New GrainsConnect grain terminal coming to Vegreville

[dmlfarmer]

Heaven help us if a grain co ever decides to build in Ukraine or black sea somewere, they are screaming out for infrastructure and would be a game changer for world grain industry

You are absolutely right Mallee about the world grain industry changing if grain co invest. Unfortunately they are already are. Bunge already opened a US180 million facility. A year ago Cargill began construction of a 100 million port terminal. Risoil a Swiss trader has opened a 70 million terminal for exporting sunflower oil. Cofco of China has already purchased a 75 million grain terminal and is planning new construction right now.

Canada and Australian farmers are now competing to sell our grain to the same companies which are closer to the customer and who can buy from farmers who can profit at prices of a 100 or more per tonne less than we can because of cheaper land, lower labor etc.

I am not sure if even Heaven can help us in the future.

[skip]

Does anyone know the economics of growing wheat in the Ukraine? Costs etc?

[malleefarmer]

Does anyone know the economics of growing wheat in the Ukraine? Costs etc?

Have a friend in Germany that has contemplated it beautiful black soil meteres deep no fert need apparently low weed burden land is cheap good grain growing climate.

but corrupt no machinery dealers no were to deliver grain diesel shortages at times quite a list of negatives he chose not to just to hard

[dmlfarmer]

Does anyone know the economics of growing wheat in the Ukraine? Costs etc?

From Australian study. And Russia wheat growing costs lower yet. That is where the grain company investment I noted in earlier post is occurring - on Russia Black Sea region. And Canadian farmers still think we are competitive in global wheat market place.

[malleefarmer]

spot on dml farmer if Ukraine could get there port costs lower they would be the big kahuna in wheat marketing if they aint already.

how do they get port costs lower scale and efficiency which a bunges or Cargill dreyfuss glencore youd cofco you think if they build the storage they would to a degree control the market in the black sea

will it happen still probably not

[westernvicki]

From Australian study. And Russia wheat growing costs lower yet. That is where the grain company investment I noted in earlier post is occurring - on Russia Black Sea region. And Canadian farmers still think we are competitive in global wheat market place.
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Hey can you post a link for this study: I have been making the case that Canadian agriculture needs to do a global costing review to determine our competitiveness: a study like what you have here. My reasons were exactly what this study shows: Canada is a very high cost production zone, fine during times of high prices, not so great when the profit margins tighten.

Shocking to see just how much higher than we are than our competitors, hopefully someone in Ottawa takes note that maybe a carbon tax is not what we need: PLEASE GO FIGURE!

As for grain companies, port access is the issue. As I understand in Australia post AWB they legislated all terminal handlers to provide open capacity for non terminal owners looking to export.
Perhaps with the G3 terminal capacity will be more available.

Australians are quite proactive it seems when it comes to agricultural policy!

Time we wake up to the fact that we are a very high cost regime, with increasing global competition from lower cost jurisdictions.

[Rareearth]

Is there a crop that we can grow in Western Canada that they can't or won't grow in Ukrain?

Competitiveness and cost of production should be farmers highest priority!

[dmlfarmer]

WV
Here is link http://aegic.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Ukraine-Supply-Chain-Full-Report.pdf This is a 15 Mb report, 108 pages long so only pasting link. Chart I posted is from page 65.

Incredibly good report and this is the type of market and competitor analysis we should be doing in Canada. This is the work our check dollars should be paying for. This is the work government of Canada should be funding. If we are not competitive, farmers should be told this instead of simply being led to believe economics of scale and higher production will solve our problems. In the long term it won't and in fact just make the hole we are digging ourselves into deeper.

Please don't use a great study like this to make political points like not needing a carbon tax. Doing so is simply stepping over dollars to pick up a penny. Hell, gas prices jump more than 5 cents every holiday and long weekend. Back in Dec, consumer energy costs were higher than they were when a barrel of oil was double what it was a few years ago. And fuel prices have come down since Dec in spite of the tax. Let's address the real problems in agriculture instead of blaming it on government carbon taxes or a political party.

Global grain companies are in the business to make a profit, not to move an individual Canadian farmer's grain. We are giving them every reason to buy grain in other countries where they operate. Where production costs are lower and farmers are willing to sell what they want to buy rather than what farmers here want to sell. We have to know what the global buyers of Canadian grains want, when, and what they are willing to pay for it.

We have the smallest commercial grain handling system in the world and plugging it with the first grain harvested every year regardless of what the market is calling for is stupid, yet farmers feel that is somehow their right to deliver any and all they want right off the combine. They do not see it costs sales and lowers prices for everyone. We have to align farm sales with actual customer demand.

Buying Super Bs to haul grain an extra 100, 200 or 500 kms to a bigger terminal wont solve our export bottlenecks, it only increases costs for everyone. Solve our rail limitations.

We do not need more subsidization to compete globally. Most subsidization simply ends up inflating land values and higher costs in the future. Quit rewarding un-competitiveness!

Finally, Australian farmers, even without the AWB continue to work together for a common goal. They willingly pay for studies like this. The biggest grain handler in Australia is still a cooperative. I congratulate Australian farmers like Mallee.

Enough of a rant

[bucket]

A costing review of the railways may reduce our costs.

Lining up super Bs at terminal is no different than 3 tons at wooden elevators....except we had more local commercial storage then.....now those costs have come to the farm as well....


But our off farm expenses could come down in the name of the efficiency gains farmers never had a share in.

[farmaholic]

dmlfarmer for Federal Ag Minister....