Manitoba CWB Plebiscite results

[chuckChuck]

Peaqueen. I didn't look at the graphs you quoted but can the AWB prices be directly compared without taking in to account their relevative proximity to Japan and the rest of Asia and Australian shoter distances to port? Our inland freight position is much farther from tidewater than many of our competitors which directly impacts returns to producers.

[chuckChuck]

Interesting Quote from Former CEO of ADM: “The free market is a myth. Everybody knows that. Just very few people say it. If I am not smart enough to know there’s no free market, I ought to be fired..... You can’t have farming on a total laissez-faire system because the sellers are too weak and the buyers are too strong.” Dwayne Andreas, Former CEO of Archer Daniels Midland

[peaqueen]

and I suppose Canadian prices being lower has nothing to do with the 20 a tonne increased handling charges in board grains that we have in Canada. Canada.

Oh by the way I have two inquiries just today for feed barley:
one for 2 cars from the USA and another just now from a buyer in the Phillipines (who used to buy from Australia but since they are short they want to buy from us, go figure eh, they actually think we can just quote them like we do the rest of the commodities, silly folk eh!)

So chuckchuck how many tonnes do we lose to the export market because of this closed market and what action would happen if we could quote these, just like we do for other grains..

Had I been able to quote this I would have been in the market today for about 12,000 bushels of feed barley.
And again this is what we mean by the bidding action of a competitive market place and the impact upon pricing and price rallys. And the points made by others of the price limitations of lost sales. Incedently this
is another question you did not address in terms of the value of academic analysis, Chuckchuck.

[peaqueen]

PS
Chuckchuck the same buyers who are asking for barley will buy oats, and peas, and flax, and on occassion canola. I tell you this just so you can appreciate the freedom this concept of exporting commodities to the world.

[cottonpicken]

Keep your dress on parsley this is just guys debating.

[parsley]

CP,

I see you're returning onthread meanspirited, so your dog must have bit you again. Why does he dislike you?

Parsley

[parsley]

chuckchuck,
"The free market is a myth"

Could that possibly be because every elevator that Archer Daniels Midlands might build in Canada, is declared as a "work for the general advantage of Canada? in the CWB Act?"

Parsley

[charliep]

chuckChuck

So in your opinion is the CWB a benefit or a liabilty to the average farmer?

Not trying to be trite but I would have trouble answering the question because I have never meant an average farmer. To survive in your business, you have to be somewhat exceptional individual/management team in all aspects of your business. Each exceptional business manager/business team has different needs and wants to move their business forward.

So the question then becomes what products and services are necessary too help a farm manager suceed (or at least have the chance of succeeding). It is not a one size fits all.

The CWB has contributed to this success in the past and has the opportunity to do so in the future in a competitive open market where it is not the only player. The attitude has to change from being a regulatory agency to being a market partner/information provide that creates value along the supply chain for individuals and companies who chose to use their services.

The lentils discussion is interesting in that it looks at creating something brand new without a blue print. What would a CLB look like? What services would it offer to all members of the supply chain? Could it provide value if it were a voluntary agency?

[northfarmer]

Bennyhin...wrote...

"It appears from the the CGC numbers that the Japanese prefer to take grain out of Vancouver. Also they only buy 1CWRS 13 protein from want I hear. How consistently do you find this quality north of Edmonton? surely not in the Peace region"

geez i do not know, but three of the past four years we have produced this or close on my farm in the Peace....and no fusarium, and closest to Japan....but alas the Peace will be yellow next year( we do ship Japan a pile of canola), lots of oats too I suspect....we clearly bounced the board loving director out on his ^%$ ........so get your head out of the sand.....

we are sitting at 20% delivered on our A series, sold the balance of my 20 % of my CWRS high protein to the feed market in BC..go figure chickens eating wheat some foriegn miller could be blending with some other global low cost wheat...get the multiple ironies of that statement, or is that to deep or is that too deep for you.......

[TOM4CWB]

ChuckChuck,

What is an average price, what is the pooled price formula?

What does the CWB use to trigger sales for the pool?

What kind of risk management does the CWB use, to maximize our grain returns?

What choice do growers have BUT to sell by using PPO's...? The pool accounts are so frightful and poorly managed the CWB also now requires cross subsidization from the people flat pricing.

Buybacks are simply an export tax to prevent growers from movement of grain to the USA... and the system is near perfect at stopping this direct trade.

The CWB's "single minded" brokers are doing almost everything within their power to destroy the good will the CWB had.

There is much more of an open market... Than there is a "single desk" that sells our wheat and barley through a "monopoly".

The CWB MUST, and does, compete and undercut every other Tom DIck and Harry from around the globe... Because the CWB doesn't even have to buy at cost...
The CWB gets their grain at 60% of cost everyone else must pay... and considers the other 40% "profit" they extracted!

As soon as there is any inkling of a dropping market... quit & cut off sales. Without grower cash sales even being offered.

No wonder CWB management doesn't want to change.

If the CWB had to offer premium prices to get "designated area" grain in the first place...

The CWB sales dept. would be MUCH more disciplined... and risk manage 1000X better than they do now. But that wouldn't take much... Explain the CWB risk management strategy guys... what exactly is it?

[chuckChuck]

Tom. I can't answer all your questions. Contact Gray and the CWB. Paste your questions and the responses for all to see. Then why don't you ask Rod Flaman why he changed his mind.

It is just so hard to believe that the only problems in the grain indsutry all come back to the marketing of the Canadian Wheat Board? Are you not concerned about the potential merger of Agricore and the SWP? Did you read my post from Dwayne Andreas? Have you noticed the large profits in the input and food processing sectors? Did you not notice the excessive profit taking by the packers during BSE? Are farmers getting the cost of production and a fair return in any crops that are not controlled by the CWB? There are hundreds of issues that are of concern to farmers so why are you obsessed primarily about the CWB?

[mustardman]

Chuckchuck, that is a question that should be put to our "Minister of Agriculture" as well.

He has one agenda and only one agenda,or maybe he just can"t multi task.
He's spending all this time and energy going after the CWB. The packing plants, railroads, chemical companies and the others at the Top of the food chain must be laughing AND being Reassured that their Conservative Campaign Contributions was Money well-spent.

[agstar77]

Before there is any talk of CWB reform, Railroad deregulation , Highway improvement and an improved safety net should be in place. Mr. Strahl, get your head out from where the sun does'nt shine!!

[craig]

If you guys hadn't noticed the CWB seems to have only one agenda also and that doesn't have anything to do with marketing grain.

[northfarmer]

no one has ever disputed that other segments of the agricultureal value chain make more mponey than the primary producers, the only way for us producers to exert more market influence and participate in these higher income value chains is through direct investment and equity positions...to get there we need to imoprove the margins and profitablilty we make in production of our primary crops, cereal (wheat and barley)are still going to be big crops becuase of rotational considerations, we are building are farms to scale and everyting we need to do to grow and prosper but we need more capital and we have to earn it the govt will not hand it to us.....but we can directly influence govt policy on how we can and choose to market our grain...that is why the focus on marketing freedom. ...i would love to have a market monopoly for my production, but we have a monopsony.....we effectively have beuarcrats paid salaries with no tie to the performance of the marketing activities related to the sales my production...it is like paying a stockborker a salary to manage your equities and RRSP's....how the hell is that going to be efficient, imagine if you could not move your money management to another firm if they underperformed, because all the farmers in the DA had to use the same money managers?????this is by no means a direct comparison but i hope you get the point!

the CWB manages close to million dollars of my money every year....