CWB hosting meetings to gain Input.

[boone]

I hear the board is looking to garner some constructive feedback. (Stakeholder meetings). Are all the players ready from this chatroom to offer constructive criticism. How could we work towards a cash price available daily, with final calculations (dollar, freight, time to delivery risk etc., each day or perhaps twice daily. What do each of you think will be achievable here.

[TOM4CWB]

Boone;

First, the CWB Directors must stop rigging everything to favour Pooling.

Talk about a conflict of interest... the Directors can ONLY POOL... nothing else but POOL.

When the CWB decides a fair cash price will be avaliable, and open daily pricing to every grain farmer in Western Canada (including CWB Directors), maybe even Ontario and the rest of Canada too... then we will have started to solve the CWB mess.

Ontario and Australia give daily cash prices... there is no GOOD reason for the CWB to withold daily pricing.

Delivery can be called forward as the CWB needs the grain, so equitable grain entry into the grain handling system need not be sacrificed.

Pools need to be at least quarterly... with the option of a 2 year pool for those who truly need to spread risk over a longer time period. I see Australia has longer pools avaliable as well.

Many options can be provided by the CWB to Canadian grain farmers...

IF the CWB will stop being ...lazy... and start being fair.... working to become the most flexible best risk managers on the planet!

The excuses on last years marketing fiasco make me ill... and show the CWB ... so far... is not willing to do the work needed to change enough to survive.

I listened to Ritters/Measners sob story long enough... excuses excuses

Australian (AWB) farmers didn't need a long sob story to explain why they had a risk management plan that worked last year... they have the money in the bank or in the AWB pooling accounts.

[TOM4CWB]

Boone;

Agriweek's Morris Dorosh had some interesting comments to make this week on the CWB:

"The entry into the market of eastern European exporters is completely irrelevant because the wheat from Ukraine, Khazakstan and other Black-Sea sources was of the lowest quality in the world. It competed in the feed grain market, not the ultra-premium high-protein hard milling market. The major buyers were west European feed manufacturers who do not buy western Canadian wheat at any time.

The claim that the sudden rise in the Canadian dollar would hold some water if not for the fact that most of the jump occurred late in the crop year, affecting a minority of the season's sales. The dollar was at 63.18 cents at the start of the 2002-03 crop year and 72.16 at the end, but two-thirds of the advance occurred in the second half of the crop year. Besides, the Board should have had some kind of currency hedging strategy. For an outfit that churns billions in its borrowing activities for reasons that it has never explained, it seems remarkably unsophisticated when it comes to protecting against adverse exchange-rate movements. The Board benefited during the previous three or four crop years from a steadily-falling exchange rate."

I do not agree with everything Morris has to say on the CWB BUT I suggest these are at least two good reasons the CWB EXCUSES don't cut the mustard.

On the need for CWB Change he said this:

"The Board was planning strategy meetings for later this month to develop a plan to present to the federal government assuring this will not happen again. New wheat minister Alcock has ordered an independent government study of the circumstances. One of the possible outcomes could be that the Board will have to assume financial responsibility for interim and final payments, with the government guaranteeing only initial payments. Another change could see the present single pool for the crop year replaced by several shorter pools, even though this would fundamentally change the whole concept of price pooling."

Change is the only constant the CWB will be able to count on in the future... CWB management had better get used to the idea!

[wbrower]

I would like an explanation as to just why the CWB, after they come up with a final payment a year later, on average pays western canadian farmers about $1.00 Cdn per bushel less than Cargill pays up front for a bushel of wheat in Montana. If the Board is doing a job, then how can Cargil, after they take a profit, return an extra dollar per bushel to customers.

[charliep]

I will leave discussion to others.

On the topic of the meetings, I have been aware that they were planned but haven't seen specific details. My understanding they will be by invitation (would need somebody to confirm).

