Calgary Herald: Wheat board doomed without monopoly

[AdamSmith]

Just what does this say about the CWB today? Measner, as President of the CWB, knows that the competition will wipe the floor with them. It will be a masacre. CWB offerings will be so much less than what the private trade will offer, a 10% market share would be considered an amazing success.

The CWB will be shut out of all barley. The CWB will be shut out of all mid quality wheats like cps and winter wheat. Non registered varieties will flood into the prairies and the CWB will be shut out of those as well. Durum will be a near shut out for them. This leaves them with about a 25% market share in CWRS. And unless they can compete here that will fall as well.

The thing I've never been able to understand is that if the CWB knows they can't compete and if farmers overwhelmingly choose other avenues to sell wheat and barley, why should we care whether they cease to exist at all?

Am I a poorer and worse off because Minniapolis-Moline tractors don't exist any more?

The CWB has been proped up for far to long, take their monopoly away and if the continue to stand, fine. But if they fall flat on their face and earn a one way ticket to the national archives, that should be fine as well.

But as Tom4 has noted, much of what is to become of the CWB has been created by their own hand and their own decisions. The CWB has spent the last ten years attacking and belittling the younger and more progressive farmers on the prairies. Thousands of farmers will never deal with them because of the way the CWB has treated them.

By the time the CWB realizes this fatal error in tactics it will be far to late for them to do anything about it.

[boone]

Post: Like I said, "TWO GRAVES"

[AdamSmith]

boone,

The one grave will say RIP CWB,

but who are you refering to that will be in the othere grave?

[boone]

Adam Smith: I expect it will be the 'illusion' of 'Free Will'.

[TOM4CWB]

Boone;

Are you saying we have "free will" now... sending farmers to jail for giving a sack of wheat to a 4-H Club in Montana?

Just an inkling of fair play and justice and the CWB/feds crucify anyone who would dare to fight for an ounce of competition...

And you are happy with this Boone?

like a dog and one of those collars... with a wire burried around the outside of the yard... Western "designated area" farmers who still use the CWB we are... afraid of our own shadow!

[boone]

Tom4cwb: I don't see any rugged individualists moving beef south these days, and there is no monolith to point to, kick, or lay disparaging remarks at the doorstep. Point is when you are stopped because the protectionist movement in the excited states is rampant, you will not even have a collective focus or voice to move forward. And as a point of fact if you have not enjoyed the last few years doing business with our neighbours, hold on to your hats. The economy has them in a foul mood, and we should hope it improves, for our own sakes. I almost forgot, Cargill and Tyson will guarantee safe passage for all grain, with their invoice attached.

[rodb]

Boone

Maybe things won't be perfect with the Excited States if we don't have Mother Wheat Board to protect us.

We probably would be growing crops that the world wants or needs, not ones that we have always grown because we made a profit 50 years ago and it is our God given right to keep on growing them.

The CWB with all its so called sophisticated grain marketing knowledge lost our farm alot of money last year through in acurate sales information (PRO). There is no excuse for the drastic swing in the PRO. A little yes but to lose 25-30% is poor management. Did any one lose there job or get a reprimand for not doing a proper job?

This is like the Sponsorship Scandal, you just keep baffling people with BS until the issue dies away. I know that no one consistenly picks the highs in the market but surely there has to be some accountability for the gross miss management of the 2002-2003 wheat pool.

On our farm we have to learn from our mistakes and we pay the price for those mistakes. When I am forced to deal with some one who is not responsible because of legislation that was missed guided in my Grandfathers era, I get a little irate. We have structured our business so that we deal very little with the CWB but every now and then we have to. I would rather deal with the bandit I know than one who hids in a ivory tower in Winnipeg and spouts fear.

[TOM4CWB]

Boone;

Even the Ausies understand the C word Competition.

If a farmer needs to shipped bagged or contanorised exports... the Competition Tribunal down under made them (the AWB) allow this choice outside the AWB Monopoly. A Dual Market, Market Choice... whatever you want to call it, Australia has it now.

The AWB is not weaker now, it is in fact stronger

Boone you have been sucked into the CWB black hole of fear... hook line and sinker, IMHO.

If we allow ourselves to be ruled by fear of the unknown... caos will be the result... as fear ends all true generation of wealth.

Courage in the face of adversity... faith that we can overcome and make our farms better, our communities stronger, and our next generation prosper... is what our nation needs.

NOT CWB Chaos and FEAR; of creative innovative humanity!

Adrian Measner should be fired by Alcock tommorrow, as should Ken Ritter step down as Chairman of the CWB. These people have NO VISION and NO understanding of leadership... that creates prosperity. They are destroyers, not builders.

And the CWB will not survive with this sense of dispair and disfunctional chaos.

CAN't means Won't, they have a plan to destroy the CWB.

