Former CWB Commisioner sues Government

[Incognito]

Katoe:

You expected to find why the Soybean May/Nov spread is CAD$68.00 wider than the May/Nov canola spread under a headline entitled:

Former CWB Commish sues Government?

[TOM4CWB]

Rockpile;

On Crop Insurance...

The Crop Insurance review had a major emphasis on looking at competition... and many thought it would be prudent to move to a US style system that allows competition in administration.

AFSC needs to heed what Premier Klein said in Toronto today... that the government (AFSC) works for the people.

That is us.

Unilateral changes to C.I. coverage without consultation is not my Idea of listening to farmers.

[rockpile]

To all,
Tom, CI has been a political tool for all too long here. Parsley, I will keep in touch and possibly stay in contact. Fact is, I've always grown non-Board grains as well, and the truth is, over 30 years, nothing has improved on either side of the coin. Farmers continue to farm by increasing their size to cover reduced margins. Like it or not, the NFU is right on this one. But like a neighbor of mine told me the other day (he is huge by all standards and very diversified), we are in a funnel, and no matter what, you end up on a pinpoint. He feels, rightly, that the juice is being sucked out of him. (He, an extreme right winger) keeps bringing up the idea of a marketing board for feeder cattle. Go figure.
Finally, I am working on preparations for my auction sale. Everything will leave my farm going to the highest bidder. Guess what, I will be using a single-desk seller - the auctioneer. Think about it guys. Don't like the auctioneer, make him better. You have one shot, do your best. Competition on the open market, very delusive. Eu and USA don't play your game, and never will. So, what tools can you employ?
Rockpile

[rodb]

Rockpile

Hope your auction goes well. I have one question for you on your auctioneer, did you have a choice of auctioneers or were you mandated to only use one? I hope that you chose the one that has performed the best based on their past history.

[TOM4CWB]

Rodb;

You got that one right on Rockpiles sale...

And a good auction has satellite bidding... and lets the whole world know the price.... not just one person.

Charlie Willabee in Camrose let Chairman Ritter know about how poorly the CWB does on transparency of selling our grain.

Mr. Spafford, the heart and soul of the CWB selling machine admitted to Charlie, that close to 50% of CWB sales in the past... have no open competition when the CWB makes a sale... CWB is selling to one customer... no one else sees what happened.

This is a huge fault in CWB sales... because not only does the buyer have the CWB on the hot seat...

Unlike Rockpile who CAN buy back... a give away... if he wants at his sale...

Western "designated area" farmers have no opportunity to say,... No... to the the CWB selling at a price that is a give away.

The CWB has NO COST OF SALES.

Until it does... it cannot maximise our returns... it is impossible without a known cost of sales.

On this point alone... I may just be required to let Chairman Ritter know this fall... that he is wrong in supporting a CWB that uses pooling for a base... instead of cash prices with a known cost of sales!

At the C and C in Nisku, in Dec. the CWB's Brian White admitted that the CWB takes none of our production expense as a factor in pricing CWB sales.

"Designated Area" production expense is our COST OF SALES, and ONLY a farmer can decide to willingly sell below our cost of sales...

It is WRONG for the CWB to force a sale and drive the world price of a grain below this COST of Sale value.

All the best Rockpile in your sale...

[rockpile]

Choosing auctioneer,
RodB, I'm having fun here, but, yes, I did excercise my freedom to hire the best auctioneer around for my sale, like I selected in the last CWB election, but was denied as the majority found other priorities. Good thing there was no vote for my choice of an auctioneer for my farm sale or I could be hooped. I sincerely thank you all for your wishes of success at my sale, and would make like to point out that farm people are 'different' from others in that even though we have very differing views on some serious issues, we still support each other in our endeavours. Hats off to everyone. And the very best to you all in what probably will be a very tough year. Just a P.S., part of what drove me to an early retirement was the feeling that you guys will soon succeed in eliminating the Board, and that your success will be devastating to both the farm economy and land values. Wheat production will be incremental and restricted only to domestic consumption. Like the beef packing industry, there is not enough competition to 'extract' production value for the primary producer, never mind the politics of food. (I still retained enough acres to feed myself).
Good planting and marketing to all of you.
Rockpile