CWB and Export Manufactured Feed Agreement

[lrhm]

I would like to openly question Tom on the volume of feed grain being shipped off of the prairies and into the US through this agreement. My understanding of the EMF agreement is that it allows an Export Licence to be filled out, by the shipper, without reference to volume of grain sold or price. In contrast, an individual farmer has to disclose that information to the CWB when engaging in a buyback to export to the US.
Secondly, the enforcement and regulation of this agreement concerns me.The terms of the agreement under section "(e)" require the feed company to retain samples for 3 months after shipping. CWB reps can inspect those samples on request. Not to imply that anyone is cheating but.... there is no mechanism here to guarantee the sample provided is the product shipped. How is the CWB controlling slippage in this instance ? Are inspections of shipment and samples being taken at ports of entry? How often does the CWB actually check to verify the qualification of feeds being shipped?
Tom you have indicated that farmers are eligible for "this as well". Please clarify, is "this" referring specifically to the EMF? My understanding of the EMF is you have to be a licenced feed processor registered with Agriculture Canada to qualify.Am I wrong?
You have not giving proper justification for implimentation of this agreement. Farmers are questioning why this agreement has been in place since 1996 and is only now coming into the publics' eyes.Until last summer, even directors were uncertain of this deals existance and purpose. Please rest our fears!
Finally, there is some confusion out there as to whether or not the grain exported under the EMF has to go through the buyback process. Some adamantly believe that this grain enters the pooling account. My understanding, is the EMF replaces the need for a buyback and on the export licence "As per EMF" appears in lieu of buyback terms. Am I right, or just another farmer that doesn't understand?

[parsley]

Of course they don't pool it! I think any farmer can answer that question. The Board just doesn't want to. Well there's a whole group of kamut growers out there that export too. They get the license but they sure don't do the buyback. No pooling either. There'll be a whole bunch of quiet little deals out there that the CWB has made, but we'll never know whatall of them are e until farmers have access to Information about the CWB.

The Board gives licenses only when they want to, they pool only when they want to and are not accountable for either.

[TOM4CWB]

I would like to add that the CWB issues no-cost export licenses for Pedigreed Seed Wheat and Barley, and in the 1950's and early 60's didn't even require export licenses for this wheat or barley. Further in the late 40's and 50's ungraded wheat and barley, in a farmers own wagon was allowed across the US border without any buy-back. The The fact is that Buy-backs were only supposed to be for grain co.s and Export licenses were never anything more than commercial documents between agents of the CWB and the CWB. The Parliament of Canada has not yet gazetted the export license, as is required by law for it to be a statutory instrument of the CWB Act. Read my presentation to the Federal Court of Appeal on June 26th 2000 at tom4cwb.com if you want the whole story!

Isn't it amazing that the very purpose of the buy-back was to prevent undeserved profit from going to grain co's or feed mills, and today the CWB exempts them and illegally charges farmers, completely against the original intent of the CWB Act! Is this the scheme behind refusing to sell 1 million tonnes to Iran, to intentionally lower feed wheat and barley prices, allowing multi-national feed companies to make even more on the backs of broke farmers?

[parsley]

Tom4CWB, Are you saying that the buyback is sort of a trumped-up export-license denial?

[TOM4CWB]

In essence yes, look at the end of the CWB FPC ripoff article and you will see with the buy-back at $155.66 per tonne that the feed mills are getting a huge illegal benefit. The only monopoly the CWB is interested in is "designated area" grain farmers bank accounts, and not for the purpose of being Santa either!

[parsley]

What is this CWB FPC ripoff article?. I'm out in left field here. Must be too much Christmas Cheer for me! What about this word illegal? Pretty strong for anyone other than a Designated area Boy.The CWB seems to be overstepping their authority all over the place, so nothing would surprise me.