[boone]

Rodb: What is stopping you from growing all these non CWB crops now, give'er. As far as been drawn in by the cwb I think you should review my posts. They are not my worry. The only words that I ever took to heart from Jean Chretien were his comments about free trade and the Americans. It was during the reign of error years of, Brian Balloney. He said in regards to negotiating trade with the Americans. If you start to make them aware of our involvment in their economy we have more to loose than to gain, hence to negotiate is to measure and it won't go well. Now I suggest it is the same with us, if you show up on the doorstep of endusers with your little peddlars sacks, you will be measured and noticed. No nation west of Algiers has a better nose for business threats. Understand me clearly I personaly don't care what happens, I'm a bit like 'cowman' my concern here is not as much for myself as for future players. And yes some of the larger grainfarmers will be protected by kissing firmly on Cargills and ADMs aftparts, but it will be hard on the average joe farmer!

[rodb]

Boone
We tend to practice the non CWB route but every once in a while we get drawn in like the moth to the flame. We can grow a fairly consistant malt barley crop in this area but we stay away as you have to deal with the CWB. Our other major grain crop is CPS. Everyonce in a blew moon it will grade a 2 or better and you get drawn in again.

The CWB also plays a large part in the domestic feed grain market as the feeder knows that the CWB will never short the marke tand so they only have to bid enough to get the bin doors open of the CWB zealots.

I say open the doors and let there be true competition, if I don't survive then I will stick my tail between my legs and leave, but don't prop up a lot of operations that need to fundamentaly change for it only prolongs the inevitable.

[boone]

RodB:Can't disagree with your comments about feed or cps, this may be the best way to measure the cwb against open challengers. It is managable as long as it is visible, and if we can't meet the FTA requirments of nonre-regulating and putting that genie back in the bottle, so be it. They should be in no way holding out a level of buffer stocks for feeding industry. Not now or in future. Boone4cwb (if you can't laugh at yourself, your about 5 minutes to midnight anyways) LOL

[les]

The boys at the CWB must be loving the BSE thing , cause it has takin a lot of heat off them.People have kind of backed off them for the moment.Hopefully the heat will be back stronger than ever and we will soon have a choice.I have not grown any thing that I need to sell thro the CWB in about 7 years now,and it is working out good for me so far.

[TOM4CWB]

Boone;

Alesen/Snowbird is the perfect example of CWB stupidity.

Alesen, with a falling number of better than 300, is worth every cent of CWRS... and the CWB knows it.

We have PR5700, Navigator Durum, Select CWRW's and the new Hard Whites... all IP.

One third of the northern US grows Alesen... and the eastern third of western Canada needs to as well. The CWB could IP it in a second.

Instead they have tried to steal it at a 20% discount. The CWB's answer to our problems, discount it.

Hard White Wheat, to be discounted into markets against the AWB.

Select Winter Wheat, to be discounted into markets against US Hard Red Winter... same with 5700. Is Navigator any different against desert durum... I doubt it.

CWB market development strategies are to sell cheaper than the other guy on the block.

When I buy John Deere... I expect to pay a fair price... for a premium product... that works. ANY way you slice it.
Some of my neighbours... say I pay too much... I disagree. I will pay what is fair.

And the same SHOULD go for my/our IP CDN Wheat... Alesen, Grandin, Snowbird, 5700, Crystal, CWRW selects; all deserve a seperate pool.

THis is what the CWB Just said on this matter;
http://www.cwb.ca/en/news/now/2004/031204.jsp

"CWXHW is in the wheat pool because it is a milling wheat with processing and baking qualities that are similar to those of CWRS. If premiums can be obtained on this experimental class, they will be returned to farmers through the wheat pool."

CWXHW, and CWRW have no 14% US tariff... they must pay us more... but the CWB is going to give it back to CWRS... or sell it for 14% less than it is worth.

SICK.

[AdamSmith]

boone;

I guess my expectations of an open wheat and barley market are different than others may be.

Yes I believe Cargill and ADM will be active in the market, why wouldn't they, they're active in Canola and they are valuable players in that market. Yet neither one of those companies has ever forced me to sell to them. In fact I don't think I've ever sold one bushel of Canola to Cargill.

And I honestly don't see the relevance in farm size. Farm size has alot to do with manageing costs, but little to do with establishing a price for a commodity. The WCE price is good for 100 bushels or 100,000 bu. The farm size arguement is nothing more than fearmongering from the CWB and the NFU. It just can't stand up to critical examination.

So I guess I would have to disagree with you about the illusion of free will dieing as well. Free Will will be reborn.

boone, don't confuse anxiety with loss of control.

[parsley]

The CWB has imposed arbitrary regulations upon farmers. The costs of them are not offset by any market benefits.

That is why the CWB has become non-viable

CWB act/regulations do not facilitate productivity, innovation or harmony.