The Canadian Wheat Board?

[boone]

Tom4cwb,Incognito etal:My thoughts are the cwb first leg of a marketing stool is market development. Advancing and promoting different quality and varieties, Breadwheats, Durums, Specialty Barley (Malts, waxy, etc.is a big part of what the CWB does for Canadian farmers and they do it well. They built the Durum market as we now enjoy it, (late 60's Hercules quality and characteristics program). Anyone can jump in late and do the logistics(read hard white wheat) Lately the SWP Navigator extra strong durum has been a positive development. History has shown line companies only respond to short term goals. Cargill has best record on a world level, U.G.G. has an abysmal record excepting Linola, and that has price discovery problems. Agricore has had better results in special crops, Yellow mustard, malts, and dry beans. Time and again it is "SELL the SEED" (dubious quality) add very little value, and minimum of service to producers and customers. And as for quality control, bastardize it to the point short of rejection. They have much in common with the railroads as they both are looking down the wrong end of the telescope. The direct farmer input (directors) has value for me from the doves to the hawks to the vultures, they all bring value to farmers. And if the CWB can figure out how to let us market daily through them, it could save them for this higher purpose. So who would do this well for taxpayers(real variety owners) and farmers?

[parsley]

Boone,

Let's look at leg # 1, then. Market development MD, you say.

Traditionally, yield has been the major factor considered in MD. Most of the chairs at the Universities that fund research, (and new varieties), want yield to be a presiding factor. Yield drives more usage of ferilizers and chemicals,and those companies happen to comprise most of the funders. So markets are sought that require huge mass quantities...shipfulls......Large populations...poor countries....no cash...credit terms...

There are also markets that looks for "designer production", usually the rich, and they demand taste and nutrition. Smaller...cash....Oprah wants to know who grows her food!

Just a few examples. "At what market do you want your MD dollars targeted?", boone?

Parsley

[boone]

Parsley I agree with your observation here, but up until cps wheat cwb resisted the volume over quality as it was always worried about co-mingling. They have observed the elevator companies too. For the record Dr. DePaw at Swift current had cps available ten years before they finally took a chance on it in 1982-83 HW320. Check me on that,it will be close but my memory dims too. There are some exciting markets especially malts. It is only lately that the mindset has changed in grainhandling. If they could put it all in one bin they would. Ridiculous to the extreme. Very few egg heads in the biz till lately, so tough sell. As far as inputs you bet they will always fund a variety that shows yield promise, but not as bad as American crop dev. They have fumbled this ball till now to our advantage. USDA has put forth incentives to grow Hard white winter wheat. As well as purity gaurantees to draw in fussy high priced buyers.(Japan, South Korea, etc.) but are placing it all at risk with gmo driven wants of big farm-ape-hud-icals rearing it's ugly head through University funding.