The Canadian Wheat Board

[Incognito]

Parsley:

How many MT of organic wheat is sold every year in western Canada?

Best,

[parsley]

Look at A
Look at B


A. Single Desk Scenario(what we have)

(CWB Act @ Licensing and Marketing in play)
1. Parsley applies for license.
2. CWB denies Parsley the license.
3. Parsley sells grain to the CWB
4. Parsley buys back grain.
5. Parsley loses $$.


B.Dual Marketing Scenario(basic need)

(CWB Act @ Licensing and Marketing in play)
1. Parsley applies for license.
2. CWB grants Parsley the license.
3. Parsley ships grain and makes $$

Very simple solution.

The amount of grain is immaterial, incognito, perhaps 1% of total DA production. Some is fed to organic beef. Small amounts compared to the millions of bushels of feed grains bypassing the CWB.

Approx 1000 organic grain producers, usually value-adders.

So what am I missing here, charliep?
Incognito?
TOM4CWB?

Parsley

PS Listening to Vader on the radio today left the impression that every Designated Area guy will go stone-blind, if he once tries touching his single desk.

[lakenheath]

I hear you Parsley. One of the major problems with the CWB is that they are way too slow to change. Organics is the perfect example. Make the damn change. But, no. For some apparent rediculous reason, they won't make the change. It really makes you wonder.

And what blows my mind about Vader is that he is an organic grower.

[Incognito]

Parsley:

"guy will go stone-blind, if he once tries touching his single desk."

Is that like the Parable of the teenager and a woody?....LOL

[chaffmeister]

To get an export permit, DA farmers are forced to sell their wheat to the CWB and receive the initial price and then “buy-back” their wheat from the CWB at a price that the CWB considers to be the market price. The CWB indicates that the market price is the price that the CWB would have sold the same grain for in that same market. This way, the CWB argues, the pool remains intact; the independent farmer’s exporting activities do not dilute the pool since the sale goes through the pool, just as if the CWB sold the grain.

BUT – the CWB does not sell organic grain. So, on the buy-back for organic grain, the CWB argues that it simply sells the grain to the organic farmer/exporter at the price for conventional wheat in the same market as the organic wheat is being sold. According to the CWB, the “organic” farmer gets to keep the organic premium.

The CWB argues that it must do the buy-back on organic grain sales because if it allowed organic farmers to sell wheat directly, it would take away markets/sales from the pool. In other words, the sale of organic wheat would dilute the pool account; all other farmers in the pool would lose.

BUT – organic wheat doesn’t compete with conventional wheat. Organic wheat from Canada only competes with other organic wheat sources. The organic market is completely separate from the conventional market. There is no substitution, arbitrage, or competition. If an organic flour mill doesn’t like the price of organic wheat (or the quality, or he can’t seem to find any), he doesn’t buy conventional wheat and try to pass it off as organic. If a Western Canadian farmer sold organic wheat into California, it in no way would take away any sales opportunity from the CWB trying to sell conventional wheat into California. There is no way the CWB would ever lose the opportunity to sell into that market because some rogue organic farmer beat them to it. Nor would there be any price effect on conventional wheat.

THEREFORE – organic farmers selling wheat directly to organic markets would not deprive or deny the CWB any sales opportunities in any way whatsoever. It is impossible for sales of organic wheat to interfere with the CWB conventional sales program.

This is a no-brainer. The CWB contributes nothing to the organic market and is a tax on the Western Canadian organic farmer seriously diminishing his competitiveness.

[Vader]

I can only eat one loaf of bread at a time. One time that loaf might be organic and the next time that loaf might be conventional. I call that substitution.

[charliep]

Vader

Your belief is single desk selling (for export and domestic human consumption) is a necessity to offset the market power of large multi nationals. Won't say I agree but I'll set this discussion aside.

What impact does allowing direct access for farmers to smaller markets like organic (could be waxy barley for beta glucan or any number of the new alternative uses with specific trait based needs) on the overall CWB pool returns? If Canada needs to encourage entreneurship and development of higher valued products by farmers, shouldn't the CWB be encouraging this by minimizing its impact if it can't provide support in other ways?

[parsley]

Hmm. What about an Ontario loaf of bread?

Parsley

[lakenheath]

Vader,

You should be in politics. You talk around questions directed at you in some non-sensical analogous way. Cut the crap and give us direct answers.

[parsley]

lakenheath,

Is Vader implying that the CWB stops organics from directly entering the market (denying licenses)because organics steals market share from conventionals?

So, if organics does steal market share, does the CWB make Ontario go through the CWB as well,so the CWB can be the sole player? After all CWB wheat can be substituted with Ontario wheat.

Parsley