Where are the numbers?

[MBFarmer1]

I have been following the CWB debate with great interest. As a young farmer (32) it carries a great deal of weight for me as the outcome of this debate will affect my future. Through the debate however most of what I see is only rhetoric and anecdotal evidence put forth by the pro and con sides. Where are the hard numbers in regard to this debate? What benefits could I expect if marketing choice was implemented? If it is strengthened? Where are the unbiased studies? not done by CWB or WCWGA. Prior to returning to the farm I spent my post secondary education years working in politics related to agriculture, some of it on the opposite side of the lobby desk from farmers. I saw several important decisions made by farmers based not enough on hard research but more on "I have a feeling this is the way it will go", anecdotal evidence or even political ideologies. I am not speaking negatively about the people involved in those decisions, they put in long hours and worked very hard in return for very little appreciation. My point is these are extremely complex issues, a farmer working part time on the board of a voluntary organization is not going to have the time, energy or background to argue these issues effectively with beaurocrats or industry players whose sole purpose in life it is to study the tiniest minutia related to them. We as farmers need to learn to look for unbiased expertise on these issues, hire it, pay for it, and then make our decisions based on hard facts not feelings or political ideologies. If this type of solid info is out there in regard to the CWB debate.... hey pont me to it.

[agstar77]

It would be almost impossible to find these numbers you want. The only possible way would be a comparison of returns from a bus. of the same grain ex. subsidies to a Canadian and a U.S. farmer. Even there you would have to allow for the different handling and transportatin systems which are outside the contol of the CWB. Besides this most of the advocates of an open marketing system don't really care if you get the highest return and really only care about the idealogy of the debate.

[JACKFLASH]

Was at a meeting the other day. One grain analyst told me the trade looks at countries surronding theBlack Sea. Now these countries have some of the best wheat growing areas in the world.

Farmers there have no subsidies of any kind. The international price of wheat is influenced here. Kind of ironic isn't it former Soviet countries now having a hand determining the world price of wheat. Not Canada,not US,notEU etc.

[silverback]

MBfarmer,

I asked for some numbers on this site one time so I could learn for myself if the CWB was as inefficient as some people say. The answer? You cannot see the books, nobody can. We cannot prove to you that the CWB gets us the highest prices over a long period of time. All we have to go on is what other countries are paying their farmers for their wheat and barley.

How about a market where the CWB had some competition for our product? Nobody knows for sure, but there sure is no freedom right now to choose who you ship your grain through.

We will never know if things are better if we are too scared of the unknown to take a chance. Fear is a dangerous thing, but the supporters of the board tell us that we need to fear that the big corporations will swallow us up. Personally, it might be easier to be swallowed whole instead of being slowly bled to death.

Just my $.02.