Nobody interested in potential major new market for even low grade grain???

[edbaker]

Hi, all,

Thought you guys would show some interest, even be hot to go on possible new market that could be large for your grains - even low grade grains.

And close to home: not a lot of transportation cost to pay.

A posting that I made a couple of weeks ago about innovative stove, one of the rare ones carrying CSA certification by Warnoch-Hersey, that'll heat your house using small amount (1 - 1-1/2 bu./day) of wheat, rye or corn seems to have drawn little interest.

I thought you guys were innovative. Was I wrong? Ed Baker eddbaker@yahoo.com
Try www.grainstovesinc.com, tell them Ed Baker sent you. EB

[ianben]

Hi Ed
I am very interested in your new market. I farm in England if you have missed that in the threads.Could you give me a figure on the cost as I do not know how much it costs to heat a house in Canada.

I have asked these boys but they are far too busy reforming the CWB, as if that will solve their problem.

Wheat as a fuel now that just might.
ALL THOSE NEW CUSTOMERS why don't they see it.
I looked up the site, and the stove looks good but I don,t think my city cousins would like the work.

Are there bigger stoves that would heat an office or factory?

Regards Ian

[edbaker]

Hi, Ian,

Greetings from Canada!

So, there! That's the greeting that I use frequently when messaging people across the face of the earth when working with my son's international trade brokering business.

Yes, I appreciated your information on the prices of British grain a few days ago. In fact, it was your message asking the conversants here why they weren't interested in some of your ideas and mine about potential expension of market, that got me to start this new thread.

Sorry, I can't give you pricing at the moment on the heating cost here. We used to say that we could heat cheaper than any other fuel source than natural gas (corn probably slightly higher) and weren't directly competitive there because of all the work. Electric and propane heating have traditionally been expensive, with furnace oil being higher than natural gas, but furnace oil prices have gone up sharply recently.

Unless someone's used to operating a wood-fired stove, he's probably not going to like a grain- or corn-fired one.

Recent heavy increases in natural gas prices probably mean that we're the cheapest around, unless one cuts one's own wood, and there are quite a few small (hardwood) woodlots here in southwestern Ontario, in the area between the Great Lakes. Quite a few cut dying trees, or residual tops following selective logging.

This stove provides fairly steady heat - one farm equipment dealer had it in the shop and it carried the main load, but after a big door was opened, the regular gas-fired heater kicked in and brought the heat level back up. It would have taken hand adjustment and a substantial period for the corn heater to have done it, with further adjustment when comfortable heat level restored - a pain in the butt.

About 30,000 BTU, heats about 1,500 sq. ft., depending on free circulation, insulation and climate. Probably hard to heat larger area unless use piping, as a furnace.

I have one demo furnace, made for a while by another company, putting out about 85,000 BTU. A couple worked well for a number of years around here, heating good sized houses, but the fact of it being only an alternative heat source for most, because of the need for maintenance oftener than once per day, deterred many. Aren't in production now.

Recently talked about it on www.agweb.com, U.S. based but don't know where. Interesting site.

My brother, newly minted senior, (mostly cereal) grain farmer near Regina, Sask., winding down family farm as son not interested.

Have you seen book, "Merchants of Grain", story of Cargill, Lois Dreyfus and I forget the others countable almost on the fingers of one hand that control world grain?

Good wishes, Ian, for the coming season.

Ed Baker eddbaker@yahoo.com

[parsley]

Ed, You have referred to the book, "Merchants of Grain" several times. A few Agri-villers that haven't read the book might be interested in some interesting points that author Don Morgan brings out. He's in quotes.Hope you don't mind me sharing this with the readers in your thread.

In 1921
- there were 26 companies in the US that handled 40% of the wheat. - "It was not necessary to be rich to challenge the established grain companies".
- Capital wasn't too important.
- There was lots of competition.

The 1930's saw tremendous government intervention.
- "The intervention of the Government restricted the freedom of the merchants".
- "The power of the better capitalized, older established firms was greatly strengthened".
- Capital was very important.
-"The inevitable consequence was that the grain business fell more and more into the hands of a small oligopoly of giant companies".

Of interest........The President of Argentina....."Peron intended to finance the industrialization of Argentina with proceeds from grain exports, and this meant getting control of the grain trade.".

"Argentina government was buying wheat from Argentina farmers for $1.25/bus plus reselling it to war torn countries in Europe for $5.00 to $6.00/ bus". "Bunge turned elsewhere".
( Remember, The Canadian government made a long contract with Great Britain, and farmers recieved what the gov't decided)

In the USA, ......"The Department of Agriculture, by 1950, had become a vast planning agency..."...."that controlled how much farmers grew and how much they recieved for their grain".
Farmers produced too much and got paid. Other countries coudln't afford to buy.

1954....Resulting in :
US permanent food aid program
promote foreign policy
combat hunger
dispose of surplusses
"The grain trade was becoming not much more than a service business."

The Merchants of Grain is a good lesson in history isn't it Charliep?.
Parsley

[chas]

Parsley: I read the book and it told me that we are dreaming if you and I think we can change the way grain is marketed in the world. Free market or farmer controlled, governments will always interfere because food is more important than treating farmers fairly. So I quess we better get more like the Europeans and the Americans and lobby our govenment for more money. Like I said before who is being subsidized the farmer or the comsumer in the end. Maybe Ed's right lets burn it to stay warm. Chas

[edbaker]

Hi Parsley,

With a name like that, you've got to be part of the green revolution! (Or just a decoration on the side of a dinner plate?? - after providing dinner, of course) (Sorry - couldn't resist).

It was 1946 - 1948 that I lived on our Sask. farm. I didn't object to us selling cheap wheat to Britain, when they'd recently had so much devastation and trouble to deal with. But believed that farmers should have received a price comparable to world price - what they could have got by selling elsewhere. It shouldn't have been just the farmers who were expected to provide all of the largesse, out of their own pocket - it should have been ALL of the people of our country, damn it!

I've learned a few things about how the real world operates, since.

Thanks for your quotes from "Merchants of Grain". It's my brother near Regina who has it and I live in London. He's smart and innovative, generally, but he won't touch a computer with a ten foot pole!

He developed a grain auger back when you went from 1,500 bu. to 5,000. bu. bins that was mounted on tractor and controlled by a pipe up from front end loader. When people saw it at the June machinery Show in Regina, several said, "How come nobody's done that before!" When he reported that, I replied, "That's the mark of a smart idea".

Interesting comment from Joyce Sasse, this week.

Nice to be a retired clergyperson in excellent health - that the Govt. pays over $1,000./mo. to - just to be old.

Hope that you all have an interesting weekend.

Ed Baker

[edbaker]

Charles:

Didn't mean to ignore you in the earlier message.

Your idea's O.K. - as long as I don't get accused of being full of hot air!

Ed