Pcar legislation is under the Canada Grain Act NOT the CWB Act. I was a share-holder in a PC Loading Co. and did not involve the CWB excepting to look up ‘contract calls’. Why Mr. White, would they want to mislead farmers .[trying to suggest the farmers are too ignorant to understand]
3] The speakers tried to convince us that the CWB carries the Risk for farmers ,never suggesting that the FARMERS carry ALL the RISK from their Bins to the Buyers, regardless of where that buyer is situated.[India,China,etc.]
4] There was a question on the CWB’s use of the Futures Market which was answered by C.E.O. Ward W. He Noted that the CWB could not use the’threat of delivery’ so was not a very practical option. But did not mention the loss in the CWB commodity trading of $226 million in crop yr.2007/08.
5] They might also have mentioned that from 1984 to 2008 wheat acres in Can. went from 33 Mil to 22 Mil while Canola acres went from 7mil to 16mil.. And in 2007 Private Investment in Plant R&D was $42mil for Canola and $3.3 mil for Cereal grains.
The speakers went on & on about how Churchill shipping would cease , the US border would close ,etc,etc,etc, What I thought might be on the agenda Mr. White, was the Question of What Comes Next After The Monopoly Is Gone: the formation of a Co-operative maybe, a corporate entity option [as I sat through the mtg. I thought what an opportunity missed; the Brd.Members could have been selling Shares [$1000.00 per share] 400 share holders].What a start for an new corporate marketing entity.We never had that luxury when we sold shares in North East Terminal,Wadena,Sk.
If your CWB meeting in Saskatoon was meant to attract BELIEVERS [with farmers pool account $, I might add] in this case it was a total FAILURE.
I await your reply.
Sincerely
Bill Cooper
Ian's reply
Dear Mr Cooper
Thank you for your thoughts. Obviously there are a lot of different points of view when it come to the end of the single desk. I am not defending it one way or the other given my position, and you will note I was not at the meeting as they are more of a political meeting than anything.
You have expressed a particular view and many of your points are taken on board and I will pass them on, however given the ideological polarisation that currently exists, and the positions of the majority of the CWB board who were elected on the single desk platform, it is not hard to understand where they are coming from, and many farmers also share that view.
I encourage a debate on the issues, however as you recognise it seems that the government has made its decision. Ultimately if that is the case a new organisation should emerge which I hope would be grower owned. Time will tell whether it could be successful in adding value to farmers.
Regards,
Ian White
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