what about the rest of the business??

[JohnKenneth]

as of the last few years, stats can shows acres of crops in western canada to be about 1/3 split beween:

- canola/barley
- feedgrains/oats/pulses and special crops
- board grains

yet this forum is consumed with political bantering 90% about the cwb.... interesting and timely for the politicians and philosophers among us, but honestly should the profit-maximizer care this much?

i just heard china bought canola this week, at $370/t-ish instore. last i checked they were 'elastic' buyers, who only take coverage when canola values are considered cheap, i.e. $270/t. the bar has been raised - apparently by about $100/t - from the base value of this crop in the pre-bio-fuel days.

what say you, bright minds of the grain economy who have all kinds of depth of wisdom to offer on how wheat and barley should be marketed, to these new developments???

point is we are moving into uncharted territory here where there are bigger issues to grapple with than what the cwb is responsible for in 2 years time. by then we won't even have an export surplus of cereals so really, who cares. in the meantime, what to do with canola, up over $2/bu in 2 months, oats by about the same, 'feed' wheat at a premium to 1-14.5 in many areas... and it all spills over from there into all our other crops' markets.

outside the box, please, any thoughts?

[TOM4CWB]

JK,

There can be no question about the importance of the rest of the grain business. However when 1/3 of our produce (milling wheat) is reflecting feed wheat prices ($1/bu missing) this has a massive effect on the whole grain industry.

Australia has this same problem.

We must focus and resolve this issue, as the CWB Director Elections could easily resolve this problem...

If forward looking progressive CWB Directors are elected.

[SASKFARMER3]

I agree it is only 1/3 of my farm and most others but yes it is important when we are loosing 1.00 a bushel just about every year from out bottom line.
In my case a 120,000 hit.
And when every time you open a federal/prov program letter and are not excepted or don't qualify etc. you look at changing your farm and the hell with the rest I am sorry but after 13 years of no help and through BSE drought flood frost etc and still no help the gloves are off.
Yes China bought canola because palm oil is over valued.
Hell had a feed lot drop a contract because feed barley is to high and they feel the price will soften Sorry boys corn is in short supply and will stay where it is or up. Yes this is a new world but loosing big on one end is what is driving all the chatter on CWB.

[sawfly]

good points. what producers should concentrate on is how to keep some of it.


land rents and prices we will hurt ourselves. the good side of that is equity improves and some farmers can retire with an income.

fert prices will rise but the opportunity to import from offshore hopefully will keep a lid on that.

chem manufactures (with govts help) have north amercia locked up. (supply management) no offshore acess. they can keep jacking the price and we will pay it or live without.
10$/lb for canola seed. dont laugh, i would have laughed 10 years ago at 5$/lb.

is the livestock sector going to have to go thru a complete bust like the grains did.
eg. high feed cost . feeders pay less for calves. untill the cow calf guys are in trouble.

cow calf guys suffer for a few years , get out.sell cows, depress prices futher .
break land and plant grains. calf supply crashes , price increases

and thru it all packers and super markets make money .
is this the endless cycle or something new.

[AdamSmith]

JohnKenneth,

I don't understand your point or your question?

You wrote "but honestly should the profit-maximizer care this much?"

But your main starting point was that board grains accounted for 1/3 of farmers production.

Name me one business manager or advisor who would recommend ignoring a third of their business? Or being indifferent to a third of their business?

Many assume that the ethanol/bio diesel side of things will make selling milling wheat redundant. I don’t understand that line of thinking. Yes the new demand created by that sector of domestic processing is going to be a great asset to farmers, but I’m assuming the world will still want to eat and if they have to,they will pay a premium in order to keep their bellies full. I want to be able to take advantage of those opportunities as well.

I think your point was that the cwb will become more and more irrelevant over time, but the demand for milling wheat and malting barley will not become irrelevant.

As far as why such a disproportionate amount of time is spent on the cwb issue, well my answer to that is we don’t need to debate and fight and push the government to take advantage of opportunities in Canola, Peas, Oats, domestic feed grains etc, we just have to make individual decisions and then pick up a phone and make a deal. I don’t need to berate and challege Agstar77 or Vader endlessly before I sell canola. The industry is moving fast in all areas except milling wheat and malting barley, I don’t need to try and coax them along, I just need to keep myself aware and up to speed, and if what company A is offering doesn’t suit my needs, I’ll just try company B or C or X or Y. But that isn't an option with the monopoly cwb is it?


Why is all this so hard to grasp for some people?

[nw9flynn]

well said adam.

[wilagro]

And when there is only Company A and/or Company B?...what then?

And when they get their heads together and offer you the same price...what then?

Will you then go out and buy yourselves a grain buying/trading/processing business or form a new style Co-op?

[cottonpicken]

Good point wilagro.
Why did my grandaddy's,daddy's,daddy hate the grain trading companies so much?
Why was the cwb so popular in the begining but not now?
Sometimes a good history lesson will set your mind FREE.

[silverback]

How can someone who supposedly spends so much time and energy devoted to understanding how the markets and capitalism are working, be a proponent of the monopolistic, mandatory wheat board?

My history lesson - USSR.

[chaffmeister]

wilagro:

Say we go to only Co A and Co B.......What will the CWB do to keep them from charging too much? Or not giving proper grades? Or not giving service?

Cottonpicken - years ago the market was terribly inefficient. The grain cos had the information and storage capacity and the farmers had neither.
Totally different now.

[TOM4CWB]

Chaffmeister,

You are right on.

Take one look at the AUSIE situation.

It is the single desk monopoly that is ripping off the AUSIE growers... because they sold grain they did not own... and expected growers to give it to them anyway.

[broker]

I think the original point was made just to state that this forum isn't going to make or break the CWB, so why not try to use it more constructively instead of every post eventually turning into a CWB bash. JMHO

[craig]

I would suggest that the discussion has a hard time being constructive when the CWB and it's supporters have taken the stance that it is all black and white, all or nothing, we want the status quo or we will go down with the ship. Whatever the percentage of those seeking change, they have valid opinions and have a right to seek a better system. I continue to believe that the CWB has both the opportunity and the ability to properly address those concerns to the point where they can still exist in the future. With the apparent collapse of the AWB only days away the CWB does a strong disservice to it's farmer supporters and it's staff by not seeking some middle ground.