New CWB programs encourage value-added prairie inititatives

[charliep]

Nobody asked so I will. Any background on this initiative? Why now?

Similar comments on feed barley. When is the sign up on the "B" series? Does this mean there will be effective cash pricing for the "B"starting this winter? Again why now - should have been in place a long time ago.

[liberty]

Any investor with two brain cells will stay as far away from these initiatives as possible.

The tonnage limit on the Field to Plate program is laughably small. If ten farmers sold to the processor, they would be allowed to sell less than 2000 bushels before the CWB middleman can get his hands on the pie.

The New Generation Co-op program is rigged in favour of the board who gets to decide what the Domestic Human Consumption price is. Producers can only get an average price for their sales to such processors, thus distorting price signals once again.

I suspect these programs haven't generated much press because they're so obviously useless to both processors and farmers.

[AdamSmith]

So Ritter and Measner say that any change to the Single desk has to be done by a change in legislation.

Can't issue licences unless we have a change in legislation.

Can't create a dual market unless we have a change in legislation.

Yet they turn around with a simple change of internal policy create a opt-out for 500t times as many mills that may want to use this.

So if they can do it for 500t, why not 5000t or 500,000t or 5,000,000 tonnes?

Obviously they can do it(allow opt outs) by the precedent this establishes, so let's just negotiate the quantity!


The CWB exposed their own lie with this new policy.

[charliep]

Just checked the website out and the "B" series barley contract isn't available till November 2007 (next year) and only lasts until March 2008. Why not this year? Why the deadlines again? Why not a cash market?

[parsley]

AS,

Good observation! Changes to the single desk are made all the time by CWB wizards in the back room.

Abracadabra! Tonnage is taken out.

Think about the tonnages they DON'T announce.....

Parsley

[Zaphod]

The obvious answer about why now is that it gives them some feeble argument about how they are responding to farmers needs and to blunt criticisms from Strahl et al. You'll notice that there are precious few details. It's more like, let's blast out an announcement and worry about how (or if) it works later.