Marketing Solution to Farm Crisis

[chas]

Parlsey & Freebird: I know and respect were you are coming from but I'am looking for a more stable price and supply. If we go to the free market and trade as you say Europe and USA would also want free access to our markets. With their money and subsidies they would produce us into the poor house. We would be summer pasture for American cows. We got to change the way the world does business in the agricultural industry to make it sustainable.
Farming has been very good to me> I started with $20,000 in l974 and have build into a buisness thats worth over a million. I bought land and machinery from my father at the going rate as I had six brother and sisters that wanted their rightfull share. I'am not complaining about my lot in live. I'am blessed with land and weather in my area that provides me with a very constant cropping yield. Two of my sons have started farming in the last five years. I would like to believe your freedom system woould work but I see what is happening in the rest of the world where farms have a free market and it is no inprovement over what we are doing. I can't understand how things are going to change without changing the way the world does marketing of grain.

[parsley]

Chas, on our farm, we do business with a lot of other people. We have close business associations with a whole lot of folks...and they've beeen on the go for many years. Same kind of deals, year after year. Same folks, year after year. In a whole lot of different areas. We associate because we want to, because we work well together and because there is profit for everyone. Just what you are suggesting. I think forming alliances and working together is absolutely a must if you want to maximize profit. Sharing machinery, trading work, sharing pastures or whatever has been done since farmers first smiled at farmers.

That's not to say that the beekeeper shouldn't work in solitude if he wants.

Your idea of joining forces if good, of working towards saving dollars is good. I've just been emphazising that relationships like we enjoy aren't forced, they cannot be legislated. In the long run ,we do our best when we want to.
Anything built on less will not thrive for long.
Parsley

[ianben]

Hi Chas
Hear! hear! I thought you said you could not write I could not have put it better!!!

Farming has been good for me too, and I want it to be good for my kids.I have the open market now it is no better a low price is STILL low.

This fuel thing interests me though, if wheat is energy we can value wheat against oil and gas which seem to always cost more today.
What do you think about this as a way to fix a price?
Regards Ian

[ianben]

Hi Parsley
I agree with everything you say too, but do we have to change your relationships, perhaps we might improve them?
I believe a volentry system is the only way it could work.
Money works, I have said this before I know, so why not this?
The principle would be the same.

Regards Ian

[parsley]

Ian, you say improve? Or perhaps widen is a better word? Really sorry about the hoof and mouth in England. it will be very difficult for your farmers.
Parsley

[chas]

Parsley I agree with you, you can not legislate it upon us like a traffic ticket. It has to be of our own making not the governments. Thats why I'am thinking a domestic open market for wheat and barley is as far as we'll ever get to try and gain some control for ourselves and value add. Export is never going to happen for us.
Ianben sorry to hear about hoof and mouth in pigs over there. How much more damage can your livestock industry take.
Maybe burning wheat is a way to fix the price Ed. Chas

[TOM4CWB]

Chas,

The domestic market must compete with the North American market, on both supply and price.

If the domestic market does not compete, domestic consumers get a free ride. We get less for our wheat and barley, as simple as that.

The CWB refuses to ever short the domestic feed grain market.

The CWB would get sacked if they did short the domestic non-board market!

Take a look at "Natural Gas and Feed Wheat and Barley" and see the economic reasons why!

Take a look on Pricing vs. Marketing and see why we don't have an ethanol industry that consumes vast quantities of feed grains!

Who would in their right mind set up a billion dollar competitive plant with the CWB hanging around their necks waiting to choke them when they start exporting large volumes of product?

[chas]

Tow4cwb: Then give me a better system than the open market because its not working. Chas