I think that the CWB could use some changes and be more accountable, but overall I think they are not doing too bad of a job. We have the CWB lets keep it and make it better.
With the open Market when are most people going to sell their grain? At HARVEST time when they need money the most to pay their bills. When are the prices often at their lowest? At HARVEST time. With the CWB and the pooling account you do not have to worry when you sell it and you know how it works. Then with EPO's you can get paid more up front instead of waiting so long.
One thing that could be changed is the contract sytem. Like TOM4CWB said Durum 2005 A series... double up on the contract signup... or what ever... reduce to the correct amount... presto 100% delivered..."
On our farm we grow CWB Crops "Durum, Wheat, Malt Barley". Other crops we grow that are not CWB crops are large green lentils, small red lentils, yellow peas, maple peas, Desi chickpeas, Kabulis, Rye, Canola, canary seed, feed barley maybe some dill, anise, corriander, flax, and mustard. We have enough markets to watch I would just as soon have the CWB look after the wheat and Durum and malt barley for us and we can worry about the rest. If you are not happy with the CWB there is lots of other crops you can grow and not have to deal with them.
I haul grain for hundreds of farmers in a 100 mile area. I talk with a lot of farmers and grain buyers and have been doing a little survey the last few years about the CWB. I ask the farmers what they think about it. The bigger and more successful the farmer, the more they praise the CWB. There are a couple of big successful farmers in our area that do not care either way. One of them is a seed grower so he doesn't use the CWB much anyway, the other one is a mixed farmer.
Most of the farmers who dislike the CWB have gone broke already. You can spot them easily; they're the guys who sit in the coffe shop and talk to themselves. When I get to their farm to haul grain nothing runs I have to take the battery out of their tractor to start the loader. Some of them have one battery for the whole farm and they move it from one peace of equipment to the next. One time I was loading and the farmer asked if we could take a smaller load because his wife needed the battery for the car go to work. Then in the next sentence he would tell me that the CWB is no good and should be done away with and how much better off we would be without it. He says he could do much better marketing his own grain. Maybe he should market batteries too.
Then I get to the pro CWB farmer. Everything is well organized the equipment is clean and well maintained they actually have more than 1 battery. Who do you think I believe when they tell me how they feel about the CWB.
The way I see it the CWB is for community they are for all farmers. They are trying to help us not to hurt us they can not change the world prices and I think they get a better price for us in the long run. It might take longer to get the money but we end up with more. With out the CWB we will be at the mercy of the multinationals like DUPONT, MONSANTO, ADM - not even Canadian companies. Once we are at the mercy of the multinationals, we may have to buy all our seed from them as well as all our farm inputs and if we don't they won't buy our product. The multinationals are brainwashing us trying to suck us in so that they can control us. They sponsor all the universities and colleges to teach what is good for them not good for us. Some of you need to get your heads out of the sand and read a book or two before you jump on the anti-CWB bandwagon. We have to think we we we not me me me. Watch the Tommy Douglas story the Prarie Giant it was one of the best movies I have ever seen and we have to start thinking the way he thought. We have to maintain our communities if we lose the CWB, we may end up with 5 or 6 farmers farming the same land 25 farmers farmed in the past. It will get so that we won't even know our neighbors.
Just because the CWB is marketing our grain does not make them communist. They are farmers for farmers and only trying to help us.
My great grandparents came to Canada back in the early 1900's to get away from the oppression of the landlords in Europe at that time. There was no land to farm because all the rich people owned it all. They came here to Canada to the land of opportunity to start a new life for themselves. They worked hard and so did all the homesteaders to build communities and it is all going back to what they tried to get away from. We're going back to where there are only the rich landlords and no new farmers can get started and they call that progress.
It might be different in your area of the country, especially if you live close to the USA border, but around here I think 90% of the farmers support the CWB. At least that is how I see it where I live and farm.
