New GrainsConnect grain terminal coming to Vegreville

[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....

[wmoebis]

dmlfarmer for Federal Ag Minister....

Agree with DML we have a lot of holes left after all the changes last few years and they need filling.

[westernvicki]

Thanks for this. I will read, we all should. I asked for a study to be done in Canada at the INDUSTRY ROUND TABLES, the idea was dismissed at the time. Maybe it is time for the powers that be to recognize the need to see how we measure to use as economic background to address the future direction & vision for our industry and policy, taxes, research and investment.


Thanks for the home work. Good thinking AU.

[farmaholic]

As a young starting farmer three decades ago I said if Eastern Europe ever got their act together we will be in trouble, it is starting. Maybe you can thank communism and corruption for it taking as long as it has for them to have only come this far.

We in land locked Western Canada have a huge disadvantage. We better well find a way to set ourselves apart from them. Maybe we can start by not growing grain to the lowest quality common denominator. Become a reliable trusted supplier. Rumblings of customers unhappy with the quality they're receiving isn't helping matters, does it "barely" have to meet spec or can there be a cushion. And keep it moving to port. Lots of moving peices that need to be well tuned and timed....everyone needs to do their part. And those that aren't need to be held accountable. ....I hate paying for other people's incompetancy! My own costs me enough!

[dmlfarmer]

As a young starting farmer three decades ago I said if Eastern Europe ever got their act together we will be in trouble, it is starting. Maybe you can thank communism and corruption for it taking as long as it has for them to have only come this far.

We in land locked Western Canada have a huge disadvantage. We better well find a way to set ourselves apart from them. Maybe we can start by not growing grain to the lowest quality common denominator. Become a reliable trusted supplier. Rumblings of customers unhappy with the quality they're receiving isn't helping matters, does it "barely" have to meet spec or can there be a cushion. And keep it moving to port. Lots of moving peices that need to be well tuned and timed....everyone needs to do their part. And those that aren't need to be held accountable. ....I hate paying for other people's incompetancy! My own costs me enough!

Farm Great post! you are 100% right. It is the only way Canadian farmers will be able to compete globally in the future. Unfortunately I doubt if the average farmer is interested or even concerned yet. It will take a crash and the next generation to pick up the pieces of what is left of our current "me first" industry.