A Wheat Board Crisis - Not A Farm Crisis

[AdamSmith]

From Macleans.ca

What we learned this week
Lessons from Stockwell Day, Bernard Lord, Myriam Bedard and more
Macleans.ca staff | Updated Friday, December 15, 2006, at 19:22 EST

#10 on the list

A crisis at the Canadian Wheat Board is only marginally bigger news than business as usual at the Canadian Wheat Board.
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Sounds kinda pathetic, doesn't it?

[parsley]

One politically appointed director in the process of becoming unseated by his appointee,has been the focus of a firestorm by the CWB itself.

Not low prices.

Not farmer need.

Just one Measnerly director.


That about describes the mandate of the present CWB.

Parsley

[cropduster]

Ssoo...who`s selling the wheat?????????

[parsley]

You think anyone ever was selling wheat?

[chaffmeister]

I did a quick scan of my CWB contacts list - all these are related to marketing (some may be out of date):

Rhyl Doyle, CWB senior marketing manager
Derek Sliworsky, Marketing Manager, Asia Pacific Sales
Michael Brophy, Senior Program Manager, Product Development and Marketing Support
Jim Thompson, Senior Marketing Manager, Domestic and Export Wheat Products
Rick Steinke, Marketing Manager, USA
Bob Cuthbert, Senior Marketing Manager Barley / Products
Joan Anderson, Barley Marketing
Darrell Bushuk, CWB senior sales manager, Asia Pacific
Ward Weisensel, Chief Operating Officer
Gord Flaten, Director, Product Development and Marketing Support

and there's more - these are just the ones I know.....

[TOM4CWB]

Cropduster,

Canadian Wheat is sooo good it sells itself! WHy would anyone worry about how much we got for it... when there is no baseline or benchmark to measure performance in any event!

dIDN'T YOU KNOW... IF THE cwb 'SINGLE DESK' DIDN'T EXIST... THE PRICE OF WHEAT WOULD BE A BUCK A BUSHEL LESS... EVERYWHERE ELSE... AS WELL AS IN CANADA!

[parsley]

et al,

The staff may be hired but what do they do?

Play sudoku?

[TOM4CWB]

Chaffmeister,

What happened to Measner as the principal... as apparently the "sky will fall" according to many of our customers if he isn't personally in charge of selling our grain to them!

HMMMM....

Doesn't this smell a little fishy?

[Incognito]

"The staff may be hired but what do they do?"

Write questions for the "Easter" bunny in Question Period..

[carebear300]

Just for the heck of it, I have one of those somewhat silly sounding questions, but!!!!!!! What other organization that is supposed to support its users has its head appointed by someone else? Doesn't it sound more than a little bit strange to not have a say in their appointments? Or at least have the board of directors hire a head. But then again what makes sense in the operations and the secrecy surrounding this operation? Just some thoughts of a contrary thinking,contankerous old farmer.

[parsley]

I want to ask two questions of Vader.


Both Thompson and Steinke are listed as the Managers Of PRODUCTS.

Jim Thompson, Senior Marketing Manager, Domestic and Export Wheat Products
Rick , Marketing Manager, USA
Bob Cuthbert, Senior Marketing Manager Barley / Products

#1 What products do the CWB market?

Pearled barley? Flour?

#2 When did the CWB start marketing PRODUCTS?

Parsley

[parsley]

carebear300,

1.The CWB is an Act of Parliament. Parliament sets the legislation governing the CWB. Do as you are told.

2. Look at it from Parliament's point of view:

The CWB is legislated to buy grain from Western farmes. fine.

But the CWB also has to license grain nationally, (just as the Gun Registration Act does). If you have flour being shipped out of Quebec, they are SUBJECT to having a license.

A few years ago the CWB sold wheat to Russia, BUT the Government got ticked off with Russia and stopped the sales cold in their tracks.

SO, the Government ORDERED the Board to halt wheat sales. Hardly something that anyone but a government could do.

Also, the Directors represent NATIONAL interests, so it is so silly for Measner to try to pan off the Board as a Western Board. If he doesn't know better, he should be fired. If he is lying, he should be fired.

Parsley