Try looking around the area where you live; who is a CWB supporter and who is not? Maybe what I've said will make some sense and maybe it won't , but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
With the open Market when are most people going to sell their grain? At HARVEST time when they need money the most to pay their bills. When are the prices often at their lowest? At HARVEST time. With the CWB and the pooling account you do not have to worry when you sell it and you know how it works. Then with EPO's you can get paid more up front instead of waiting so long.
One thing that could be changed is the contract sytem. Like TOM4CWB said Durum 2005 A series... double up on the contract signup... or what ever... reduce to the correct amount... presto 100% delivered..."
On our farm we grow CWB Crops "Durum, Wheat, Malt Barley". Other crops we grow that are not CWB crops are large green lentils, small red lentils, yellow peas, maple peas, Desi chickpeas, Kabulis, Rye, Canola, canary seed, feed barley maybe some dill, anise, corriander, flax, and mustard. We have enough markets to watch I would just as soon have the CWB look after the wheat and Durum and malt barley for us and we can worry about the rest. If you are not happy with the CWB there is lots of other crops you can grow and not have to deal with them.
I haul grain for hundreds of farmers in a 100 mile area. I talk with a lot of farmers and grain buyers and have been doing a little survey the last few years about the CWB. I ask the farmers what they think about it. The bigger and more successful the farmer, the more they praise the CWB. There are a couple of big successful farmers in our area that do not care either way. One of them is a seed grower so he doesn't use the CWB much anyway, the other one is a mixed farmer.
Most of the farmers who dislike the CWB have gone broke already. You can spot them easily; they're the guys who sit in the coffe shop and talk to themselves. When I get to their farm to haul grain nothing runs I have to take the battery out of their tractor to start the loader. Some of them have one battery for the whole farm and they move it from one peace of equipment to the next. One time I was loading and the farmer asked if we could take a smaller load because his wife needed the battery for the car go to work. Then in the next sentence he would tell me that the CWB is no good and should be done away with and how much better off we would be without it. He says he could do much better marketing his own grain. Maybe he should market batteries too.
Then I get to the pro CWB farmer. Everything is well organized the equipment is clean and well maintained they actually have more than 1 battery. Who do you think I believe when they tell me how they feel about the CWB.
The way I see it the CWB is for community they are for all farmers. They are trying to help us not to hurt us they can not change the world prices and I think they get a better price for us in the long run. It might take longer to get the money but we end up with more. With out the CWB we will be at the mercy of the multinationals like DUPONT, MONSANTO, ADM - not even Canadian companies. Once we are at the mercy of the multinationals, we may have to buy all our seed from them as well as all our farm inputs and if we don't they won't buy our product. The multinationals are brainwashing us trying to suck us in so that they can control us. They sponsor all the universities and colleges to teach what is good for them not good for us. Some of you need to get your heads out of the sand and read a book or two before you jump on the anti-CWB bandwagon. We have to think we we we not me me me. Watch the Tommy Douglas story the Prarie Giant it was one of the best movies I have ever seen and we have to start thinking the way he thought. We have to maintain our communities if we lose the CWB, we may end up with 5 or 6 farmers farming the same land 25 farmers farmed in the past. It will get so that we won't even know our neighbors.
Just because the CWB is marketing our grain does not make them communist. They are farmers for farmers and only trying to help us.
My great grandparents came to Canada back in the early 1900's to get away from the oppression of the landlords in Europe at that time. There was no land to farm because all the rich people owned it all. They came here to Canada to the land of opportunity to start a new life for themselves. They worked hard and so did all the homesteaders to build communities and it is all going back to what they tried to get away from. We're going back to where there are only the rich landlords and no new farmers can get started and they call that progress.
It might be different in your area of the country, especially if you live close to the USA border, but around here I think 90% of the farmers support the CWB. At least that is how I see it where I live and farm.
Try looking around the area where you live; who is a CWB supporter and who is not? Maybe what I've said will make some sense and maybe it won't , but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
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