[lrhm]

Well a month has passed and I am still waiting for a reply. Seems the CWB with its' expanded communications budget of 2.1 million has little to spare in answering the tough questions with honest answers. I do hope that the service the CWB provides in these forums is not indicative of how they market prairie grain on the world stage.Your silence could be misinterpreted as an admission of guilt, please answer to your "shareholders"!

[TOM4CWB]

Didn't you know, this is commercially sensitive information....it might start a trade war with the U.S.

Shhhhhh, be quiet, ssssmile be hhhhappy.

The CWB is solving all our tax problems, no capital gain, no taxable income, and we get to go whining all to way to the mailbox looking for more hand outs!!!!!!

What a pitty, only in Canada you say!

[charliep]

I finally got the numbers you requested on the dollar value/volume of complete feed being exported to the US. I highlight this is product so will include all ingredients plus processing margin. It is not possible to breakout the wheat/barley portion (if any at all). All it is shown as is complete feed in Statistics Canada numbers. I have these numbers by class and province for those of you that are number crunchers on request. Email me if you want.

Exports of complete animal feeds to the US from W. Canada (calendar yr.)

1997 1998 1999 1st half 2000
Export value 45,788,274 47,726,764 30,850,213 15,219,100
Export volume (t) 143,681 102,089 79,066 40,211
Ave. value ($/t) $319 $467 $390 $378

Again to highlight that these are raw numbers that include other ingrediants and ration types.

[parsley]

Just to add a bit to lrhm's request about feed, if you go to
strategis.ic.gc.ca
and enter the website, click on Economic Analysis Statistics. then Industry and Trade Statisitcs will get you to Trade Data Online.

Feeds are listed under Foods and the code is SIC10-Food.

The codes to punch in for feed are SIC 1053 if you want some detail. They have boken all the stats down carefully....each export from each orvince, each region. Each country it's exported to. Etc. Very interesting.

You must be very careful in how you interpret the information, but as a general guide, Mr. W.E.Muir and Mr. J.T. Mills research about Feed Mills, and Feed Manufacturing in Canada can serve you well.

They say "Feed grains, mainly barley, corn, wheat , and oats (Statistics Canada 1989), make up about 60% of most feed rations (by volume). Although there are a lot of other products in feed, that is a loose rule of thumb.

They also say "About 70% of feed production is in eastern and central Canada".


Parsley

[lrhm]

Charlie, "complete feed" makes me suspicious, you were certain to repeat it three times. What about "incomplete feed" aka rolled barley, hammered wheat etc? In your answer you have skirted my point. Does the CWB track volumes sold through the EMF, it is after all issuing the licence. As we know any feed containing less than 25% wheat or barley does not require a licence.Your notation of "if any at all" is a laughable weak dismissal, please refrain from insulting my intelligence.The CWB should be able to report on the volume of feed leaving this country, outside of the pool, containing between 25-75% wheat or barley. That would be a question for Tom. It is a simple question, please don't bury it in vague numbers

[charliep]

I can fax you a copy of the Export Manufactured Feed Agreement is you email me/you can interpret. Both my and Parsley numbers are also available on values/volumes are also available at the aggregate level. My only intention in highlighting the way I did is to make sure people are aware that the feed wheat/barley must be processed in some way (can't export raw seed) and mixed with at least a 25 % blend of some other feed ingredient. Policy issues I will let others discuss.

[parsley]

The Export Manufactured Feed Agreement form is available for everyone to look at on the following website


prairecentre.org

Click on the EMFA button. It is the only place that seems to offer producers a chance to look at it. "Search" at any other website has brought up a no-show for me. Strange there is no reference to it. Could Tom tell us where to find it on the CWB or Ag Canada websites? I must be a poor searcher.
Parsley

[parsley]

A CWB spokesperson should be able to supply detailed information by now.
Parsley

[TOM4CWB]

Parsley,

Maybe they already spent all their budget on supper meetings and don't have the resources left to answer our questions?

My direct question is;

Is the CWB forced to issue no cost export licenses to feed companies at least in part to comply with the NAFTA regulations that require the price inside and outside Canada to be the same?