In simple terms......the CWB is a joke

[rockhound]

Vader good for you, you think the CWB only cost you .10 a bushel. This is the problem Vader if you would take the CWB blinders off and do sum more research outside of the CWB try looking at US and Canadian port prices on Wheat and now work them back and tell me what the CWB cost is. Maybe if enough board huggers open there eyes they will see the board is not as cheap as they think. Problem is most people will not take the time to figure it out for themselves and until they do, they'll be happy with the CWB telling them how good of job They do..

[Vader]

Rockhound, I have seen port price comparisons. Generally in milling quality wheat the CWB earns a premium for Western Canadian Farmers.

[charliep]

The attached are the current Vancouver and Portland prices.

http://www.agric.gov.ab.ca/economic/stats/wkgrain.html

Vader - My understanding is the posted price is the current offered price for Japanese Food Agency business. Do all buyers of 1CWRS 13.5 % protein (west coast pick up) pay this price? Should the CWB be required to post their daily price and sales activity information?

Are the quality specifications for 1CWRS 13.5 and 1 Dark Northern Spring 14 % the same? What happens when the US is required to meet Japanese quality/food safety specifications? I am thinking of the tighter tolerances around fusarium head blight/scab.

Would it be fair to do an average CWB posted price for 1CWRS 13.5 during the pricing period (say Oct. 1 to Sept. 30 the next year) and compare that to the total payments recieved by western Canadian farmers? Or would a better comparison be to compare what a Lethbridge farmer recieved for payments to a Great Falls average price for the same period?

Lee has been beating on me to do an article on how the CWB pooling system works. This would involve separating the two totally separate CWB activities. Single desk selling - this involves understanding the CWB marketing area sales plan, return to pool tables, processes for determining what grades to apply to sales, etc. The other aspect is price pooling - how returns are distributed to farmers (determination of spreads between different clases, grades and proteins during the year). This system is complicated and boring - don't think people care about the processs.

[rockhound]

Vader I'm Glad your happy with only one choice to seller your wheat. But for thoose of us who are not, let us out of the CWB prison. If your single desk is getting you such a high price for your wheat now I don't see how daul market will kill the CWB if they are still getting you more then the FREE MARKET but I think the CWB is Afraid if they give us our freedom we will get more for our wheat in the open market and then even the board huggers might be able to tell that 5.00 a bushel is more then 4.00..

[Vader]

rockhound - you might want to try mastering the english language before you go off marketing your wheat all over the world.

[Vader]

Charlie, I don't think that the CWB posts the price that it is asking of the Japanese Food Agency. The many testing and quality requirements demand a much higher price than what the CWB is posting for North American business.

I don't think many people understand the pooling system. (myself included) Certainly there are some good reasons for pooling. I am inclined to believe that the good does not outweigh the bad. Perhaps we can maintain the pooling system and increase the number of pricing options, but ultimately I would like to see a separation between milling and non-milling wheat in the pools and perhaps a completely contracted program for milling wheat.

I you were to do a study of the pooling system that could be the start of a great debate. I think all producers especially the ones who support price pooling need to understand the advantages AND the disadvantages of pooling.