Open and Transparent:

[Incognito]

They are still blaming the dollar for some of the poor PRO's.

QUOTES:
Malt barley: relatively strong Canadian dollar will be a negative factor

Feed barley: Canada's potential for feed barley exports will be influenced by the volume of the Canadian domestic crop, ocean freight rates, and foreign exchange.

UNQUOTE

IF 28/28 economists are telling you the dollar is going to 90 cents when it was trading at 82 cents, do you sit back and let farmers take the hit if you truly care about the viability of their farm? Or do you hedge part of your sales just as you are contemplating today?

The all or nothing approach to the single desk appears to have wandered into the risk management dept and FOREX - and it has hurt farmers badly.

[chaffmeister]

The CWB is stating quite clearly that when it comes to barley, its impotent. Blaming poor export prospects on ocean freight and forex is just another way of saying "the CWB system doesn't work with barley because of the dominant non-CWB feed market".

If the CWB Initial Payment can't compete with the domestic non-CWB price, the CWB gets next to nothing and we get no exports. (We saw it in 01-02 and 02-03 when the feed barley pool amounted to about 55,000t and 40,000t respectively.)

The real injustice is that, if the CWB was truly thinking of farmers' viability, it would do the right thing and simply step away from the barley market althogether.

What they should be saying is "We're sorry, but we're just getting in the way here. It's clear that the barley industry no longer needs or benefits from a single desk so the CWB is stepping aside. It is further evident that this market will operate more efficiently without the CWB and so effective immediately, the CWB will provide cost-free export licenses for barley to anyone asking. In addition, producers may sell directly to domestic maltsters."

That's what they should say.

Either lead, follow, or get out of the way.

Vader, you still reading this stuff....If someone at the CWB would show some leadership in barley, who knows - people may be willing to give them a little leeway on wheat. But then again, maybe not. It's likely too late.

[wmoebis]

How much non board feed barley is used domesticaly in CWB catchment area?

[charliep]

About 9 mln tonnes of feed barley is consumed in western Canada out of a total barley crop of 12 mln tonnes (about 75 % of production). About 2 mln tonnes is malt (1 mln tonnes processed domestically and 1 mln tonnes exported as actual barley). 400,000 tonnes used as seed. The remainder can be used in any of the above (feed, malt barley exports, feed barley exports) or an increase in carryover.

[chaffmeister]

10 million tonnes /-
out of a 13-14 million tonne crop.

[chaffmeister]

Use Charlie's numbers - I was guessing off the top of my head.

Anyway you look at it, it's big.

[charliep]

Chaff.

Your numbers would be all Canada. Knocked off 1 mln tonnes for eastern Canada (all feed I believe although may be some malt barley in a potato rotation in the maritimes.