If you are interested in attending, I would contact one of the CWB farm business reps. Their contact information can be found at:

http://www.cwb.ca/en/about/our_people/representatives.jsp

They will also be at the major ag. events in January (Crop production/Saskatoon, Farm Tech 2004/Edmonton, Brandon).

[crusher]

RISK MANAGEMENT!! PRICE TRANSPARENCY!! How can a middle man without a vested interest provide these absolutely necessary items with pooling - UGH! I have no idea what I will receive from the board over and above the initial and I am only slightly more informed about delivery time periods. Does the board think a $50,000 interest free loan can cover off these shortcomings?
When are enough farmers going to realize that this system is slowly eroding their equity. I'm not interested in so called "premiums" for Western Canada HRS wheat, I'm talking about accountability. (That's it for the rant.)

Tom4cwb, I'm pretty sure that the directors have enough integrity that they aren't holding back to protect their own personal interests. If I'm wrong we are in deep trouble. I'd be interested in attending a focus group with the board. Maybe they might listen to a new face. Perhaps you can cach me before the meeting!

[boone]

Post: Good points fellas. Now if there are any CWB marketing reps etc. monitoring this, listen up, you don't have to solve all the problems yourself. Many here are ready to sit down and swill some coffee, present some what if's, and move Western Ag. forward with you. My only request to the mix is this if I see a price and I like it don't second guess me by buying me out and trying to market it later.

[parsley]

boone,

All we need is to have the CWB itself, in the back rooms, agree to grant you a license for export/interprovincial sales if you apply for one. The CWB Act allows it. You'll need it if you hunt up a good sale. Granting licenses to Western farmers would be a way for the Board to earn a bit of credibility, too.

Parsley

[boone]

Parsley: that is not really what I'm looking for here, I just want the right to cash out a couple times a day based on Minn.HrdRed, Kansas City, minus costs, adjusted for dollar and basis. I don't want to be running around willy nilly with my samples undermining the Canadian gathering system, as peddlar extrordinair.

[boone]

Parsley: that is not really what I'm looking for here, I just want the right to cash out a couple times a day based on Minn.HrdRed, Kansas City, minus costs, adjusted for dollar and basis. I don't want to be running around willy nilly with my samples undermining the Canadian gathering system, as peddlar extrordinair.

[boone]

Parsley: that is not really what I'm looking for here, I just want the right to cash out a couple times a day based on Minn.HrdRed, Kansas City, minus costs, adjusted for dollar and basis. I don't want to be running around willy nilly with my samples undermining the Canadian gathering system, as peddlar extrordinair.

[boone]

Parsley: that is not really what I'm looking for here, I just want the right to cash out a couple times a day based on Minn.HrdRed, Kansas City, minus costs, adjusted for dollar and basis. I don't want to be running around willy nilly with my samples undermining the Canadian gathering system, as peddlar extrordinair.

[boone]

Sorry about the double post, but I have a mouse that stutters.

[parsley]

boone

It would appear that you are one who thinks that if a farmer, (instead of the the so-called experts) markets his own grain, you would consider that "peddling". You certainly try to make it sound denigrating, and it reflects your attitude towards the thousands of purebred livestock breeders who "peddle" their breeding stock around the world. And put cash in their pockets.

Good thing all Western farmers aren't hobbled with the single-desk paradym. They's all be huddled in the commune waiting for their final CWB payment.

Parsley

[charliep]

The issue comes down to there are farmers who grow a more specialized product and are wanting to market this product directly. This may not be within your business plan/interests.

The current buyback system makes the CWB pricing system very transparent in that the farmer knows what they have paid for their wheat under the producer direct sales and what they have sold for in the outside market. They remain at risk for the final payment and the impact this has on total returns. would encourage every farmer to do this at least once (try a "B") as an educational experience to understand what the system asks direct marketers to do.

Realizing this will not satisfy all but the move to daily pricing could potentially some of the issues around producer direct sales/export licences. To do this, the producer pricing options would have to reflect actual daily market prices and not a advance payment that reflects the expected blend and timing of sales during the year .